Author Topic: '91 E30 m40 to E36 '96 m42 engine swap, EWS?  (Read 5952 times)

Sundz

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'91 E30 m40 to E36 '96 m42 engine swap, EWS?
« on: April 24, 2014, 07:27:35 AM »
Hello guys,

I'm kinda new to this forum and my english isn't that well so i will try to keep my mistakes to a minimum.

Currently i have an 1991 e30 316i with an m40 engine, but the camshaft broke after a long time of ticking valves.
The body of the car however is in good shape and i like the color (brilliantrot)so just throwing away the car since it won't drive anymore is not an option. E30's with a good body like this are rare here, or they cost to much money. :-\

Now i know that you can swap a m42 engine from a e36 into a e30 with the m40 gearbox and oil pan and the e36 loom and ecu.

I have bought an cheap m42 engine with 90.000 miles on it and it ran fine(from a automatic 1996 318ti) I know that the loom and ecu won't fit, since i'm going manual. I found on a local junkyard a good m42 engine loom from a manual 1995 318is and bought a 1993 318is ecu with it (also from a manual ofc.)

My first thought was that this would be it and that i didn't need any more parts (except little things like the bracket for the coils, ) and that i only had to make a x20 to c101 conversion because that won't fit.

Now just when i wanted to start the swap and i just looked on the internet for the wiring diagrams for the x20 conversion, i tripped on something called EWS? I found out that it will prevent my engine from starting and that re-programming the ecu for EWS is practically impossible or will cost a hell of a lot of money.

My engine is from 1996 i wonder if my 1995 loom and 1993 ecu will work  together with it and that just simply converthing the x20/c101 plug is enough to let the engine work properly?

Will EWS be a problem for me, since my ecu is from 1993 and back then the didn't have the ews. Or do i have to bypass it and will that be difficult?
I don't what to do next, just swapping the engine and everything and hoping it will start. Or try to sell the whole thing and find a good e30 m40 engine and just swap that instead since EWS is that much of a big deal? :(

steve3smart

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Re: '91 E30 m40 to E36 '96 m42 engine swap, EWS?
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2016, 06:33:05 AM »
Do all the rewiring as threads on this forum describe and fit the early ecu, or buy a performance chip with EWS bypass so you can use the 95 ecu.