My '87 325 - Nörm

[128keaton]

If I remember right, the b27 has higher compression then the 2.5, but I could be mis-remembering right. I know I always read people putting the turbo and running 8psi and the stock ecu was ok with it. I never tried ti though.

my son used a 4.10 from an old 318, the small case diff that everyone is always throwing away, and has had zero problems. he has been autocrossing it and everything and that little diff works fine. if you find one from an old 318, be it a 4.10 or something else, I would get it as they are usually free to cheap. it bolts right in and you can see how you like it and swap is back if you don't care for it

I think I could turbo the $1100 M20B25 for $400, under 8 psi. I’m not sure turboing the M20B27 is a good idea, just because of the blow by. I could put a new B25 head on the B27 and replace the rings.

Good call on the diff!


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[superj]

I was wondering if you had thought about doing the 2.5 head on the 2.7 block. if you read around, some people say you cannot put that head on a regular 2.7 block but all the times I have seen people do it in person with no problem makes me think there was some abnormal issue with the online people's engines. I have seen it a few times and the 2.7 block was not a super eta block

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the idle totally gives away that its not stock though. they lope when you do the 2.7 block and 2.5 head. it sounds awesome but you are not going to be able to tell people its stock

[128keaton]

I was wondering if you had thought about doing the 2.5 head on the 2.7 block. if you read around, some people say you cannot put that head on a regular 2.7 block but all the times I have seen people do it in person with no problem makes me think there was some abnormal issue with the online people's engines. I have seen it a few times and the 2.7 block was not a super eta block

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the idle totally gives away that its not stock though. they lope when you do the 2.7 block and 2.5 head. it sounds awesome but you are not going to be able to tell people its stock

I have, it sounds awesome. I’m just pretty sure that with the rings being this bad, I’d be looking at a full rebuild of the B27, so why not just swap in the B25 and sell the B27? I’m not sure what a fair asking price is for the auto and engine alone, but it pulls strong.


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[superj]

I have no idea on the price but I used to always take auto trans, in case of emergencies. I gave them all to a buddy when I got out of e30s and now that I have a few again, I wish I had those transmissions. automatic transmissions that still work well are getting hard to find and you can use the eta trans in I models and eta models so they are more useful.

[128keaton]

I have no idea on the price but I used to always take auto trans, in case of emergencies. I gave them all to a buddy when I got out of e30s and now that I have a few again, I wish I had those transmissions. automatic transmissions that still work well are getting hard to find and you can use the eta trans in I models and eta models so they are more useful.

This one is a bit jerky when it’s shifts, but no hesitation or stutter. Strong shift, but not a smooth shift. I’m wondering if I adjust the shift points if it’ll make it better.


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[superj]

you can readjust the cable and if you have the kick down button under the gas pedal, check that, but other wise, I don't remember any tuning of the shift points.

[128keaton]

you can readjust the cable and if you have the kick down button under the gas pedal, check that, but other wise, I don't remember any tuning of the shift points.

I'll take a look. Its aggressive enough to cause the back end to slide if its slick/rainy. Thanks!

Still waiting on my front-end rebuild parts to come in from RockAuto.

[aaverhulst]

Have you changed transmission fluid? If not, try that. I believe there is a drain plug on the pan so you don't have to drop the pan or change filters. Should drain about 4 qts. I would try synthetic to see if that affects your shifting. The additives do wear out.

[128keaton]

Have you changed transmission fluid? If not, try that. I believe there is a drain plug on the pan so you don't have to drop the pan or change filters. Should drain about 4 qts. I would try synthetic to see if that affects your shifting. The additives do wear out.

I have not..and it’s obscenely dark. I was tempted to this past weekend, but I think I read somewhere that the drain plug is a weird Torx head. I have a few, but I just didn’t get around to checking. I usually like to know everything I can about a project before jumping in.


