E30 diesel or s50

[318isotay]

Too funny...I just set a 2.4 td/speed in the engine bay of my e30 last weekend. Pretty much a straight bolt in. Need to get my lazy ass off the chair and order tranny mounts and driveshaft support bearing. Would love to intercool it but...might be more hassle than it is worth.
My goal is a maximum mileage car. It is an easy swap.

[quickervicar]

I have a bunch of 524Td parts if anyone is interested.

Hmmmm.....tempting

[324tdi]

I've done a coupe and an iC here in the US with an M21...you can google Al Taylor BMW for some articles on them.

I raced the coupe in BMW club racing back in 2003, stock, just turned up the fuel and ran biodiesel. Ran a 260 trans. Easy conversion...on the iC I used a 262 4 speed out of a 3.0CS, euro ex manifold, reversed plenum for straight intercooler routing with an AUDI intercooler mounted LF. Had a factory hardtop on the car sometimes also for a unique look. There are photos on the web of the car on track with a huge black cloud behind it. Set a east coast land speed record for biofuel with the car. Last thing I tried was straight grease at VIR a couple years back, FI pump started leaking so I yanked it for a regular M20....

The iC was about the same as a Spec e30 as far as track performance.


I have a bunch of 524Td [parts if anyone is interested.


Thanks

Al Taylor

[tylernaugle]

When I was looking up the diesel swaps if its an m21 it will bolt up to the g260. a guy over in Europe did it I believe that's the best thread I found so far.

By the way I think it was on the e30 tech website for future references.

I think the fuel lines are re-usable, but will require a different pump, filter, etc. I like the uniqueness of the diesel, I don't want raw power, just something fun and different. Also planning to swap my Land Rover to a 4bd1t whenver the v8 dies, I guess I just love diesels.



Just the engine itself? Or pump/ecu/etc?

I think a slightly bigger turbo with an intercooler would make it a fun little engine.

Does anyone happen to know, would this require a getrag 260? Or would it bolt up to the 240 without issues? Mostly concerned about the angle of everything.

[tylernaugle]

I think the fuel lines are re-usable, but will require a different pump, filter, etc. I like the uniqueness of the diesel, I don't want raw power, just something fun and different. Also planning to swap my Land Rover to a 4bd1t whenver the v8 dies, I guess I just love diesels.



Just the engine itself? Or pump/ecu/etc?

I think a slightly bigger turbo with an intercooler would make it a fun little engine.

Does anyone happen to know, would this require a getrag 260? Or would it bolt up to the 240 without issues? Mostly concerned about the angle of everything.

When I was looking up the diesel swaps if its an m21 it will bolt up to the g260. a guy over in Europe did it I believe that's the best thread I found so far.

[brianf408]

I've been on the fence between that and an s50 sadly. it seems like the m21 is the only one available to us and they have their own faults. i like the uniqueness that a diesel gives. if you know any info like switching out the fuel lines for diesel and the diesel pump etc. I want to get a jest about diesels before going with it.

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I think the fuel lines are re-usable, but will require a different pump, filter, etc. I like the uniqueness of the diesel, I don't want raw power, just something fun and different. Also planning to swap my Land Rover to a 4bd1t whenver the v8 dies, I guess I just love diesels.

i have an m21! thinkin about mabey selling it. its pretty cool motor looking at it. so similar to the m20 and about three times easier to work on if you can imagine that! go for diesel! put a little bigger turbo on it and turn up injection pump and you should be happy with the power.

Just the engine itself? Or pump/ecu/etc?

I think a slightly bigger turbo with an intercooler would make it a fun little engine.

Does anyone happen to know, would this require a getrag 260? Or would it bolt up to the 240 without issues? Mostly concerned about the angle of everything.

[brbahner]

I've always fancied the idea of a diesel e30.. If you decide to go s50, I've got a few sets of s50 cams laying around

how many of those cams are laying around? ive been looking for a set if they look good enough and the price is fair. shipping cams just scares me a bit.

[kylelauffer]

i have an m21! thinkin about mabey selling it. its pretty cool motor looking at it. so similar to the m20 and about three times easier to work on if you can imagine that! go for diesel! put a little bigger turbo on it and turn up injection pump and you should be happy with the power.

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Diesel all the way

[tylernaugle]

I've actually been keeping my eye out for an M21 as well. Been trying to decide what my m42's replacement is going to be so I can be rebuilding it on the stand before the m42 dies (if it ever dies). Not going for a ton of power, just something that is fun and unique. Run it with a loud intake and exhaust, add an intercooler, and just have a blast.

I've been on the fence between that and an s50 sadly. it seems like the m21 is the only one available to us and they have their own faults. i like the uniqueness that a diesel gives. if you know any info like switching out the fuel lines for diesel and the diesel pump etc. I want to get a jest about diesels before going with it.

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[brianf408]

I've actually been keeping my eye out for an M21 as well. Been trying to decide what my m42's replacement is going to be so I can be rebuilding it on the stand before the m42 dies (if it ever dies). Not going for a ton of power, just something that is fun and unique. Run it with a loud intake and exhaust, add an intercooler, and just have a blast.

[lukeADE335i]

Sorry - don't know about the Mercedes diesels.

[tylernaugle]

M51 from the e34 525tds would be the go. The electrics would be no harder than an M50 swap & the sump will be round the right way.

My brother in law had an e39 with the M51, and it was sweet - enough torque to be vaguely entertaining (even in a heavy e39) and returned 43mpg (imp) cruising at 80mph on the motorway.

Of course the M57 is better, but fabrication would also make it much tougher swap.

seem like you know a thing a two about these diesels. I saw a couple of e30s with a om606 engine (Mercedes). want wondering if you knew any information about this... ( think you are from a different place than the us)

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[tylernaugle]

I live in the united states in pa. The m51 would be my choice by I looked it up on YouTube and saw a Mercedes diesel in one.. (mouth is drooling) I guesss ill have to look up performance upgrades for an m51 for going that route looking for about 300 horsepower that's reliable. The only downfall to that engine is I hear the heads aren't the greatest. (Maybe thats an m21). Seems like another s50 swap is the way to go :/

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[lukeADE335i]

Probably not - we didn't get them in Australia (he lives in the UK).