First off, I would like start out by introducing myself. If you can't tell by my sig, my name is Fred and I have an 88 528e that I plan to work on and give to my daughter. I originally bought the car for my wife about 4 years ago, and it has since developed rod knock. After I bought my wife a new commuter car, the BMW just sat in the driveway wasting away. So far I have done shocks, a rear diff, intake, and 17' wheels along with a host of other upgrades to make the car run sound. Because of the upgrades, I don't just want to give up on the car, so I have decided to do a motor swap. I want to know what my options are, and I am mechanically inclined, so some fabrication and wiring, will not be a problem. Please let me know what motor options are available, as I am relatively new to the world of BMW, so some help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for all the help and I'll see you in the forums.

Sorry for the noob question if this subject has been covered before.

Fred

Hello, Fred and welcome! I have an 86 528e with a perfect m20 (180K) and a brand new cooling system in it. The timing belt, water pump, fan clutch, radiator, shroud and many other components have less than 300 miles on them. It was my daily driver until some asshole on a motorcycle sideswiped me while lane splitting through rush hour traffic. The car still runs excellent but I don't feel like fixing the body damage. I've been using it a s a beater but I'm thinking of getting rid of it. If you're interested in it as parts car or even a fixer-upper, let me know.

you probably ought to replace it with the same motor it has already to make it straightforward. or you could do some pioneering, drop 10 grand on a used s62 and install that- but then I doubt you'd hand the keys to your kid- the car would be disgustingly fast. welcome to bimmerforums.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was considering a newer 2.8l like from a 95-99. But I don't know what's involved, or if it's cost effective. I do want a reliable car for my daughter, but like you said, I don't want to make the car to fast and then hand the keys over to her. What engines can possibly go into this car with a little work? I have 3 engines I'm watching on ebay. One is a 85-87 M30, while the other is a 96-99 328i/ 98-99 528i 2.8l motor. The 3rd one is a 2.8l Super ETA E28,528,E30,325?? Don't know exactly what the last one is, but will any of these work in my car?

Thanks for the warm welcome. I was considering a newer 2.8l like from a 95-99. But I don't know what's involved, or if it's cost effective. I do want a reliable car for my daughter, but like you said, I don't want to make the car to fast and then hand the keys over to her. What engines can possibly go into this car with a little work? I have 3 engines I'm watching on ebay. One is a 85-87 M30, while the other is a 96-99 328i/ 98-99 528i 2.8l motor. The 3rd one is a 2.8l Super ETA E28,528,E30,325?? Don't know exactly what the last one is, but will any of these work in my car?

The last engine, the Super ETA, is the same engine that is in your car now. That would be the easiest swap. the second easiest swap would be the m30 but I'm pretty sure it would require a tranny swap as well. The m52 (528i) swap would be the most difficult because you'd be replacing pretty much everything to do with the driveline.

You might also be interested in this:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/pts/231019529.html

The last engine, the Super ETA, is the same engine that is in your car now. That would be the easiest swap. the second easiest swap would be the m30 but I'm pretty sure it would require a tranny swap as well. The m52 (528i) swap would be the most difficult because you'd be replacing pretty much everything to do with the driveline.

When you say difficult for the M52 swap, how difficult do you mean? Just replacing a lot of stuff is ok, but what I really need to know is how much fab work would be involved, and has this been done before?

I'm not really sure how much is involved. But I'm pretty sure that fabricating proper fittings would be the least of your problems. Your biggest headaches in a swap like this would come form trying to get all the electronics to work properly.

When you say difficult for the M52 swap, how difficult do you mean? Just replacing a lot of stuff is ok, but what I really need to know is how much fab work would be involved, and has this been done before?

i dont doubt that it cant be done, but if its a car for your kid, put the m20 in. The m52 while it share the same displacement as the m20, isn't the road you wanna do down b/c the techonology is so different. You'll have to rewire the whole engine compartment, as the m52 is also OBD II as well. Stay the the m20 for fewer headaches.

i dont doubt that it cant be done, but if its a car for your kid, put the m20 in. The m52 while it share the same displacement as the m20, isn't the road you wanna do down b/c the techonology is so different. You'll have to rewire the whole engine compartment, as the m52 is also OBD II as well. Stay the the m20 for fewer headaches.

I reccommend the m20 route as well - and not just because I'd love to sell you one.

So which engine is the M20? Is it the one that I currently have, or is it considered an upgrade?

You currently have the m20b27. It's an ETA engine. Since yours is an 88, it likely a Super ETA. Super ETAs have 128 hp where as regular ETAs have 121-123. But a regular ETA can be cheaply chipped to about 145hp where as there is no chip option for the SUper ETA.