EDIT: looks like it’s a 5mm Allen head. Can anyone confirm? I plan to drain and fill, but a common procedure in the Toyota world is to drain and fill/flush by taking off the ATF line to the radiator and keep new fluid pouring in. Is this doable on the E30?
EDIT 2: I guess I can just undo the dipstick tube nut and drain from there. Sweet.

[aaverhulst]

Do not do a flush. You can have all kinds of problems especially leaks and valve shifting problems. Best to do like the original recommendation, just drain the 4 qts or so and replace with new. That is less shock to the system.

[128keaton]

Do not do a flush. You can have all kinds of problems especially leaks and valve shifting problems. Best to do like the original recommendation, just drain the 4 qts or so and replace with new. That is less shock to the system.

Sounds good to me!



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[128keaton]

Hopefully I’ll be swapping the control arms, tie rod ends, and front suspension out this Friday night. I’ll do the ATF drain and fill then. The new air filter is already covered in oil, so I’m tempted to try the Liqui-Moly Motor Oil Saver stuff, but I’m pretty sure this engine isn’t long for this world. The $1100 swap I mentioned needs to happen, but I just can’t drop that on it right now. I bought the car with a buddy but his interests lie elsewhere, so I need to pay him what he has in it (we’ve been splitting all the costs as we go) which comes out to $900. Plus it’s a 4 hour drive one-way to go get the swap. Not a bad drive, but it adds to the overall cost. If anyone local (Memphis, TN) is looking to get rid of an M20B25, G260, driveshaft, petals, etc, let me know, I can piecemeal it together. Still need to look into the wiring of the swap. I believe the 87 year model should have the newer harness style, but I’ve read that there’s a pin/wire I need to disconnect. Not sure. Still need to read more. I don’t dislike the B27, but I’d like something higher revving like the B25. M50 swap might be doable, I have a buddy that welds and could probably do the mount bracing and exhaust for me. It’s just the brake booster and transmission sourcing/fitment that I’m unsure about. The M50s seem to be easier to come by and cheaper, but VANOS lol. Got some pondering to do for sure. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, please let me know! The B27 smokes pretty bad at start up and a ton of oil ends up in the intake, screwing up the ICV and clogging the air filter.

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[superj]

87 is the newer style plug. when we did my son's it just plugged in. the hard part is finding a complete wiring harness, if the engine doesn't come with it. people us it to cut the plug off for the m50 swaps so harnesses are super expensive if complete. you will have to add one wire to get the tach/eco meter going, if I remember right.

if you get an early m50, I think they are not vanos. my son got a 92 or 93 for his and I think it doesn't have that on it but I could be wrong. I don't know much about the m50 motors but his m54 did have vanos and it wasn't hard to do the repairs to it when the seals went out. we took some practice vanos units off a junkyard car and it turned out we didn't need to practice on them, it was so easy to fix.

I hear the m50 bolts to the e30 trans, if you don't find a newer trans. my son was going to do that because his 5 speed is good but he decided to get a 5 speed from an e36 to match the engine

[128keaton]

87 is the newer style plug. when we did my son's it just plugged in. the hard part is finding a complete wiring harness, if the engine doesn't come with it. people us it to cut the plug off for the m50 swaps so harnesses are super expensive if complete. you will have to add one wire to get the tach/eco meter going, if I remember right.

if you get an early m50, I think they are not vanos. my son got a 92 or 93 for his and I think it doesn't have that on it but I could be wrong. I don't know much about the m50 motors but his m54 did have vanos and it wasn't hard to do the repairs to it when the seals went out. we took some practice vanos units off a junkyard car and it turned out we didn't need to practice on them, it was so easy to fix.

I hear the m50 bolts to the e30 trans, if you don't find a newer trans. my son was going to do that because his 5 speed is good but he decided to get a 5 speed from an e36 to match the engine

How was the M50 swap overall? I have seven M50 powered BMWs in the yard close by. This guide has me a bit scared off
https://www.rmeuropean.com/bmw-e30-m50-swap.aspx

I guess I shouldn't fear VANOS then. Glad the plug is modern. Wiring stuff doesn't really scare me, I've repinned some stuff in the Toyota world before, but thats one less hurdle.

