oil pan question m20 5 series.

[weaksauce]

i just bought a 1988 325is with a blown motor.
i found a used motor from a 1990 525i manual transmission car.
My question is, will the oil pan from a 1990 525i clear the E30?
the pan on my car was destroyed when the motor blew up, so i need a new one. it would be much easier if the 5 series pan would clear so i don't have to take it apart......The shapes are similar

Please let me know if anyone has any experiance with this.
Jeff

[Hallen]

So, you are just going to drop this 525i engin in without doing anything to it at all? Man, if it were me, I wold be replacing seals and ganskets while that engine isn't in the car and save yourself trouble later on.

I don't know about the 525i oil pan, but I do know that oil pans come up in the sales thread and they are often pretty reasonable in price.

[weaksauce]

So, you are just going to drop this 525i engin in without doing anything to it at all? Man, if it were me, I wold be replacing seals and ganskets while that engine isn't in the car and save yourself trouble later on.

I don't know about the 525i oil pan, but I do know that oil pans come up in the sales thread and they are often pretty reasonable in price.

i know the history of the motor from the previous owner. it has new timing belt, water pump, intake gaskets, and hoses.

[jlevie]

The pan on the 525i engine will work just fine. I did the exact same thing on my Spec E30. The 525i pan has the dip stick tube going into the pan rather than the block and I think it is a bit deeper, but there are no problems with fitment.

[weaksauce]

The pan on the 525i engine will work just fine. I did the exact same thing on my Spec E30. The 525i pan has the dip stick tube going into the pan rather than the block and I think it is a bit deeper, but there are no problems with fitment.

sweet! i took the risk and tried it and it fit just fine.
Motor is in the car. tomorrow I'll hook up all the electrical and fuel lines and fire it up.

[Kingb]

The pan on the 525i engine will work just fine. I did the exact same thing on my Spec E30. The 525i pan has the dip stick tube going into the pan rather than the block and I think it is a bit deeper, but there are no problems with fitment.

Are you fucking serious???? Fuck that is the answer that I have been looking for. My 2.5 was put in by the PO to replace the 2.0. I just put an oil pan on it that I bought off here. Now I have no hole for the dipstick and have to drop the pan again to pull that metal plug. Every e30 that i ahve looked at has it in the block except mine.

[jlevie]

You don't have to drop the oil pan to pull the plug in the block where an E30 disp stick would go. I've pulled the plug by pin punching a small hole in the plug (it is sheet metal) running in a self-tapping screw, and extracting the plug with a slide hammer.

The reason your engine doesn't have the hole in the block is because the engine came from a 525i.

[Kingb]

I tried twisting it like a freeze plug with no luck. I even took an air hammer with a chisel tip to it and it just dented it like it was thick. I'll try something else then