Trying to figure out what is underneath the hood

[bonham123]

I bought an 325is a couple months ago with the inentions of swapping an m60 into it. After having a couple mishaps with the m60 I had I ended up scrapping the idea and I think I'm going to just fix what I have.

The problem is I bought the car because the body and interior (except some wiring issues) is in pristine condition however the motor is not.

The engine is running but not well, it has a bad idle,trouble starting. The PO mentioned putting a 525i head on it because the previous one was junk. I took a look under the hood a couple weeks ago and noticed "2.7 eta" on the cylinder head.

The car has no exhaust on it (cut off before the cat).

Not sure what intake manifold is on it. Is there a way to tell or can I get a part number off it anywhere?

the MAF has a ford emblem on it. I did some research on the internet and it looks like a ford MAF interchanges with the BMW of the 525i.

What do you guys think? I don't want to sell it because i hate dealing with people on CL. and would prefer to deal with mechanical issues rather than rust issues.

[yert315]

looks like he put an "eta" head on an "i" block. If I were you, I would put everything back to stock.

Grab an 885 head ("i" head) with the manifold, injectors/rail/harness, and AFM. You'll need to replace the head gasket and timing belt when you do this. Might as well do the water pump, tensioner, thermostat and all that jazz as well.

Get everything back to stock, that way trouble shooting will be easier down the line.

[JGE30]

I have 325e

[bonham123]

How do you tell the difference between the "i" and "eta" manifold? are the wiring harnesses different at all?

[jlevie]

The wiring harness for an M20B25 and an M20B27 are different, but if an M20B27 head (and intake) was put on an M20M25 engine the harness would not change. One quick check would be to pull the valve cover and see if the head has dual valve springs, which are only found on an M20B25 head.

[bonham123]

How do you tell the difference between the wiring harnesses and the intake manifolds?

[paperplane94]

i:



e:

[LJ851]

"i" manifold has been eating well, hittin the gym regularly and it shows.

"e" manifold is fuckin hipster with skinny jeans barely cover it's ass.

[paperplane94]

And the wiring harnesses? I think you can tell by the datalink connector, not sure because old M20b25's might have the old style connector too but tis worth a shot:

i datalink connector:



e datalink connector:



There are other little deciphering tricks that you can do, its not that hard just look!

[bonham123]

Thanks guys, it is apreciated

[slaterd]

And the wiring harnesses? I think you can tell by the datalink connector, not sure because old M20b25's might have the old style connector too but tis worth a shot:

i datalink connector:

I don't get it toug, I have a super eta and my datalink connector is this and my ICV is the same. Only thing different is i DO have the eta manifold. Why is everything else matching this "i" picture?

[paperplane94]

I don't get it toug, I have a super eta and my datalink connector is this and my ICV is the same. Only thing different is i DO have the eta manifold. Why is everything else matching this "i" picture?

There you go...

I obviously wasn't sure if the ETA motors had the updated diagnostic connector, which yours obviously does.

I guess its hard to identify an ETA engine harness just by glancing at it.


You can't believe everything I say :).