This post summarizes what needs to happen, part-wise:
https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/for...swap-read-this

The fab required to use an E30 manual is a bit more, so hopefully I'll find an M50 with a 5-speed off the end of it.

[128keaton]

Rebuilt the front end tonight. Drives so much better. Only real issue was the broken sway bar brackets. Still working that out.

[superj]

We haven't done the swap yet but he had an 03 330i for a bit and it was so fast, you just smiled everytime you floored it

[128keaton]

We haven't done the swap yet but he had an 03 330i for a bit and it was so fast, you just smiled everytime you floored it

Ah I’m jealous. When the holidays are over, I’m going to be continuing to look. There’s a $200 B25 pretty close, but I’d need a bunch more. The $200 is tempting.


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[superj]

To keep you busy with other possibilities, look up an amr500 supercharger. Its supposed to be best on upto a 2.0 engine but i figure for fun, it would work on a 2.5

[128keaton]

To keep you busy with other possibilities, look up an amr500 supercharger. Its supposed to be best on upto a 2.0 engine but i figure for fun, it would work on a 2.5

SuperJ, sounds like me and you need to buddy up. I've got a spare room at my place if you're tired of working on the kids' E30s. Lol. Pretty sure either the auto is going out or I've got a headgasket gone, driving it really hard the past two days. Still gonna grab the $200 M20B25 I think, just to keep it rolling until something better comes along.

[128keaton]

Looks like on Wednesday I'll be picking up a 1984 M20B25 with G260. Quick question, is there a way I can re-use my harness from the M20B27? A google search says no, which sucks, so I guess I am looking for an ECU and harness for a 325i on eBay. Along with driveshaft, guibo, hardlines, master cyl, slave cyl, and clutch pedals. Yikes, well $200+$60 for gas is a deal in my book.

[128keaton]

EDIT; never mind

[128keaton]

New heart! Just picked up this engine and 5 speed out of an early e30. Got a great deal on it, just need to source some more parts before the swap.

The heads were redone right before pulling in favor of an S52. The pistons were also replaced with B23 pistons. Still using the 885 head.

Luckily I was able to get the harness

Both ends too, which makes my job a lot easier.



So, in terms of the swap, I believe I just need a 325i AFM, driveshaft, pedal assembly, master/slave cylinder, hard and soft lines for both, an ECU, shift linkage, transmission crossmember bushings, both throttle body gaskets, some oil and coolant.

The seller of the engine was great. He threw in a head gasket set since he started to pull the head. He also threw in a new coolant expansion tank, shift knob, and some used front grille pieces.




So this harness is out of a vert, which has the battery up front (right?). I’m assuming I can just remove the negative terminal and splice into the ground wire running to my trunk, or is it just grounded on the frame with the coupes?



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[128keaton]

Posting this here for later reference
E30 Shifter Assembly.PNG

E30 Upper Shifter.PNG
E30 AFM.PNG
E30 Driveshaft.PNG
Clutch lines.PNG

[superj]

Just use your normal battery ground and power. The junction block is right in the engine battery tray.

Until you get all the afm and ecu, you can use the 2.7 fuel control on the 2.5 engine. It lopes like a hot rod but runs great.

[128keaton]

Just use your normal battery ground and power. The junction block is right in the engine battery tray.

Until you get all the afm and ecu, you can use the 2.7 fuel control on the 2.5 engine. It lopes like a hot rod but runs great.

Perfect. I looked there last night and I did see that junction box.

Really? Huh. If I had the pedals, shifter assembly, and driveshaft I’d be swapping it right now lol. At least I can buy the AFM and ECU on eBay, reasonably. The pedals and driveshaft are crazy $$$ on eBay, in my honest opinion. The shifter assembly is a whole other story. Can’t even find a complete unit on eBay.


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