'89 318i 6 speed m50b32tu turbo swap build

[ba114]

She's in!

[ba114]

Drilled and tapped m50 oil filter housing to fit ms43 oil temp sensor

[Northern]

Flywheel/Clutch setup looks great!

[ba114]

When it came to mounting the windage tray, i could not get it bolted down. The arp main studs protrude higher than stock bolts so this required notching the windage tray.


Fitted an oil pump chain tensioner. This will complement the new crank sprocket and custom 7 bolt m54 oil pump modified to work on m50/m52 motors - this was a custom job from finland. Before removing the e34 pump and pickup, i made a jig to mark where the oil pickup was so i could get the new setup in the same location. I used a 728i front oil pickup which needed to be shortened slightly and re-welded.


Modified an m54 thermostat to work with m50 head. basically involves removing the spring from under the bypass plate and creating a spacer to hold the bypass plate down under the circlip. This gets the bypass plate to the same position as a stock m52 thermostat. Without doing this, the bypass port would be constantly blocked. Taking the gasket out of the m54 thermostat and placing on the m50 head seems to indicate it will seal.



Difference in gearbox length between gs6-37dz and gs6-53bz. The e36 325i driveshaft will compress enough to make up for the difference. I had the front half of a 135i driveshaft (106mm guibo) grafted onto the stock e36 325i driveshaft. After the fact i learned that the output flange from an 420g gearbox will apparently bolt up to a gs6-53bz which would have negated needing a custom driveshaft.


Cams in and timed. Dual Vanos unit mounted and m56 valve cover painted in zinnoberrot to match the body paint.


Designed and 3D printed (CF nylon) a spacer to allow the use of the MS43 crank sensor on the front timing cover as the m50 block has no provisions for the rear mounted crank sensor. Made an extension harness as the stock wiring cant reach to the front timing cover. Anyone else that needs to do this, the connectors needed are Kostal 09442311 (22140492050).

[ba114]

Taking up the challenge from facebook, it's time to make a proper update to this.
Progress is very slow, with another child just arriving in January i haven't had any real time to dedicate to the car to get it built. I had planned to have it ready to drop in over easter, but that might be a bit far-fetched now.

So to start with, finally pulled the old motor to identify where it failed, and as suspected, it was ringlands. Note: 20+ psi on stock ring gaps is a no-go.


Twin disk 1040nm setup for gs6-53bz arrived from adamat. This was a custom job that uses the m5x ring gear to allow using an m5x starter instead of the n54 starter.

[ba114]

where did you get the head modded to suite Dual Vanos? i want to run a m52b28 in my e46 touring

Modded at home with carbide burr

[BUDNUNTA]

where did you get the head modded to suite Dual Vanos? i want to run a m52b28 in my e46 touring

[Northern]

I want to see how this oil pump chain tensioner goes. Which one is that? The VW one or the S54? Something else?

[ba114]

Fitted the e46 accelerator pedal and the oil pump chain tensioner today.

Despite all the evidence out there of different ways to mount the pedal bracket that involve cutting, welding, epoxy etc. I just found that if it notched the metal mounting plate on top of the pedal bracket, that i could just use the stock mounts as is and use a hex head bolt to secure it to the old pedal stop.

[FredK]

I like what's goin on here.

[Northern]

We were separated at birth, but reunited through r3v. Our father is FredK

[ba114]

You guys have basically the same avatar...

[2mAn]

Love shiny new bottom end parts!...

[Northern]

Beautiful

[ba114]