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Thread: Eurotrash Motorsports: M21 2.4TD into a E23 7 series...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i

    Eurotrash Motorsports: M21 2.4TD into a E23 7 series...

    Lads,

    I recently got ahold of some BMW hardware so figured I'd introduce myself and my project...hopefully it's something unique that folks haven't done yet...

    Not the usual place to find yourself a good diesel engine either








    so what is under the hood you ask?


    well it's a BMW 2.4TD M21 engine...all 150k original kms of it








    looks like back in the mid 80s, Ford purchased 3000 of these babies and dropped them into some Lincolns...pulled it out yesterday





    turns out they also used the original BMW transmissions too





    therefore - direct swap into anything BMW from the early 80s to mid 90s


    turbo is a T3 from what I can see so a Holset fits nice and tight in there...engine doesn't have an IC from the factory so I`ll put one in, bigger injectors and oh look at that - a Cummins fuel pump is pretty much a direct fit - this is already a straight 6...



    Now let's play a little game I like to call "What's under the snow?"








    picked her up today for 500$ 180k original kms...body and underside are very clean with small exceptions...interior is like new!


























    yuck...would have been nice if I didn't have to sort this out:



  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i
    folks...the car is lined up for the donor...

    I`m an Audi guy so not well versed in the BMW engines - can somebody help me out here? I've got an M21 (M20) engine going instead of the M30B34...as far as I can tell the mounts are different etc - I`m really hoping there are mounts I can find to bolt this in - anyone?

    for example in a 5 series - when you swap from an M20 to an M30, are there stock engine brackets that allow you to bolt the engines to the same points in the chassis?

    EDIT:

    pulled these pics from another thread...by the looks of it the chassis mounts share the same geometry so I should be able to find M20 engine brackets to fit the M21 into an M30 setup engine bay?

    Touring (M50 auto):


    Sedan (M30 manual):
    Last edited by NiTeC; 05-06-2014 at 08:33 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Posts
    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i



    bit of a long day...


    before:





    during:














    after...made a booboo...








    pig's out:



  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Posts
    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i
    some tranny differences...looks like the back plate simply swaps over - I wonder if Lincoln had to extend the shaft to fit their driveline...probably not a BMW OEM extension piece...





    phew...


    #1 lesson learned - CUT THE DAMN CROSS BAR AT THE FRONT OF THE CAR!!!





    argued all day with my dad that we should cut that off and just pull the engine out forward as opposed to upward...we could have done it in one go and not take the tranny off. He insisted he wanted to keep it together so we had to take the tranny off in less than 2 ft of clearance under the car - I`m surprised it didn't break our hands when it finally came off...I made it clear that when the diesel`s coming in he's either cutting that bar or he's doing it by himself....such clean entry into the bay with this thing off...it's removable on my Audis (at least anything newer than 88) and I`m pretty sure BMW smartened up about it as well later on...


    next steps:
    - clean up/degrease/repaint the engine bay
    - replace all gaskets/seals on the transmission
    - replace all gaskets/seals on the engine
    - timing belt
    - install
    - enjoy


    as of right now the mounts are the only question mark...by the looks it, the bay the geometry is the same as the 5 series...

    it looks like I should be able to use engine brackets from a 5 series M20 (M50) setup into this...I`ll have to dig a little more but I`m hopeful...the I`ll have to use a 5 series oil pan as well - the one from the Lincoln will not work guaranteed
    Last edited by NiTeC; 07-19-2016 at 12:35 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i
    double post
    Last edited by NiTeC; 07-19-2016 at 08:26 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i
    haven't updated in a while so here's a quick summary:

    scored an oil pan from a 325...turns out it was cracked...
    then scored an oil pan from a 528 - awesome! unfortunately the mounts from the 528 that I was banking on won't work - they don't bolt to the block at all...regardless - pushing forward...replaced most gaskets and bearings and started putting everything back together:



    oil pump from the 325...the original Lincoln one was modified to fit the custom pan with dual chambers...this one is bolt on and works with the original BMW pan











    got most exhaust manifold studs off - 3 are being stubborn...I think I`ll leave them there - not in the mood to be drilling them out if they end up snapping...3 out of 10 is not too bad...using new gaskets from a 325 gasser - the ports are identical



    next weekend we`ll try to close all of this off, mount the tranny up and drop the engine in the bay...once the mounts are fabbed up the car will be fairly close to running - not much in terms of wiring for these old coal burners...if we get this started before September I`ll be a very happy camper[/quote]

    had a bit of a snag - the new water pump from the gasser is a little different than the one we pulled from the diesel - the thermostat housing doesn't fit with it...of course we discovered that after my dad installed it...duh shoulda compared them before...anyways - going to try and see if the gasser thermostat housing can be used instead so it fits with the pump. If not I`ll have to chase down a pump from Europe or something - doubt there's anything available around here...

    in the mean time we got moving on the transmission...I need the engine crane so we have to drop this in the car ASAP...we're going to try for next weekend so my dad can fab up his engine mounts (damn it I was really hoping the 528s would work)...

