Need some M20 and SETA guru's

[M44schnell]

Hi guys, i just bought a SETA and iv been going over it and i need some help getting my info correct and some advice on if i got a pretty good engine. Its a 88 marked 2.5/2.7 on the head and as far as i can tell it has a 7 bearing cam in it.


From what iv read (i have searched ALOT) its essentially a "i" head with the eta cam and springs. When i picked the engine up he said it has a shrick cam in it but its marked "BMW" on the cam so that wouldn't be a shrick would it? Also i looked at the springs and do these look like the double ones from the "i" engine? Sorry for the bad pics.


Also, the DME it came with is a green label 0 261 200 153 and DOSE plug into the harness for the car, so has the car maybe had the 1.3 conversion? Here is the intake man and harness, is there anyway to know harness wise whether or not it has been changed over?




Any additional info or advice is greatly appreciated, i was planning on building a stroker when this popped up. I have an 86 eta as of now so i want to do everything i can to get the engine done right and running good.

[jlevie]

The 153 DME and double valve springs could mean that this is a SETA engine with an M20B25 head and engine management system, of it could mean that this is an M20B25 engine. You'd have to pull the head and measure the stock to tell.

I don't know if a Shrick is a re-grind of a BMW cam or not. If it is it will have a BMW brand.

[reelizmpro]

That's not a super ETA at all. It's an 89-on M20B25 head with 87-88 Motronic 1.1 DME. Super ETA DME is 154 and has smaller intake manifold, single valve springs and only says "2.5" on the head because it was 88 MY only. It also wouldn't have torx headbolts and later style injector harness unless it was all changed at some point. It's either a complete M20B25 or a super ETA with the entire top end of the 325i. Schrick's are ground from billets so it wouldn't be a reground BMW cam. Probably reground to schrick specs...who knows.

[e30leigh]

looks like an m20b25 to me

[M44schnell]

Ok, so the easiest way to tell whether or not this is a SETA bottom end would be pull the head and check the pistons right? Im tearing it apart anyway so ill know tomorrow.

And would it be smart for me to just go ahead and do the 1.3 conversion? ill go back and read the how too again.

[reelizmpro]

No, you should measure the stroke of the crank. The pistons look the same as the 325i from the top. There's nothing to convert...you are already Motronic 1.1. Going to 1.3 is as simple as buying a Motronic 1.3 DME and plugging it in.

[M44schnell]

Nice, thanks for clearing that up, im not real hip yet on what goes with what DME wise, thanks for the help. what # injectors should i be running? i have blue toped orange tipped injectors.