zboot's 328ti Project - A couple years early
 

So,

I've bought a m52 2.8L from a 97 328is along with it's ECU and EWS module. Unfortunately, the keys to this vehicle are likely lost so I'll have to be towed to a dealer for realignment later (AAA Plus FTW).

This all started with my engine going kaput on a trip to upstate NY to buy parts from Rendoll so I could finally fix up my rear end. I still made it up there and got those parts.

Anyway, a swap was in the future of my car, just did not expect it to be so early.

So, I realized today that there is a major component I did not have - namely a 6cyl exhaust. This is a problem because I'm pretty much broke for the next 3 weeks . . . there are options. . .but I don't like them and neither would you.

I'm likely going to be bugging some of you guys with questions about stuff, so why don't I start now.

I've found a complete 96' 328is exhaust system for $250 + shipping. We've not firmed up the deal, so there is slight wiggle room in negotiation on price or extras.

Anyway, aside from the exhaust pieces themselves (cat + muffler), what else do I need from that car exhaust-wise? o2 sensors? connectors?

Also, from talking to the guy w/ the exhaust, I'm going to have to shorten it. About how much should I expect to pay for someone to weld together the pieces I cut? (I may just end up doing this myself. . .)

Now, I've got all the engine accessories + wiring harness and plan on using the 318ti radiator. Are there any other miscellaneous engine stuff that I may need or is the engine part just a bolt up and wire down?

This weekend will mainly be taking apart the front end of the car, removing the tranny, disconnecting engine stuff, fixing my window regulator, fixing the cheapo m3 replica bumper cover, and attempting to fix up the nose panel. Pictures should be up of the initial stuff Sunday :)

well what about a junk yard they may want a lot less for a 6 cyl exhaust from a bmw than the 250 plus shipping of a long exhaust.

Regular e36 mufflers are HUGE and dustin and I had troubles trying to get his on his car due to size. Just Y pipe the exhaust into a 2.5" exhaust after the cats and into an autozone muffler. Yes you need the o2 sensors, all 4 of them.

Get rid of the bracket that holds the m44 powersteering resevoir to the chassis. CUT IT OFF THE CAR!

i don't think id re-use the Ti radiator for starters...

like blue said, get rid of the PS bracket and coilpack brackets before you put the new motor in... they won't get in the way of the motor, but make it a PITA when working around anything in that area.

Im assuming the motor still has the headers attached, so those 2 o2 sensors will likely be intact and still there... you will need the post-cat o2 sensors, i found some good used ones on ebay for $50 shipped, and the motor should already have the connector for the engine side as part of wiring.

if you didn't read the reply in my swap thread for your question, i say go have a gander at it.

IMO, if your going to do it, do it right and go all the way. I wouldn't be taking shortcuts like running like 4cyl radiator and such.

anyways though, congrats on the swap! its going to be fun i promise! - you'll probably have yours running before me ... lol

plenty of people have used the 318 radiator including tony and i think dustin.

so not to huge of a worry there

I've got a dinan exhaust already on my ti - can i use that or will it be taking up too much space as well?

About the PS resevoir, does the m52 has its own on the engine or would I be relocating the 318ti one elsewhere?

I don't really have too much of a choice right now. In a couple months, I'd have enough cash that I could switch to a 6cyl if the 318ti one doesn't seem to be cutting it.

Yea, dustin and i both used the m44 radiator. I now have the 6cyl radiator installed.

If you have a Dinan catback, you can have your midpipes fabbed up to that if you wanted.

The ps bracket is where the 6cyl alternator will sit so it has to go no mater what. The 6cyl ps resevoir should sit right behind the alternator or something like that. I dont have PS so someone else needs to help you there.

what about selling the dinan exhaust to help fund for the 6cyl exhaust im sure someone here would pick it up

Still need some advice on the PS thing though I suppose worst case, I'll start to learn about all the stuff I'm missing or need when I'm putting the motor in.

I'm feeling much better because while looking over a calendar and my monthly budget, I realized that I forgot to include a second paycheck for this month! So, I'm not quite as broke as I thought (or at least in a week, I won't be).

So, perhaps I can still be on track to finish by July.

the PS res mounts on the drivers side motor mount bracket, behind the alternator.

What motor is Dustin running the M44 radiator with? I thought he had a DASC on his Ti and then bought the M3???

