96 m44 into a 98 issues
 

I am having some issues with this project I am working on. I bought a 96 318ti parts car thinking the m44 motor I needed would be a direct swap for my 98 ti which I bought without a motor. Little did I know that although the motors are the same there are slight differences in the harnesses and smog components in the 98.

I am having a few issues in dealing with the smog components as I do not have them and would like to be able to run the car without them as I live in an area that does not need to pass emissions, only safety. I am trying to install the engine using the 98 harness as the DME and EWS system will not allow the car to start otherwise.

I have read about using a home made air pump simulator which will eliminate most of my problems, but I still have other questions that deal with the other abandoned parts and corresponding vacuum lines. Could someone here help me deal with these issues so I can get the car running properly the first time I start it up. I would really appreciate it and thank you in advance.

So much for a simple engine transplant!

do you have the vin numbers for both vehicles? :)

Yes I have the VIN and titles for both cars. I looked today and removed the EWS from the 96 so I have that as well. I have the keys, DME, and EWS for both cars and all the locks except the Driver's door lock on the 96. I also have both engine harnesses as well. I guess I am trying to make it so everything functions on the 98 like the traction control and cruise control which the 96 did not have, thus my assumption that I need to use the 98 harness and DME.

I can and did swap in the 96 charcoal canister to make everything function like the 96, but I don't know what to do about the vacuum lines from the FPR under the car or on the fuel rail for that matter. I also don't want to drive around with a CEL on all the time because the DME is trying to turn on the SAP and I don't have one.

give mallard the vin numbers to both cars in a PM or on the vin code thread...he can help you out.
welcome to the Org.
http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...18444&page=109

Thanks for the welcome. I guess I am willing to put the smog stuff on the car if someone on here has it all in working condition and wants to sell it for cheap. LMK!

hmm, thats weird,

If you have

Key
Lock antenne
EWS module
the DME for that EWS / Engine

then you should have all the rolling codes to start :?

If you dont have ALL the items from the one engine over to the other car then you will have start issues
You can code the DME (depending on engine / MS type) to match the EWS, but not the other way around..

The easiest would be to move the lot over form the one car to the other

ASC system won´t stop the car from starting , so you should be good to get the engine running, but you will need the ASC system in place , otherwise its ABS lamp on all the time ..

Regarding smog components, if in which you mean cat converter.
The set up on the 2 are different if you are fitting an M44 in a M42 based car .. but thats why i need the chassis numbers to see component differences



let us know how far you have gotten, so we can help

Where is the lock antenna located? If I swap that into the 98 and put the 96 key next to it will I still be able to use my 98 key to start the car and lock and unlock the doors or do I need to swap all the lock cylinders as well?

I am assuming that I need to use the 98 harness and DME to utilize the ASC...is that correct?

I have no idea what to do with the FPR under the car and its vacuum line. Should I eliminate it and just run straight fuel line to the motor like the 96 has? I also have no idea where to run the vacuum line to from the fuel rail's FPR and it also looks as if there is a vacuum port on the side of the throttle body too that I don't know where it's line would go. I got the motor with those already removed!

I also have a blue pipe in the 98 that has a different connector on it than the 96 did to connect to the charcoal canister. I am assuming that I need to pull the blue pipe that goes from the gas tank to the canister from the 96 to make that all work properly.

Would it be better for me to just swap the headers and install the exhaust valve and also buy the SAP and plumbing and leave the car the way it was originally?

Would the best thing to do is leave the motor the way it is and use the 96 harness and DME and make the car into basically a 96. Money is an issue, but another $100 to buy the smog stuff and install it is doable to me if it eliminates all the issues I am dealing with. Does anyone on this forum have all this stuff for sale?

I am about finished refreshing the motor and am in the process of putting new seals in the tranny and installing the new clutch. Hopefully I will be putting the motor in next week and I would like to be able to have a definite direction to head before that happens because if I end up swapping the headers it will be much easier to do it while the motor is out of the car.

Thanks for all the help. I definitely don't understand all the security systems on these newer BMW's. E30's are so simple!

What you need is a extra key hoop. They are about $20 at the dealer. Remove the key halo plug for the ignition key and plug in the spare halo and put in your ash tray. Then put the 98 key in the ashtray and start the car with the 96 key.

You are using the 98 Key chip for EWS verification and using the 96 key for the ignition tumblers to start the car.

This is how I change DME's in my car

I only have one key for both cars. Would this mean I am using the 96 DME? Would the 98 EWS allign with the 96 DME? I would need the 98 key to unlock the doors right?

Ok I got screwed up. reverse my directions on the keys. I'm not sure about alligning the 98 to 96. The 98 is a 668 DME and the 96 is a 667 DME

make sure you have the FPR setup as the 96 motor it is mounted on the engine but 98 it is on the chassis of an E36

That clears up one of the questions I had. I was wondering why the 98 would need two FPR, but apparently the 98 is on the chassis and the 96 is on the fuel rail. Could you tell me where the vacuum line connects to from the 96 FPR to what and where?

It is looking more and more like I need to use the 96 harness and DME to simplify this installation. Am I going to lose the 98 traction control by doing this? Did the 96ti have traction control capability? Is the traction control even worth having...most people hate it right?

Shouldn't I just use the 96 antenna ring and key in the ash tray and leave the 98 keys and locks all the same. This way I am using the 96 DME and EWS module and the antenna ring in the ash tray would allow the car to start with the 98 key in the ignition. Maybe it would be even better to just swap all key cylinders so the 96 key will work everywhere, even in the ignition.

the vacuum line plugs into a nipple on the intake manifold under the throttle bottle. Use the 98 harness, no point in going through that headache. You will lose ASC most likely anyway.
antenna ring in the ignition won't make a difference, only the chip in the key and the EWS module in the glovebox, and DME. The antenna ring is not code specific like the chip and DME and EWS is, most guys don't touch the ring as it's not exclusive to the original chip

Progress report! The 96 motor is installed with the 98 harness. I left everything the same and used the 98 computer, EWS, locks and antenna ring. I swapped the fuel supply hard lines from the 96 and eliminated the FPR down on the chassis by the fuel filter. I also installed the charcoal filter from the 96 and had to custom cut the SAP bracket to allow it to be installed and not interfere with mounting it. The blue fuel tank vapor line also had to be cut and connected differently as the 98's had a different connector and the line was too short.

I had trouble bleeding the clutch master as I have a suction bleeder and I couldn't get all the air out using it...I kept getting air bubbles in the fluid. I ended up just letting the thing gravity bleed and closed the bleeder and installed the slave. Then I went and started pumping the clutch pedal and after a few pumps, to my surprise, it started getting some back pressure. Ten more pumps and I had a working clutch! I am still not sure that I don't have some air still in there, but at least it is functioning.

Took the car out for a test drive and it felt pretty good. I thought the wide 225 tires gave the car a ton of road grip and steering response. I also figured that with those big tires on the car there would be no way this little m44 could possibly break the back tires loose...who needs traction control!

Had a bit of a mishap on the way back from the test drive. The rear coolant pipe broke off at both the hose connections and blew coolant everywhere. I kick myself for not replacing the thing while the motor was out, but I was able to get it replaced with only a few cuss words, and am now back on the road.

I am showing a CEL as I have not installed the SAP simulator yet, but am hoping to tackle that here shortly. I also can only see the odometer if the sun is shining directly on the cluster. Hoping that this is just a backlight burnt out and not something else. The DS window also has a problem going up and down so that is something else to be addressed. Time to polish her up nice and deep clean the interior. I will try and post some pics of it when I am done. Thanks for all the help guys. Merry New Year!