m30 prep

[oldskool3]

Hey guys I just bought an m30 this morning and want to get it prepped to swap into my e30. Just wanted some suggestions on what I should do before I shoe horn it into the engine bay. I was thinking I would do the upper gaskets (head gasket, valve seals etc) and maybe disassemble the tranny (getrag 265) and do the rear main seal. Anything else anyone can think of would be awesome. It has an e34 oil pan and pump on it already.

Also besides driveshaft/ e28 rad what else will I need for the swap. Comes with the e30.de mounts. Thanks a lot

Jesse

[Garageaholic]

You already bought the e30.de mounts? if so, then you're off to a good start. Which motor do you have? because if i were you, i'd use the M20 wiring harness and adapt it to your motor. That will make it 10x easier to wire the fucker.

I mean, do basic maintenance. I'd definitely do the dist/rotor bc it's alot tighter than an e30 and changing it later would mean removing the radiator and draining coolant. It would be a bad situation.

Rear main seal is a must. Oil pan gasket perhaps?

That's all i can think of for now.

I would search if i were you. alot of people have done writeups. Have you tried www.jaredsquires.com and click on no decal performance. Look for the 1990 335i link after that.

[oldskool3]

You already bought the e30.de mounts? if so, then you're off to a good start. Which motor do you have? because if i were you, i'd use the M20 wiring harness and adapt it to your motor. That will make it 10x easier to wire the fucker..

Ya the mounts and all I have listed came with the motor. It is a second gen m30 out of a 85 e28. The PO already did the oil pan gasket and plugs and wires and i will definetly be doing cap/rotor. Just have to find an e28 rad and clean the engine up a little bit and it is ready to slip in. I have read just about every m30 swap posted out there. I just wanted a little more feedback from r3v members.

Also what is the best/ most economical solutions to the driveshaft shortening. Thanks for your input

Jesse

[Garageaholic]

Don't shorten it. Drill a hole in the E30.de mounts in between the two holes, mount it in that middle hole and the E30 driveshaft should live up perfectly with enough spleen teeth to grab

[mitch500]

damn you, u picked that up from the guy on maxbimmer out of toronto. i was going to buy that thing. its all good. good luck for 600can good deal with everything

[oldskool3]

damn you, u picked that up from the guy on maxbimmer out of toronto. i was going to buy that thing. its all good. good luck for 600can good deal with everything

That's me :) Im supper stoked about getting the swap done. Sorry for snagging it from you but it would have been a hell of a shipping cost to get it to Edmonton from Toronto so im saving you money ;) As it is a still have to drvie the 8 hours to pick it up. Anyways for the price i think it was worth it. thanks

[oldskool3]

Don't shorten it. Drill a hole in the E30.de mounts in between the two holes, mount it in that middle hole and the E30 driveshaft should live up perfectly with enough spleen teeth to grab

Thanks man I have never heard this being done on any of the swap sites. Im sure this will save me a lot of headaches.

Another question what modificcations have to be done to the shifter linkage for it to be compatable with the e30?

Thanks again

Jesse

[Axxe]

You picked the motor that up for sale on max then, eh? The fucking douche of a seller wasn't answering my phone calls or when he called back, itw as 3 in the fucking morning. We arranged for me to pick the motor up on Sunday, and guess what, he didn't answer the phone. I had a fuckign truck and a cherry picker ready to go, and he then calls me back at 3 in the fucking morning.

/rant

[oldskool3]

You picked the motor that up for sale on max then, eh? The fucking douche of a seller wasn't answering my phone calls or when he called back, itw as 3 in the fucking morning. We arranged for me to pick the motor up on Sunday, and guess what, he didn't answer the phone. I had a fuckign truck and a cherry picker ready to go, and he then calls me back at 3 in the fucking morning.

/rant

Hey Axxe I had no clue, he told me that I was infront of you for priority on it and that if I wanted it to let him know. My bad man. Im sure you'll end up swapping in something crazier anywyas (s50/s52).

The shitty part is I just swapped an b25 into the car and now it has to come right back out. Anyways sorry again man looks like I snagged it over a lot of max members.

[Axxe]

Nah, my beef isn't with you, it's with him. He made me beleive that I was first in line, but wouldn't respond to my calls once I said I was ready to pick it up. I hope you haggled him down :)

[euroshark]

Don't shorten it. Drill a hole in the E30.de mounts in between the two holes, mount it in that middle hole and the E30 driveshaft should live up perfectly with enough spleen teeth to grab

Is this method for using the stock 3 series shaft, or the 5 series shaft? And what tranny? My Getrag 265 appears to be 2 inches longer than any of the other M30 transmissions... :(

[oldskool3]

Is this method for using the stock 3 series shaft, or the 5 series shaft? And what tranny? My Getrag 265 appears to be 2 inches longer than any of the other M30 transmissions... :(

He meant for the e30 driveshaft.

2" longer? I hope that I can still use this method.

[Axxe]

I think that you can use the front half of a 535i driveshaft with the rear half of any e30 shaft (they are all the same).

[george graves]

When you have the oil pan off - check the bolts bolts for the oil pump, check for wear on the pump gear. Or for safty, you can always remove the bolts and locktight them.

If the car was from a Auto, you may have unused bolt hole on the back of the block for the auto tranny(passanger side of the block). It will stick out like a nub. Saws-all that puppy off, it hits the tranny tunnel.

Get a large hammer and clearence the firewall (inch or two - depending if you have a cooling line comming out of the back of the head or if you have a flat plate on the back of the head.

Use a hammer to clearence the passanger side floor board for the exhaust(2-2.5")

What else - maybe it was already said - but a valve adjustment, rotor, cap, ect...

HTH

...

[george graves]

Is this method for using the stock 3 series shaft, or the 5 series shaft? And what tranny? My Getrag 265 appears to be 2 inches longer than any of the other M30 transmissions... :(

HA! The 265 is longer! Don't think there is a a DS that bolts up unless you go position 1(custom radiator inside the front clip)

I used a place in hollywood - it was $400 for to shorten, balance, and re-build to custom length. But do a search, apperently there are some shop that speciallize in semi-truck DS's that will do it for $70...