As far as the exhaust, you can just do a custom Y-pipe to your stocker like blue said. Thats what I did with my stromung, but I had to chop into the pretty stainless pipe by about 6-7 inches to make it work with the 6cyl centersection

Question: Are M3 front brakes ok if I stick to the stock rears? Also, would I need to upgrade brake lines?

im sure you know, but M3 brakes MUST have 17" wheels... no question about it. Personally Id just go with 32x vented fronts, there is less to worry about as far as cost and whatnot... and we weigh less than a normal E36, so I think it would be fine to use normal vented fronts.... just get nice pads.

Stock in the rear should be okay, since 32x definitly use same stock rears...

Brake lines are the same as far as Im aware, but if you got the extra money, get a stainless steel set... they are worth there weight in gold.

We're not talking about Dustent, we're talking about my buddy Dustin (bloodrunsdry) and his 325ti.

I have them with the stock rears. The m3 brakes use the same non-m brake lines.

You can use 16"s with your m3 brakes, its been proven.

grr. . .upgrading to m3 brakes means i definitely need to get a new set of rims. i suppose I'll add that to the list.

Thanks blue. One thing I've found is that jobs go a lot better when you're prepped ahead of time. I can imagine putting m3 brakes on there and then trying to get my 15s back on only to whack myself in the head for not thinking it through :)

Oh, and some good news - the shop I bought the motor from found the key! Yay. Saves me some stress with towing to a dealer near Erie PA and hoping the car would start after the realignment. (Paying for tows is not part of the swap budget).

16s will work some without modification and some you will need to grind down the caliper.

but 15's doubtful
hey tony are you running just m3 calipers and rotors? or did you go with the brake booster as well?

I havent decided to run the booster, so just the brakes at the moment. As far as 15s go, e34 and e39 rims come in 15s and 16s. The m3 rotor is 328mm iirc, the e34 is 302mm, and the e39 is like 322mm or something like that, so you could use those rims with m3 brakes too.

Ive always read 17"... but its good to know they fit with 16s too - I learn something new everyday

It all depends on the offset and barell of the rim. Most mille miglia 16"s fit in e36 fitment.

Rims located!
 

I found some 17" style 68s. I'll be calling the guy in the morning for them.

i like style 68s!

no modification, my dad ran 16"s on his M3 as winter wheels, he didn't have to modify anything, didn't even run spacers

thats why i said "some" some will work without modification and some will not fit with out grinding the caliper down some.

What are some common shops where I could rent an engine hoist?

try posting on craigslist or a local bmwcca chapter

Somethings to consider with your swap...

1.) 6cyl Radiator
2.) 6cyl Instrument Cluster
3.) Custom Exhaust
4.) Fan Shroud
5.) Expansion Tank
6.) 6cyl Front Suspension
7.) Might want to change the water pump
8.) Differential
9.) Secondary Air Pump (to pass emissions)
10.) Battery Location

the list can go on...

Good Luck with your swap.

So, I woke up a bit later today and didn't get to Erie until about 230p. So far, I've removed the exhaust system after breaking every bolt connecting the exhaust headers to the exhaust manifold. I've removed heat shield and exhaust cross member and will be removing the driveshaft after I get back from a food break.

Depending on how I feel, I may continue with removing the tranny tonight. Otherwise, I'll focus on fixing up the bumper, driver's side window, and disconnecting engine stuff and do the tranny tomorrow morning.

Pictures will be up after I get back from my food break.

sounds like you're working pretty hard, I have to applaud people who are doing engine swaps themselves, I would never have the follow-through or know-how to even attempt something like this

Here are the pictures as promised. Man, after eating, I feel like taking a nap. I think I might just do that. . .the rest of this can wait until I don't feel so tired :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/kamakula/SwapWeekendOneA

Question - can I remove the transmission without supporting/lifting the engine?

NM, found the answer with this writeup (use jackstand below):

http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...ny-Removal.htm

I've made an executive decision. There is no way I'm going to be able to get to all those transmission bolts with the tools that I have. Even if I went out and bought the stuff I'll need, it'll be a bitch to remove by myself. Even if I had help, it'll still be a bitch to get the needed combo of tools in place to reach and leverage the top and top-side bolts.

So, I'll just remove the driveshaft, sleep, do the window and bumper stuff in the morning, then spend a couple hours disconnecting stuff on the engine before driving back to Pittsburgh.

Doing it this way saves me from having to buy another set of jack stands since I'd need one more to support the engine if I'd removed the tranny.

BTW ppl - you'all should have told me that it would be MUCH easier to just pull it out as one piece. It wouldn't have saved me any time, but it would have saved me a lot of heartache over the past couple hours :).

