M42 to M50 swap

[Bimmerlife93]

When I say tucking the wires, I mean making them longer and hiding them so when you look in the bay, you see less wires and more engine. A lot of guys run their wires inside the fender to hide them. It looks clean as hell but can be a pain in the ass while doing it.

I will probably look into tucking the wires. Idk if I will go as far as tucking them in the fenders but I might wrap them and try to hide some of them

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[e30bimmer89]

It's not hard really. Just time consuming. But the look afterwards is well worth it.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

It's not hard really. Just time consuming. But the look afterwards is well worth it.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Do you have any pictures of tucked engine bays?

I just googled some and it looks like all of the bays that have been tucked have also been shaved and painted

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[e30bimmer89]

I don't have any of the ones I've done, but Google is a great source. The tucked and shaved bays are sexy but a complete pain in the ass to do.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

Yea believe me if I had the tools and air compressor to shave and paint it I would but im a poor 19 year old so that will have to come later. I will definitely do some more research into tucking the wires tho.

Btw not too relevant to the thread but my girlfriend picked up this gem today so now I will have another one to mess around on from time to time



Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[e30bimmer89]

Is that a 318 or 325? I actually found a 318 I'm considering on picking up to get from school and back. It sucks putting 100+ miles a day on my current ride. Plus, the 318 should be decent on gas compared to my Grand Vitara. Looks like with a little bit of love, the new car could be a decent daily.

[Bimmerlife93]

Yea I definitely like it, its already wayy better on gas than my suv. Its a 325i but its an automatic

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

Got some more work done. Just cleaned the engine bay and getting the other side of the block prepped for paint







Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

Painted the block and pulled the valve cover off and painted it again. Don't have any pictures of those but I did take pictures of the cams while I was in there. I was told it had 137,xxx miles on it when I bought it and that it was in good shape. The more I get into this motor the less I believe that. Im just hoping the head gasket is still good im not really wanting to get into the motor a ton yet.







Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[jakermac]

If you're gonna need to open it up, now's the time!! I know it's hard to do without knowing for sure it needs it, but it is super easy right now with it out of the car!

[Bimmerlife93]

If you're gonna need to open it up, now's the time!! I know it's hard to do without knowing for sure it needs it, but it is super easy right now with it out of the car!

Yea its definitely easier. I just dont have the extra cash to go get a torque wrench and all the gaskets. If I do it becomes a while im in here thing. Then it won't be done for another year from now. Granted it will be refreshed and running like new. But Id rather put it in, pour a couple cans of sea foam in, change the oil a few times and run it til I blow the head gasket. Then pull it or build another motor for boost, hopefully when im more financially stable.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[jakermac]

Yea its definitely easier. I just dont have the extra cash to go get a torque wrench and all the gaskets. If I do it becomes a while im in here thing. Then it won't be done for another year from now. Granted it will be refreshed and running like new. But Id rather put it in, pour a couple cans of sea foam in, change the oil a few times and run it til I blow the head gasket. Then pull it or build another motor for boost, hopefully when im more financially stable.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

Totally understand. I've been there too!

[Bimmerlife93]

Well, courtesy of AEROBMW318 I now have headers for the motor. Just got them painted today here is a couple pics of that process.









Also thanks to black friday, I got a cheap engine hoist so I can put the new one in the right way. Im currently waiting on motor and trans mounts to show up from RevShift and the header gaskets are being shipped to my autozone. Hopefully everything will be showing up soon so that I can get it in.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[ddtech]

Sub'd to the thread. I am doing the same swap.

[Bimmerlife93]

Ok so I have kinda procrastinated on the swap this month because ive been working and just not been motivated. Tonight I had work off for Christmas and I decided to get some work done while everyone was sleeping. I cleaned out the intake ports more and taped them off so nothing else would get in them.



After that I cleaned iut the exhaust ports some.









After I cleaned the exhaust ports and some of the gasket surface area, i started on my oil filter housing.

I picked this up a month or two ago and I was finally able to get to it.







I forgot to mention it also comes with a power steering pump.

Later today my friend should be welding up the secondary air injection ports and I should be able to get the motor in. At least that is the plan. I am still needing an oil pan gasket just so I have less leaks to worry about.

