Diesel swap?

[Yahweh]

Ive been doing some searching off and on for the last couple months. I got some questions. Who do i use for shipping? The motor will be coming out of Lithuania.

PARTS LIST

+2000 m57b29 Motor with accessories (A.c. Power steering, Alternator, Maybe turbo) Low mileage, Excellent compression, Good shape.
Need e46 oil pan for front sump and if possible front sump
Manual transmission wiring harness
ECU / Computer
GS5-39DZ or GS6-39DZ transmission
E34 3,46 Diff Or maybe e39 2,35 Diff

Im curious how close the mounting points are to an m54 motor and trans .

Which motor mounts? Which transmission mounts? drive shaft?
Im guessing costume ones..

I yet still need to read up on passing the EWS.

Also will e39 internals fit inside an e34 diff?


Zach K.

[giuliettaevo]

Just finished my coversion to an E30 2.5 TDS...

I used a E34 525 TDS engine and gearbox, this engine has the right sump for the E30. On the engine i used the E36 TD(S) engine supports which i bought new from the dealer ( about 50 euros for both..) and e34 engine mounting rubbers, the older type not the newer oil-filled ones. driveshaft is E30 with welded on E34 coupling on the front end.

Engines fits neatly, visco-fan needs to come off. E28 radiator keeps it cool. Saab 9000 intercooler fits nicely behind the grille. Oil cooler was deleted.

electronics were not to hard, electronic throttle was teh hardest part to fix. dashboardcluster comes from a 324TD so i have a glowlight.

Engine has about 170bhp ( chipped) and goes like mad. E30 325i has no chance. Already had it at 210 km/h and it will go faster.

Very nice conversion so far...

[metale]

Pics please!

[giuliettaevo]

just a few pics.. here you see two of my problems and solutions. The throttle is electronic, and is now operated by the original e30 cable. The oilcooler with the metal lines did not fit the E30 and i rerouted the pipes...

I will take some more pics now that it's finished.

[phae1017]

How about swapping a different e28 manual transmission into a 524td? Anyone know if it's a bolt on sort of thing, it can be done on Mercedes w123 240ds...

[ccmoos]

Hi All

I have been driving my 324TD Touring for a decade by now, so i know the car pretty well. I have not done any major conversions on my car, but here are some thoughts:

E30 gasoline - diesel conversion

1. Electronic diesel pump
It is doable, but would require an e30 diesel donor car. There are a lot of control electronics, environmenal devices (at least in mine). A LOT of stuff is different in the gasoline and diesel cars.

2. Old 524TD as donor car
Much easier, the early models have mechanical controlled fuel pump, and is therefore much more equal to the gasoline cars. a quite easy conversion. i think the trasnmission from the 524 also fits in the e30.

3. newer 525TDS as donor car
A little tricky, but doable. would be very semilar to the popular M50/M52 conversion, regarding the electrics. I think the getrag transmission is required for manual..
I guess the oil pan from 525TDS is preferable, since the reservoir is in front of the front axle in contrary to the 325TDS

My experience with the e30 diesel is that it is quite durable in the long run. BUT, remember to change the coolant every 2 years. cost me a new head at some point. these cars are not as simple as the (ex. wv) therefore to some degree a lot of small spareparts are simply not present in other cars. hardy disc, double mass flywheel etc.

But then again, the "other" cars certainly does not contain the same driving experience. I still run my 324TD at 150km/h on the highway, and nothing shakes or rumbles. fantastic sensation.

I never experienced any noticeable problems with all the electronics in this almost 20 years old car.

Good luck with your engine conversions

[Yahweh]

I still would like to do the m57 conversion in my e34 wagon but its a pain in the ass because of the lack availability of parts, and if it broke, even a longer down time... So looks like ill just do a 4bt....

[giuliettaevo]

Some more pics on the E34 TDS engine in an E30...

quite easy conversion; TDS engine, E34 sump, E36 TD(S) mounts, E28 enginerubbers, Saab 9000 IC, custom prop(E30 324TD would probably fit), custom exhaust.


E34 525 TDS diff 2,65:1 with E30 325i rear alu piece.


exhaust system, 60mm pipe and a rear box from a VW Passat VR6 Synchro.


easy checking of the turbo-pressure

throttle construction (electronic)


oil-cooler plumbing...





all cables to the inside, ecu nice and dry inside...

[Yahweh]

Giuliettaevo, could you help me out on my swap, Do you have an email?

[Tuke323i]

giuliettaevo could you please send me information on how to connect the wiring harness to the original e30 wiring harness. I should be starting to do a similar swap in my e30

tukehiltunen(at)hotmail.com

I do not know whether all spelled correctly when I use google translator .. I have a bad english

[giuliettaevo]

Mail me at v6alfetta (at)hotmail.com with questions.

The wiring info was on my computer but was lost in a crash. Still have some pieces however.

[csmc1013]

I want a diesel!

[Torq]

Great engine swap!

I'm going to do something similar. I've a '96 E36 318tds that I'm going to take the M41 engine from and fit to my 4 door E30 320i. I think the biggest problem will be with the sump but I hope the M40 one will fit

I particularly like how you have kept most of the E30 loom and joined the diesel one to it. If you have any info on how you did it I'd be really gratefull.

Thanks.
Torq

[giuliettaevo]

I made an adapter loom that goes between the E30 loom and the E34 loom. You take an old engineloom from an E30 ( 318i in my case) and cut off the connector 20 cm off the end. On the E34 donorcar you cut the connector from the loom off the car, also with some length of wire left on. Then you can connect the wires together with the same functions.

The only problem is the M51 uses two connectors. On the second connector there are only special diesel features;
- electronic throttle ( 6 wires if i recall correctly).
- glowplug light
- ecu warning light/water in filter-light.
There are also wires on that connector that would go the clutch switch and brake switch but i didn't connect those, i think they're for cruisecontrol only. the throttle system and glowluglight and warninglight got their own little loom that goes to the dash and throttle potmeter. The 2 lights need a 12v supply that comes on when the car is on ignition.

On the main connector there are the same functions as on the E30; starter, alternator, tacho, water temp, fuel pump. Most of the colors were the same for my 2 looms, but that is no guarantee for all looms...

I have lost the data i saved on how to connect it, but with some good schematics it was not hard to make it work. basically you need a pin-out for the E34 connector and your E30 connector.

Hope this helps...

[Bremsskraft]

A bit of European lore: any i6 bmw diesel that is pre '95 has a mechanic or semi mechanic pump head which (like all mechanic things) tends to wear out and is harder to adjust unlike the later years where the head is actuated electronically. Mechanical replacements from bosch tend to be poorly manufactured, and wear out quickly (heads and plungers) which means anything pre 95 manufactured (Europe, as it happens to take roughly a year for stuff to cross over the pond) will leave you sooner or later with poor running, idle hunting and hot start problems.