Ok. I removed half of the drive shaft, disconnected the clutch slave cylinder, and the reverse light wiring harness thing. I had to remove the transmission mount crossmember temporarily to access the driveshaft bolts. Supported the tranny with the floor jack while doing this.

After removing the bolts, put the tranny mount crossmemeber back on, loosen the plastic clamp that secures the center of the driveshaft, then unbolt the center piece of the two halves of the driveshaft. Be sure to have marked both sides - they're only meant to mate up one way. You then kinda pull down along the center and it slides off.

So, I'm done under the car for this weekend :) After I get a few hours of sleep, I'll fix and test my driver's side window, fix up the bumper, then continue dismantling the front end and engine stuff.

Pics of the removed half driveshaft:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kamakula/SwapWeekendOneB

Part of the appeal of getting my ti was that I'd get a chance to learn to do these things. I've found for the most part it's not terribly complicated just time consuming the first time around.

When I first removed the rear end of a ti, it took me ~20 hours. When I did it about a month ago at Rendoll's it took ~7 hours. I spend time beforehand reading the Bentley manual and looking up writeups online (especially for pictures) and even while I'm doing the work I reference the manual or any writeups that I found.

I'm one of those people who when it's crunch time can sit and work for 12+ hours at a time. So, I can handle the long working hours just to get one or two parts off the car :)

looks like your getting some good progress!

Grr. So I swapped window regulators, tweaked channels, did everything, then the door slam test. . . and it binds up on the way up and the new regulator arm gets bent!

I think I'm going to give up on doing the window myself and seek pro help. That's probably going to have to wait a few months for the wallet to recover from the swap.

Another thing - don't hit the clutch while the clutch slave cylinder is disconnected from the transmission unless you want to spend time reassembling the unit. To be honest, now that I know what I'm doing, it'll only take a minute or two. However, today I spent 30 minutes learning.

So, what did I get done today?

1. Took out my current regulator only to break the new one.
2. Remove more of the front end but didn't really get too far into disconnecting stuff from the engine.
3. Rotate the tires on my buddy's car that I'm borrowing.

Lessons for next time:
1. Bring pillow and blanket for sleeping in garage. It gets really cold around 6am.
2. Spend a lot more time reading up on what I plan to do next.
3. Try to have all the parts I need ahead of time so I don't spend time driving places to buy them.
4. Bring lots of water.

Here are the final pics for this weekend: http://picasaweb.google.com/kamakula/SwapWeekendOneC

yeah man, well done! sounds like its coming along great.
and i hear you about the learning and whatnot - your right, its really not that complicated, its all nuts and bolts... but its the time consumption that gets you. I now know easily 100x more than I did before. I used to take my car to the garage for everything, but now im not scared to give it a go myself. Plus the feeling of accomplishment is worth all the long hours.

but I have one suggestion that just came to mind though after reading my thread again after you were wondering about odds & ends...
if the motor still has the stock waterpump (orange plastic impeller) - get rid of it now and get the upgraded metal impeller waterpump, if the plastic shatters inside the motor... you'll be in one heck of a mess...
and its probably a good time to change that thermostat too.

Changing the waterpump and thermostat is a breeze if the front clip is off the car or if the motor is still out of the car.

nice progress!

keep it up and get some rest :)

Looks like I'm going to be getting an m3 clutch and flywheel. Used yes, but likely still significantly better than my current clutch and flywheel setup. I'm also getting the MAF from the same guy.

I'm at 95% on the wheels. The guy seems astonished that I'm willing to pay for them based on the pictures and trusting him to have the one rim fixed. I hope this goes through though.

The guy with the exhaust system is dragging his feet. I'm going to return to actively looking for one. I need it shipped out so I can get it (worst case) early next week so I can have the welding done. Otherwise there would be one loud car driving down I-90 in a couple weekends.

Still roaming for a 6cyl front brake setup. Seems to be a lot of m3 parts for sale lately.

Hmm, more goodies on the way. I decided to go with a 328 brake setup instead of waiting for available complete m3 ones. So, I've got calipers+carriers and brand new brembo rotors and pbr pads on the way.

BTW I bought the brand new brembo rotors + pads + sensor on special for $138 shipped from: bimmerzone.com

Also, looks like i'll be buying a hoist. HF has one for $100. *sigh* Swap costs are adding up.

We can add a 328 midpipe to the list of bought items. Now, all I need are my wheels and a few odds & ends.

So I can use the 318ti PS res?

Possibly but it sits in a different place altogether so you would have to change the pipes anyway. Easier to get a complete setup off a 6 pot. Dont forget, you need the 6cyl high pressure power steering lines too!