Ok, i have decided that I want to swap in a 328 or 323 engine into my ti. First of all I want to get a parts list together. Here is my list so far, anyone who has done this please leave messages with what I need to add, and what kind of problems you ran into.

m52 engine
engine wiring harness and DME
m52 radiator
m52 exhaust
m52 instrument cluster
new clutch to handle extra power
e30 6cyl differential

i am under the impression that the m44 uses the same transmission as the m52, is this correct? will i still be able to pass inspection/emissions with this setup? all help is appreciated!!

alex

The transmission is different in a 328, so is the driveshaft although I do believe it will bolt up. I know a 2.5 bolts right up.

You will also need replacement half shafts for the diff.

The exhaust will need to be custom since the M52 has twin cats.

Inspection emssions depends on your area.
My car always has the check engine light on since the ti does not have a fuel pressure sensor and the M52 is looking for one. I also don't have the secondary air pumps which throughs a fault. I did pass OBD-II emissions a couple years ago. I'm dreading the ordeal this time around.

so basically get the entire drivetrain from the 328? does the driveshaft bolt up to an e30 diff? should i run an m52 exhaust then make it custom after the cats? Thanks for the help!

Alex

I bought my car already converted and had the diff installed last year. The flange to the drive shaft might be different. But my 328 driveshaft was connected to my 4 cylinder diff so that may be the reason it had to be swapped.

The writeup about my car is at
http://www.318ti.org/notebook/328ti/index.html

There is a good writeup about the diff conversion here
http://www.318ti.org/notebook/diff_c...ion/index.html
Another cool thing is the M-Coupe cooling cover for the diff. Although you will need to loose the spare due to clearance issues. I keep the spare but have an air compressor in the car incase I do need it.

You will need a dealer to align the DME to the EWS, I think. J!m is much more knowledgable about this than I.

For my exhaust we finally just made an adapter for the two pipes from the cat into one. I also used a Dynomax muffler. Once I removed the POS Walker that I had installed a couple years ago, the car has been transformed.

Once you have the tranny out I'd do a short shift. I'm using a UUC and am very happy with it.

Thanks for your help! I have been in contact with Jim about getting one of his booklets. Hopefully he will respond soon, thanks again! One last question, do you still have dual cats? Thanks!

Alex

Yes. I don't think there is any way around that.

Are you going to track the car?
Then you also should upgrade your front brakes to vented rotors from that same 328 unless you already have them.

I have a 99, so it has the vented rotors. Not sure if im gonna go through with the 6cyl swap anymore if im gonna have this many issues getting it to pass emissions and such.

If the cats and other emmision equipment is in place, emmision testing will be no problem at all.

Like I mentioned on DTM. If you go with an OBD-I conversion, you may have problems.

A problem may come up if they see a check engine light lit.