I have a 1990 325ia. Eta engine swap?

[BoostinEuros]

Hello everyone 8)

I have a 1990 325ia that I received from a relative. There was some piston to valve contact, so the cylinder head is toast.

There are honestly alot of broken/rusted parts on the engine as well that will need to be replaced.

However, I have a running, clean, eta motor on hand.

Will it drop right in with the proper ECU?

Keep in mind, the car will be an automatic college commuter. I have no need for horsepower. Fuel economy is more of my concern.

Also, I don't have the funds to toss around for a m20 head or replacement engine. Books ran me almost $800 this semester :(

Thanks!

[E30 Wagen]

you will need to swap in the eta harness as well as the 027 ecu.

[Restoman]

Engine swaps are not done for economical reasons. Part it and get a car that runs or a Ruckus. It was kind of the relative to help, but these cars need attention.

[BoostinEuros]

Engine swaps are not done for economical reasons. Part it and get a car that runs or a Ruckus. It was kind of the relative to help, but these cars need attention.

Not to come off as rude, but I have owned an e34 540i that I myself converted 5 speed on jackstands, a 92 525i, an e36 M3, and I currently am swapping a s50 into a 90 e30 coupe.

I know what it takes to maintain and operate BMW's

The coupe project is taking the majority of my funds, so I don't really want to spend anymore than I have to ;)

I would rather put the $$ of a m20b25 towards the coupe :)

Back on-topic:

So I only need the engine, ecu, and engine-side harness?

[Adrian_Visser]

You can do an engine swap for whatever reason you like. If you have the engine and harness already you can swap it in or you could convert it to the i electronics. If you stick with the e electronics you will need an early model transmission with the bellhousing mounted reference and crankshaft sensors though. Keep in mind also that the main reason an eta gets better fuel economy is that lower ratio rear differential, without it you will run out of rev's at a pretty low speed. Late model cars also have the coolant overflow bottle on the otherside of the engine bay so there are differences there to deal with as well.

You be the judge.

[BoostinEuros]

You can do an engine swap for whatever reason you like. If you have the engine and harness already you can swap it in or you could convert it to the i electronics. If you stick with the e electronics you will need an early model transmission with the bellhousing mounted reference and crankshaft sensors though. Keep in mind also that the main reason an eta gets better fuel economy is that lower ratio rear differential, without it you will run out of rev's at a pretty low speed. Late model cars also have the coolant overflow bottle on the otherside of the engine bay so there are differences there to deal with as well.

You be the judge.

There are a few points I'm trying to understand.

"If you stick with the e electronics you will need an early model transmission with the bellhousing mounted reference and crankshaft sensors though."

So I would need an E auto transmission along with the engine?

Or is it good to go since I have the E engine side harness and ECU?

Thanks! :D

[jeffw]

If you are putting in an eta motor you have to have an eta transmission. the eta transmissions have two holes on the side for sensors. the crank position sensor and a tach sensor. i motors don't have those they are plugged. so yes you HAVE to have a eta transmission

[BoostinEuros]

That's a bit of a buzzkill.

The M20b27 is connected to a manual transmission, so I would have to do a manual swap as well...

Not really worth it for the ETA motor...

I will keep looking for a b25.

Thanks everyone!

[BoostinEuros]

If you are putting in an eta motor you have to have an eta transmission. the eta transmissions have two holes on the side for sensors. the crank position sensor and a tach sensor. i motors don't have those they are plugged. so yes you HAVE to have a eta transmission

I looked up the part numbers for both an E and an I.

The part numbers different, however they are both 4hp22.

So there is no way to modify an I transmission for E use?

Sorry if I'm persistent, I'm really wanting to get the car running!

[Red88]

You can run it, but as stated you have to run the eta tranny so that the computer knows where the engine is (TDC, BDC, whatever). You will have to modify the c101 to get tach and other functions in your late model car.

[ethree]

What about if you upgrade the e motor to motronic 1.3 or whatever the later i cars had? Just make sure not to redline it?

[gasgasrider]

It would be no big deal to swap the late model bellhousing for an early one once the engine is out, pm me if you want to buy an early bellhousing or talk about it further. It isn't as hard as some would have you believe...