Other than that I didnt get much else done. I just rearranged the engines hanging out in the garage and I put all my extra front end parts up out of the way.





M42 is still up for sale if anyone is interested PM me



Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

Alright so tonight I was able to get the motor in. Me and a friend started at about 12am, we put on a new oil pan gasket and then by 6am we had the motor and trans bolted in

I also ran into this while I was in there 😐🔫. When I bought it, it has been laying on its side in a field for a "few months" and it "ran fine when it was pulled". Granted ive never owned a car with a blown head gasket but from what ive seen in pictures it can kinda look like this. Can anyone confirm that its a definite sign?





Moving on here are a few pictures of some of the oil pan change and then some of the install. I didnt get a ton of pictures because my hands we're oily and i was too busy cursing at the car











The revshift mounts went in well





Thats pretty much it for now. Im still waiting on my friend to weld up the headers and then Its pretty much just waiting on my budget to catch up with me. I found a whole exhaust system for 25$ on craigslist but its a three hour drive so maybe on my next days off

And lastly any input on the head gasket will help a ton. I am not looking foward to pulling off the head if i have too

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[Bimmerlife93]

Ok, small update. My friend finished the headers heres a blurry pic of one of the welds



Not ideal but it should get the job done.
Anyways while we were dropping in the motor i was looking at the exhaust studs. I noticed a few of them just spin freely in their holes. They wont pull right out, just spin freely. Is there an easy way to fix this? The more I get into this build the more I feel like I should just pull the head and refresh it. If it is an easy fix id like to do that but if my head gasket is blown then I might as well just replace them all if its out.

Again, any input on the head gasket?

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[jakermac]

Are you talking about the exhaust studs in the head, or in the flange between the top part of the header and the collector pipes?

[Bimmerlife93]

Are you talking about the exhaust studs in the head, or in the flange between the top part of the header and the collector pipes?

The exhaust studs in the head

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[jakermac]

The exhaust studs in the head

That's bad news. There's no way they should spin freely. It should either be loosely threaded or tight, but not spinning freely. Only way I can see that happening is if it is stripped, and there's some galled aluminum stuck to the threads preventing you from being able to pull it out.

[Bimmerlife93]

That's bad news. There's no way they should spin freely. It should either be loosely threaded or tight, but not spinning freely. Only way I can see that happening is if it is stripped, and there's some galled aluminum stuck to the threads preventing you from being able to pull it out.

So what would be my options? Pull the studs and drill it out then tap for a larger stud? Or should i just look at getting a new head to refresh and throw on?

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[squashman702]

Alright so tonight I was able to get the motor in. Me and a friend started at about 12am, we put on a new oil pan gasket and then by 6am we had the motor and trans bolted in

I also ran into this while I was in there . When I bought it, it has been laying on its side in a field for a "few months" and it "ran fine when it was pulled". Granted ive never owned a car with a blown head gasket but from what ive seen in pictures it can kinda look like this. Can anyone confirm that its a definite sign?





Moving on here are a few pictures of some of the oil pan change and then some of the install. I didnt get a ton of pictures because my hands we're oily and i was too busy cursing at the car

There's definitely water in the pan. I'd be very concerned with the health of that motor based on that picture and some of the others you've posted.

[Bimmerlife93]

There's definitely water in the pan. I'd be very concerned with the health of that motor based on that picture and some of the others you've posted.

So definitely a new head gasket and refreshed head? Or should I be looking at tearing into the bottom end as well? I have painted the whole block and I havent noticed any holes or anything like that.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

[squashman702]

So definitely a new head gasket and refreshed head? Or should I be looking at tearing into the bottom end as well? I have painted the whole block and I havent noticed any holes or anything like that.

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk

If it was laying in a field on it's side, it may be rain water, or it could be a head gasket issue. If you're close to being able to fire the motor, run a compression test before swapping head gaskets and getting the head refreshed.

[Bimmerlife93]

If it was laying in a field on it's side, it may be rain water, or it could be a head gasket issue. If you're close to being able to fire the motor, run a compression test before swapping head gaskets and getting the head refreshed.

Ok thanks, I still have the wiring harness to hook up before I can fire it but I will get on those on my next day off. Im assuming that I can get a regular compression tester at autozone/ O'Reillys?

Sent from my LG-K540 using Tapatalk