Author Topic: BMW 318is E36 .Engine 1.8 Litre. (Read 11959 times)

maikolo · « **on:** September 18, 2008, 04:56:17 AM »

BMW 318is E36 .Engine 1.8 Litre. can someone please tell me if this would bold straight up to the m40 gearbox and what other stuff would i need to put it in my 1990 sedan. Also is it a better engine then the e30 318is engine
Damm i hope its pretty straight forward swap!

nicknikolovski · « **Reply #1 on:** September 19, 2008, 04:42:50 AM »

Is it a better engine? Depends on the individual. The E36 M42 is more refined than the E30 M42 obviously (new camshafts, new intake, etc.) Personally, I say yes.

Not sure about gearbox from M40 with M42 engine. I would just try get a good used M42 gearbox.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #2 on:** September 20, 2008, 05:20:57 PM »

As said above, yes the E36 M42 is a newer design, it could be discussed if its better or not...
I think is just design with another purpose than the E30, period. That�s just my thinking.

About the swap, well not so straight... The M40 and M42 engine (both E30 and E36) share the exact same block, so yes the gearbox bolts right up to it.
But to fit an E36 engine into an E30 you WILL need to mount the E30 complete intake system, E30 oil pan (upper and lower, and dipstick, the M40 shares the same oil pan and dipstick as the M42), and complete E30 engine wiring harness. Depending on what year the engine is, if it comes with serpentine belt system, put the E30 pulleys, belts and all related to it, if you don�t want to mess up with the dipstick position.
You could also convert your M40 block to M42,as the crank is the same as well, but a lot of work involved...

Do a search on this forum about the things that need to be swapped from E36 to E30, it�s been discussed a few times.
Good luck!

nelsone30 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 21, 2008, 04:48:39 AM »

Anyone has the wiring diagram from e36 engine to e30 engine.

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #4 on:** November 24, 2008, 05:14:21 PM »

Quote from: nelsone30;61404

Anyone has the wiring diagram from e36 engine to e30 engine.

Dude just read above:
You need to swap the entire engine wiring when dropping an e36 engine into an e30 chassis...
That means there is no wiring from e36 to e30, you just use the whole e30 engine harness...

keen50 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 05, 2008, 12:24:16 AM »

Can you please help me to understand this? Do you mean that the e30 loom will stay in the car and the m42 will fire up or do you mean that the m42 loom needs to be fitted. to the e30 Next question will the m40 gearbox bolt straight up to the imported m42, if the blocks are the same. I'm trying to do this conversion and would like to know the traps I'm likely to run into

swiss318is · « **Reply #6 on:** December 05, 2008, 07:42:09 AM »

engine doesnt fit into a e30 chassis.. without some changes.. new oilpan, new cylinderheadcover, new ecu, wireloom... etc.. and will not fit to the m40 gearbox (not 100% sure.. but i think no!!) have fun with your "swap"

keen50 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 06, 2008, 05:55:05 PM »

OK I can understand the sump as the bulge is at a different end to the m40 but why the cam cover as its the same height as the m42 that goes in to the e30. The m40 cam cover is about the same height, then why does this not sit at the same height in the engine bay?Also if I put the m42 ecu into the m40 holder and run separate leads for the ignition coils and knock sensor why will this not fire up the engine? as the block is the same as the m40 why will the m40 box not work on the m42?

Froos · « **Reply #8 on:** December 06, 2008, 06:10:02 PM »

M40 gearbox is exactly the same as the m42, fits with no problem

keen50 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 06, 2008, 10:01:18 PM »

I was hoping that was the case now onto the electrics can anyone help with the above question plug the m42 ecu into the e30 car with the new fitted m42 motor and run separate wiring for the knock sensor and maybe the coils.?

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #10 on:** December 09, 2008, 06:07:34 PM »

Ok, lets see if we can get this straight finally:
- The gearbox on M40 is exactly the same as in M42 cars. So m42 engine bolts right up to M40 gearbox.
-when you are trying to drop an E36 M42 into an E30 chassis, from the E36 engine you only use the block(with crank rods and pistons), and complete cylinder head.
- The cylinder head cover is exactly the same on E30 and E36 m42s. The one on M44 is different.
-Everything else needs to come from an E30 M42: FULL intake manifold, FULL engine harness including ECU, Oil pan, and pulleys if want to go faster(A/c on E36 has different belt, also Power steering pulley).

I have both wiring looms from E36 M42 and E30 m42 side by side and the plug for the ECU is exactly the same on both.
Now, I doubt plugging the E36 ECU into the E30 or viceversa would work, because the E30 loom does not have knock sensors, electric vacuum valves, and the E30 has different ignition coils than the E36

To go trouble free, just drop the E36 M42 block and cylinder head into the E30 chassis and get a complete E30 M42 harness and all the other parts.

By the way, the engine�s supporting brackets(the parts that bolt to the block and engine mounts, are different, so you need the ones from an E30 (The M40 ones work good).

colin86325 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 09, 2008, 08:46:30 PM »

The E36 M42 headers (exhaust manifolds) are also different from the E30 M42.

keen50 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 10, 2008, 03:50:21 AM »

Thanks a lot for all that this is a great help. I can follow most of that.The m42 engine I have is from a e36 95 ti and the chassis number states that it is m42 not m44 so that suits me so far I have the ecu from the donor car and the loom, but as you will know the ecu on the e36 is in the engine bay on the left side where as the ecu on the m40 e30 is on the right inside the car.This is a small problem for me as there are not many m42 e30 in this country and to find a second hand one and ecu will be hard my best option is to import them from outside the country and I'm not too sure of finding one or someone who might have one. I have the coil pack for this engine so maybe I should try and fit them on the car but I'm loath to do so as I'm trying to keep the car looking standard and keeping things tidy.As I have the m40 still in the car I'm trying to keep parts from that engine to aid the donor change as much as possible. So any help here would be very much appreciated thanks Ken

hesgone2fast · « **Reply #13 on:** December 10, 2008, 05:04:17 PM »

I have a complete spare M42 E30 engine harness with ECU, I could sell it to you if you like, along with other parts you might need for your project.
The harness is in perfect working condition and has been used by me. The only problem is that I live in Barcelona, Spain, So shipping might take a little longer as well as a little pricey.

keen50 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 13, 2008, 11:32:22 PM »

Hi there Thank you for the offer I'm still looking at the correct way for me to go in this operation can you further me with some more details the engine and loom and ecu that I have are all from the same donor car.The car was a 1995 model. Would the m42 loom and ecu that you have run this engine as the m42 e30 was last produced in 1990 ,am I correct? And does the loom have the engine knock sensors that the later model has ?And if I took the cover off the loom that I have and folded the wires into a shortened position and brought them in to the car at the same place as the present position would that help things? and last but not least how much do you want for it and could you have a guess at the postage cost please. thanks Ken