What do these Numbers Mean?

[nickflic3]

Swapped in this i motor withought much of a background check as I was kind of desperate/it was cheap haha

Anyway we figured out that the head was swapped out at some point due to the AMC stamp but we were stumped as to what year car this thing came out of. Would the 87 denote an 87 325i? Thanks





And one more thing, what oil level sensor would an 87 i harness use? Round one was on the eta motor; square one came with the i motor...







Many thanks!

[Van Westervelt]

I believe that harness (87) uses the smaller round one. But if the motor is from a late model 88+, you might have more issues with wiring thermostat etc.

[MR 325]

Yes, definitely an aftermarket head.

You want the oil level sender on the right.

[nickflic3]

I believe that harness (87) uses the smaller round one.

Yes, definitely an aftermarket head.

You want the oil level sender on the right.

Thanks, I'll swap those out then.

...if the motor is from a late model 88+, you might have more issues with wiring thermostat etc.

Do I just need the right plugs then or is there more to it? I was hoping the numbers on the block would give a clue as to what year it was built...

Comparison between eta and i thermostats:

i thermostat came without plugs



eta thermostat has 3





(pix came out tiny for some reason; click to enlarge)

[nickflic3]

Bump for some more info!

[MR 325]

Van is wrong, all i engines use the same 2 sensors on the thermostat housing. Once is a double wide plug but with only one wire. Usually brown and for the temp gauge. The other is a 2 pin plug for the ECU coolant temp sender, usually blue. These are the 2 you need when running an i harness/ECU.