» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | 1999 M3 Swap 09-07-2023 10:10 PM 06-01-2024 03:04 PM 7 Replies, 409,511 Views | | My 318ti build 05-21-2024 04:48 PM 05-28-2024 06:42 PM 1 Replies, 3,272 Views | | OMG!OMG! 05-28-2024 08:53 AM 05-28-2024 08:53 AM 0 Replies, 1,254 Views | | | | | | 05-07-2016, 04:52 AM | #31 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | When my wife and I autocross and track our BMWs (Z3M Roadster and my M52-swapped 318ti), we would get the embarrassing lifter tick -- despite overfilling the oil by a 1/2 quart. So I am determined to avoid this with this S52 swap into my hatchback. I rebuilt the lifters when I had the head off using on-line instructions, and installed the Turner Motorsports oil pan baffle kit. The lifter rebuild effort was a Zen-like exercise that took several hours, but I cleaned out some nasty gunk. For the baffle kit, the 5mm tap unfortunately broke off when trying to bolt the baffle in, so I asked my neighbor to weld it in with his TIG setup. I also wired the oil pump nut on so it can't back off. Here are some quick pics... __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. Last edited by Strawman; 05-07-2016 at 04:58 PM. | | | 05-16-2016, 02:08 AM | #32 | Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Housotn, TX Posts: 1 | Very nice write up. I am actually in the same boat, bought me a 1996 318ti and a wrecked 1998 m3 sedan manual, I am doing all the research I can to be able to do the swap with minimal surprises lol. Keep us updated... | | | 05-31-2016, 01:03 AM | #33 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | S52 in place I spent a good part of the weekend working on my car. The first pic shows the stock steering rack and the replacement Z3 rack (the gold one), and another showing the car without a rack in place. The Z3 rack is much quicker than the "standard" E36 rack, which will help with turn-in when autocrossing. Finally, I've provided a pic of the engine in place. I originally tried to get the engine/trans combo to go in as one, but finally gave up, separated the two, and then installed the engine first and then the transmission. This time around, I culled the auto trans-only related wires. I love my new 2-post lift, which really helped me during this conversion! I just realized the steering pumps are different between the S52 and M52; I should have grabbed the steering pump setup from the M3 before it went to the Big Crusher in The Sky. I plan to chuck up some steel rod in my lathe and make some spacers to mate up the M52 steering pump to the S52 bracket. Then I'll button up the new S54 radiator-based cooling system and fire it up! __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 06-21-2016, 01:04 AM | #34 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | It roars! I finally carved out some time last week to code the EWS to the DME/Dash Cluster using INPA on a laptop. The engine sat for a few months, so the lifters clacked at first -- but then it evened out and purred like a tiger. I ended up making the power steering pump spacers from some scrap aluminum on my Harbor Freight mini-lathe; I can provide dimensions if anyone is interested. I just need to button up a few things in the engine bay, put the front (bumper, grill/surround, lights, etc.) back on, and then I can drive it. Then I need to complete coding out the auto trans to get rid of the Check Engine light. Yay! __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 06-26-2016, 10:50 PM | #35 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | I finally got a chance to drive the car this morning, and it really hauls ass. Here is a pic of the engine bay. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 07-20-2016, 01:08 AM | #36 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | I've been driving the car now for a few weeks, and the difference between the M52 and S52 is amazing. The Z3 rack-n-pinion really awakens the car, too. I had it aligned to 3.1 degrees negative up front (using the M3 hubs add negative camber over the 328i setup that they replaced), and essentially zero toe -- so it is a bit "darty" but also very alive. The red-poly trans mounts really do increase the in-cabin vibrations, but the shifts are crisp. My first autocross (PCA Central Coast region, at the Santa Maria Airport) is this Saturday, so I'll get to really wring it out and compare my times to other cars I'm used to playing with. Unfortunately, my wife's back is not doing well, so the Z3 M Roadster will remain in our driveway... __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. Last edited by Strawman; 08-06-2016 at 05:40 PM. Reason: misspelling | | | 08-09-2016, 03:59 AM | #37 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | The ZF S5D320Z transmission in my 318ti shifts sort of clunky, even after replacing all the shifter bushings. And the same-model trans in my wife's Z3M is even clunkier, but it has a known 205k miles (the ZF trans in my 318ti came out of a 328ic from a local Pick-n-Pull, so no known history). In short, my two transmissions are difficult to get into gear when cold and they remain notchy after warm-up. So I bought a shift detent pin kit from Pelican (~$75), and spun up a set of tools on my Harbor Freight mini-lathe. I used the drawings linked in http://webspace.ringling.edu/~dplass...hift_pins.html As shown in the attached picture, I've spun up the five base tools but I need to spin up the sixth tool discussed in http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=398477 for the "dreaded 3rd hole." I'll document the job on my wife's car -- guinea pig -- before doing it on my 318ti. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 08-09-2016, 04:17 AM | #38 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | Forgot to mention that I had American Custom Muffler here in SLO replace the muffler originally installed when I did the M52 swap with a Magnaflow 13148 2-in-1-out SS muffler that is internally baffled. Sounds much better, and it is still stealth-looking. No more drone and I don't set off alarms in parking garages anymore. I would highly recommend this setup -- using the stock catback pipes chopped off and welded directly to this muffler. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 08-16-2016, 12:54 AM | #39 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | Update on the shift pin detent project: I pulled the transmission from my wife's Z3M on Saturday, and quickly-n-easily did the three small and two large detents job. However, after a week of searching Pelican has been unable to obtain the locating pin, spring and/or cap parts for the "3rd hole." So I'll install the new external shifter linkage rebuild kit, install the new throw-out bearing and related parts, button everything up, and report back later this week if it made any difference in shifting. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 08-30-2016, 01:35 AM | #40 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | The new detents and rebuilt shifter mechanism definitely made the transmission shift smoother in the Z3M. I'll plan to do the same for my 318ti over the winter. Over the weekend, I eliminated the rear wiper on my 318ti, since I've never like the looks of it and I never used it. Attached are some pics. I also bought paint to respray it the stock Calypsorot color. I'll be using LIMCO/BASF waterbased base color and NASON clearcoat. A guy at work does body and paint on the side, and he's lining up a paint booth for us (me!) to rent. I'll scuff off the rest of the clearcoat and prep the parts I took off the M3 parts car (currently Estoril Blue): front fenders, mirrors, and front bumper/dam. Hopefully, I can get this all completed in the next two months. I also ordered new rear hub/axle bearings, and an LSD rebuild kit from Thayer Motorsports. I'm going with the 3-clutch "performance" setup. This will help me eliminate the howling/growling from the back of the car, while also helping the car hook up better now that I've got new tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 245-40-17 in rear and 225-45-17 in front). __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 09-08-2016, 10:00 PM | #41 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | I just finished installing the 3-clutch Thayer Motorsports limited slip system into my E28 3.25 differential. I also replaced the LSD case bolts, carrier side bolts, carrier side bearings, axle stub seals, and the big rubber carrier o-rings. I'm using Royal Purple 90W-140 fully synthetic gear oil. In all, this set me back $415 with shipping for the Thayer stuff, and another $38 for two quarts of the gear oil (on sale at O-Reilly's). The Thayer instructions were easy to follow, and my 10-ton press made short work of the carrier bearing work. I'm hoping my decision to not do the pinion bearing won't bite me in the ass; the side carrier bearings definitely were "polished." I bought the axle hub bearings from ECS Tuning (along with other stuff, of course), and the package arrived yesterday. If all goes well tonight and tomorrow, I'll have the car back on the road by the weekend. Thayer says to give it 25 miles of easy driving with no hard acceleration or lots of tight turning to break in the new clutch plates-n-dogs. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 09-09-2016, 04:08 AM | #42 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fl Posts: 1,353 | Great build thread! __________________ SUPPORT 318ti.org! CLICK THE LINK ABOVE! Hosting a forum like this is not free. 318ti.org is one of the best BMW forums on the web because it is member supported, not vendor supported. The cost to become a Supporter is a nominal $10.00... A YEAR! DO IT! NOW! www.BimmerBum.com ALL NEW! 318ti Specific Parts For Sale www.facebook.com/BimmerBum BMWCCA #132203 95 318ti Club Sport 98 318ti Active S50 Swap | | | 09-18-2016, 06:43 AM | #43 | Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Iowa City Posts: 58 | Engine swap guide Do you still have the manual you bought? I'm looking for one for my engine swap. Thanks | | | 10-30-2016, 03:37 AM | #44 | Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: SLO, CA Posts: 168 | Quote: Originally Posted by wells96318ti Do you still have the manual you bought? I'm looking for one for my engine swap. Thanks | PM me with your email addy. __________________ Sleeper Calypsorot 1996 318ti tintop. CA-legal swapped S52 from '98 M3, and ZF transmission with lightened flywheel/clutch. Magnaflow 2-into-1 muffler. Six-cylinder Eibach springs in front and 318ti H&R Sport springs in rear. Koni Sport adjustable dampers all around. Racing Dynamics 28mm & 19mm swaybars. M3 front hubs/brakes, E34 rear calipers, braided SS brake lines, Hawk HP-S pads. DS-II wheels. Polyflex purple bushings throughout, and factory lower x-brace. Fan delete mod. Engine mount reinforcements welded-in. 3.25 LSD rear diff from E28 & E30 axles. | | | 01-13-2017, 11:58 PM | #45 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: BALTIMORE Posts: 22 | Quote: Originally Posted by Strawman PM me with your email addy. | Good evening....im looking for the swap manual myself. Kevin@newfitkids.com..thanks in advance | | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | Similar Threads | Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post | Misc parts Full 95 318ti interior | 318tiDTM | Parting out & Parts (US) | 9 | 07-30-2013 02:59 AM | CA 1998 BMW 318ti, M-Sport, DASC, Active | Trusted-1 | Cars for Sale | 16 | 02-12-2013 06:26 AM | KS '95 318ti - Supercharger, Sport Package, Many Extras | onewhippedpuppy | US and North America | 18 | 03-18-2011 02:41 AM | MO 95 318ti parts M42, Getrag Trany, ECU, cluster, exhaust, etc | PhotoMotion | US and North America | 5 | 04-06-2010 06:07 AM | 318ti DASC SPORT ACTIVE HEATED SEATS ALPINE WHITE BBS MOTORSPORT INTERIOR | inlacal | US and North America | 27 | 12-07-2007 04:01 PM | |