M50 into 318ti

[alexander525]

i currently have a semi trashed 525i in my possestion and i was wondering about the possiblity of swapping in the engine from this car into a 318. i have all the organs in perfect driving condition and they could be easily removed and ready for a swap. question is, realisticly can this be done and what would i need to put into it. just the engine and tranny? or do i need a whole new driveline?

[96cali]

Have you searched the swap section of the forum? The short answer is yes you can and you do not need the whole driveline (just engine if your Ti tranny is in good shape). The most tricky part will be aligning the DME. Look thru some of Campaiars posts- he took an early (pre '95) M50 into his '95 Ti.

[Viper3812]

I just got an m50 from a 525i too!

[campaiar]

Its completely doable, the stock driveline will handle it. Make sure the electronics match up (ODB1 - ODB1 or ODB2 - ODB2).

There is plenty of research material here, use it.

[alexander525]

hmm.. wouldent it be more benificial to have the engine, tranny and rear diff from my 525i going into it? i know the rear diff on my 525i is LSD and the tranny is in good condition. or would the car be better/faster with the stock driveline and the more potent engine.

[campaiar]

You could. I assume the gearbox is the same (getrag), the diff is probably a large case diff which requires modification, i'd imagine you'd need different half shafts and I'm not sure what you'd do about a drive shaft...

Both cars are manual or both are auto right?

[alexander525]

yeah both cars are manual. naturaly. i supose i could just have the shaft off my 525i machined down into one that would fit.. but lets say i just drop in the 2.5 and keep everything else. what would that be like? would the orginal gearing be far too high strung and all i would do is smoke the tires off in every gear? and also if i did that what could i do about a LSD?

[campaiar]

I'm not familiar with the 525 parts, so I'm at a loss here.

I'm running the getrag trans (stock TI gearing) with a large case diff loaded with a 2.93 LSD. The gearing will be the same as it is now if you don't change any driveline parts. I personally didn't want the I6 to rev that high, so I went down to a 2.93 rear gear from the stock 3.45. Its much cheaper to operate on the highway now.

The small case diff (LSD or not) has a good chance of failure with the additional torque of the I6. Most guys like to toss in the large case diff with E30 half shafts to prevent failure. As long as the large case diff has the four bolt pinion flange, the stock driveshaft will work just fine.

I'm just not sure what diff is in a 525. Research that.

[96cali]

Wouldn't a 5 series driveshaft be longer than 3 series?

[campaiar]

I would certainly think so. I assume the diff has a 6 bolt pinion flange too.

[alexander525]

well it looks like its a four bolt input flange and a six bolt output flange on my 525 diff. just out of curiosity what would a 2.93 LSD diff and some e30 half shafts go for?

[96cali]

Originally Posted by campaiar

I would certainly think so. I assume the diff has a 6 bolt pinion flange too.

Okay, sounds like in your previous post you were referring to his 525 stock driveshaft dropping in. Think you were actually meaning the Ti stock drive shaft. My mistake.

BTW what are your revs on the highway like? I did not know you had a 2.93 when we went for a drive. Seemed like a nice balanced setup- did the 2.93 come from a 2.5 e30 or ?

[andrei]

From what I know if you are going to put an M50 from a 5 series you will need a 3 series oil pan.

[scabzzzz]

Fitting into the Ti, I dont think you'll need the 5er pan. The only need for the 5 series oil pan is its slimmer and thus making it better for a tighter space like an E30. (Im pretty sure)

2.93 seems low for that motor in the car. With an m50, you could just use the stock diff. I dont think it'll blow out from under the car or anything. Its not that much power increase. BUT, however, if you're doing an m50 you would seriously benefit more from something a little shorter. I mean, all the work to put in an m50, its not going to be that stout with a 2.93 in my opinion. I wouldnt even recommend putting an m50 in unless it was super convienent. Guess it makes sense here. And I believe you can use any 3 series driveshaft.

[windnsea00]

Originally Posted by scabzzzz

Fitting into the Ti, I dont think you'll need the 5er pan. The only need for the 5 series oil pan is its slimmer and thus making it better for a tighter space like an E30. (Im pretty sure)

2.93 seems low for that motor in the car. With an m50, you could just use the stock diff. I dont think it'll blow out from under the car or anything. Its not that much power increase. BUT, however, if you're doing an m50 you would seriously benefit more from something a little shorter. I mean, all the work to put in an m50, its not going to be that stout with a 2.93 in my opinion. I wouldnt even recommend putting an m50 in unless it was super convienent. Guess it makes sense here. And I believe you can use any 3 series driveshaft.

The reason for the 5-series pan on the E30 swap is for the low part of the sump to hang in front of the crossmember. A 2.93 would be sort of boring with a M50...I had a Getrag 260 in my past `91 318is with an S50 and the stock 4.10...then went to a 2.93 since it was free and it slowed me down a good deal since I would find myself out of "Vanos" area on upshifts in the lower gears.