Help! Switching 87e engine to 90I engine

[atsbmsmith]

I need some help. Ihad a 1987 325e and found a 1990 convertible with a good running Iengine. I am not an experienced mechanic, so I paid someone to swap themotors and the wiring harnesses out. Drove it home and let it sit for afew months because something else came up. Went back to it and all thelights were flashing. After a few months of trying to figure it out I amdumfounded. A friend referred this guy, so I do not want to cause him trouble. The mechanic (BMW Qualified) apparently could not get the wiring harness towork, so he stripped the parts off the E engine and used the E wiring harness.All I have is a dumbed down 2.5-liter engine. I ordered an 87-wiring harnessfor 325i. Now I must somehow figure out which parts I need to switchback. I need several pictures of an 87 325i engine that has not beenmodified to have an idea about what to do. I have a Bentley manual butsince it covers all years I am not sure what would be specific to that year.Any Help would be greatly appreciated.

[323i E30]

What is the issue, besides flashing lights (?)
Doesn't it crank, or what's off?

I'd go back to the guy, and ask him to take a look at it. No need to cause trouble.

[atsbmsmith]

He will not doing anything with it he says it was the best he could do. I am trying to turn it back into an I engine just need to know which parts to switch.

[superj]

if he swapped the engine but put the old harness and electronics, its not a tough swap to go to the I stuff.

you need to put a pic of what you have in the engine bay, which cluster, and which ecu is in there, though.

[Jeffnhiscars]

If you drove it he evidentially got it running, so you need to know which e parts he put back as the 2 motronic systems are not compatible. Keep in mind any car that sits "for a few months" can develop issues

[95BMWIC]

Wiring diagrams for 1987 can be found here: http://wedophones.com/BMWManualsLead.htm

[atsbmsmith]

20180825_144009.jpgThanks for your help so far. I have had to replace all of the injectors. The engine had the I intake and throttle body on it but used e injectors, e plug wires, e fuel rail, and e distributor cap. Trying to determine what sensors I need to change out and how the fuel and vacuum system is supposed to run. Missing the piece the fuel pressure regulator connects to on the back of the intake manifold and cannot figure out what the name of it is. He had the E cold start valve in that location. down to the final 7 connectors on the wiring harness but most are 3 connectors and not sure how to figure out where they go. The new car is a manual transmission and the old car was an automatic.

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[atsbmsmith]

20180825_144151.jpgSome more images
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[Jeffnhiscars]

The piece on the intake is for the fpr hose to connect to. Someone will have a used plate for you but otherwise just disconnect the cold start valve wire and fuel line (remove the T connector & suggest new fuel lines anyway) and plug any extra hose connections. Distributor caps are the same and you only have to change the spark plug wire for the speed sensor. Eta has 3 sensors on the stat housing and the I only has 2. I believe those 2 are the same on both cars so just don't use the one that doesn't have a wire connection on your I harness. Plug or ignore the 3rd one.

For a manual trans you will need to bypass the N/P starter lockout circuit. Not hard and there are write ups you can search.

[superj]

is that an I ecu? if so, the injectors burned out? I have read you cannot mix the ecu and the injectors because of impedance issues causing one or the other to burn out.

if you are running the I ecu though, you can just get ford injectors from a 302 or 4.6L engine and they work fine

[Jeffnhiscars]

is that an I ecu? if so, the injectors burned out? I have read you cannot mix the ecu and the injectors because of impedance issues causing one or the other to burn out.

if you are running the I ecu though, you can just get ford injectors from a 302 or 4.6L engine and they work fine

My understanding is that 19lbs injectors stretch the ability of a stock ecu to manage them. Not to say they won't be fine but it may not be ideal if youre just trying to get a car running.