    735:





    We gotta take that back plate off and move it over to the transmission we pulled from the Lincoln which has it's own output shaft



    basically gotta change these two over from:



    to:



    looks pretty straight forward...once that's done we're mounting the torque converter and bolting up to the engine

    yeah - the 4hp22 will need to come apart completely for me to swap those two shafts out...the output shaft is actually part of 4th gear...for now we'll drop the engine in with the gasser transmission just to get things rolling and we`ll pick up a spare at the junker so my dad can sort them out over the winter when he has more spare time...

    started finishing this thing up...a few possible turbo configurations:

    Holset He211w - needs to sit underneath the manifold to use the OEM exhaust flange - it's tight with the oil filter housing...





    the He221w however fits really nice on top







    lots of room...tried to bolt up an Hx35w I have kicking around and that will NOT work - lol...can't fit even with the compressor housing off

    decided that with a wedding coming up we won't have the time to devote on taking apart the transmission to swap over the 4th gear...it's a pain in the butt...so we swapped the bellhousing from the Lincoln over to the 735 transmission and bolted everything up with the new seals etc...engine is ready to go in...if all goes to plan I`ll have the engine in the car within 2 weeks and after that it will be up to my dad to finish his mounts and get it started...I want this engine running before we close shop for the winter so we can start next spring with a working car...this will be fun...





    only thing left to do is chase down a vacuum diagram so I can make sure everything is hooked up right (about 4 vacuum lines running around - very simple) and a wiring diagram so I can interface it with the car electronics...in retrospect this could have taken a much much shorter time than it did - we were procrastinating a bit



    mounts are done...have to finish the following to get her started:
    - engine oil (oil filter housing, turbo lines etc)
    - transmission oil (cooler, lines etc)
    - radiator/coolant
    all the other little bits and pieces etc...will try to start her up this week...

    turbo's in and the vac lines are done...I finished the EGR delete although I`ll
    keep the valve in for now until I upgrade the turbo and get the intercooler
    in...I`m thinking Hx30 to make use of the T3 manifold...we`ll see what
    happens...




  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    1,234
    My Cars
    99 528iT
    That's an interesting bit of trivia that the Lincolns used a BMW engine. Looks like a pretty cool project.
    :: 1999 BMW 528iT ::
    LS3 / T56 swapped

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    My Cars
    1986 735i
    we've got ignition...

    https://youtu.be/cZSesp-bDIw

    I got the glow on and she fired up after the fifth-sixth try...the idle needs to be adjusted - she dies if I let go of the throttle...also there's no fuel coming out of the injector return line so that's a little questionable...

    so what's left to do:

    - wire in starter, glow plugs, fuel pump
    - hook up driveshaft and install new tranny dampers
    - make a bracket for the hydraulic pimp and alternator
    - change the oil cooler with something more manageable

    hopefully I'll have the first drive before the snow flies on...
    Last edited by NiTeC; 08-04-2016 at 08:29 AM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    New orleans
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    1990 325i
    Nice work, im starting a m21 swap of my own. Do you still have the oil pan that came off the m21? I need a rear sump for my project.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    My Cars
    1986 735i
    back at it - realized yesterday I've been on this project for 4 years now - gotta finish it and move on...

    played with it a little today so assuming I got the procedure right the timing is at:





    played with the pump adjustments as per the manuals...don't think the cold enrichment valve (or whatever it's called) was working very well






    good thing I took a few hoses off - this one would have given me a headache pretty much immediately





    trying to figure out what this is sitting on the side of the pump:





    and since I have everything off anyways figured I might as well sort out the cables now that the EGR is removed since most of this mess is EGR related anyways



  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    1986 735i
    hmmm...didn't crank a whole lot today...





    guess the Ford starter gave up today - gotta source a new one tomorrow...man I really want to get my hands on the BMW accessory bracket...the Lincoln brackets ARE MASSIVE! otherwise I'll have to make my own to put up the alternator and PS pump...

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Ottawa, ON, Canada
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    My Cars
    1986 735i
    got a somewhat decent idle after redoing the pump timing, cleaning up the cold start valve and adjusting the idle screw a bit....also got a brand new starter in there - still a very hard start though even after I cycle the glow plugs a bunch...it drains my battery in no time so I have to always jump it...yesterday after a cranking for a bit it finally warmed up so it stopped glowing the plugs and was starting after a few cranks...


    the big problem now is all the smoke...I played with the smoke screw a bit (wtf is this stamped ring on top of it - can't remove it) and got the fuel dropped at idle but that just ruined how smooth idle was - it didn't kill the smoking...I did take the screw out though to try and deal with the locking ring and noticed that the inside of the pin (the tip anyways) was a little rusted so I`m starting to think maybe the pump just sat for a very long time and will need a few cans of diesel purge to get everything ticking again...maybe the injectors are dirty too?


    thoughts?


    https://youtu.be/P-swKrAOunE


    in any case the engine is starting a little more reliably now so I`ll push on with the rest of the setup...not much left


    - radiator fan and drive belt
    - alternator and hydraulic pump mounts
    - a few wires to get the engine starting from the inside
    - transmission selector cable
    - fuel supply from the tank including new fuel filter etc
    - new oil radiator to replace the ugly and bulky Lincoln unit

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    Ottawa, ON, Canada
    Posts
    12
    My Cars
    1986 735i

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