How easy would this swap be it will be out of an 87 325e
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I did a m20 out of a 85 and it couldn't have been easier. took 24hrs from pulling out the m10 to firing up the m20.
that only thing that will differ is your harness plug wont be a plug and play with that year, so you will need a adapter.
a couple things i didn't think about that i ran across with my swap.
-you will need to cut and weld the coolant overflow tank brackets from a 325.
-a eta cluster, a 318i will work, i have one in mine, the only difference is the tach, it doesn't know what the face says, all it knows is how far to move the needle. what i mean by this is it looks like my eta revs out to 7500rpm because if i had a eta tach face the 7500rpm would read 5500rpm. but the 1000rpm is in the same spot so idle isn't an issue to set.
-the green idle box is not the same between m10 and m20. the idle box from a m10 will make the car have around 2-3000rpm so you will need this.
-there is a 3 wire plug in the glove box area that connects the engine harness to the body harness, this needs to be plugged in or the car wont run.
-the stock diff will make for a fun around town, but it will be annoying on any sort of distance driving, my car feels like it would top out at 115(where it would hit rev limiter) vs my old eta did 120 and i had a bit more room.
-to a full tune up and timing belt while the motor is out, its a lot easier. don't waste your time tossing a m20 in with out doing the timing belt, even if the PO said he/she replaced it recently. everyone is a damn liar and nothing is shittier than only having your swap running for a couple months then needing a new head/motor
-look in to swapping both the front and rear brakes from the 325e. the fronts are bigger and vented and the rears are disc not drum. i still have the 318i brakes, they are not horrible but leave a lot to desire
-if your 318i is lowered, it will be more low now. watch out for that oil pan.
-the m20 shift plate is shorter, if you have the early style so you will need this out of the eta car, but it bolts right up
but the motor bolts up to the sub frame and the tranny cross member bolts in the same spot (you might need to slide the bolts a bit, but the allow for that.)
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