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Hello and thanks for looking at this thread
I bought about 3 years ago my sons BMW 525i E34. He needed some cash and I got sic of being the bank. He had a 325i to drive daily and the e34 was his spare.
We bought that car about 6 years ago and he did drive it every day till the motor blew up, dropped a piston, valve what ever. It's really kaput.
So anyway I ended up with his stock as a rock 100% rust free but dead BMW. My son ended up with more cash than the car was really worth....
He turns 25 in June and I thought of getting a new motor, get it painted and give it to him for his birthday.
Although I don't mind his car it's a little boring in the engine department.
Now my question;.....what engine will fit, without modifications, under the bonnet of this car?
Could I put an 3.5i from a 535i in it? Is the engine of a 735i the same? Would an 8 cyl fit from a 740 or 540?
The only thing is I don't want to cut up the car to fit another engine.
What would you do and what would fit.
Thanks
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Here's a list of all the models of e34 sold, scroll down it and there's a big table with all the engines used. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_5_Series_(E34)I'd be tempted to find a donor car like a scruffy 1992 onwards 530 and use the V8 from that. |
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Feb 15, 2016 21:13:11 GMT
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1983 VW Golf GTI MK1
1983 BMW 735i E23
1985 Rover SD1 3500
1998 BMW Z3M Roadster
2005 BMW M5
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Feb 15, 2016 22:25:32 GMT
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I thought all BMW engines sit in that engine bay?
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Feb 15, 2016 22:58:26 GMT
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No.
First off, the v8 is out. Completely different braking system, cooling system, engine bay layout... everything. Unless you have a complete donor car and even then it's annoying and time consuming. People have done it but then people have fitted sr2o engines in them too.
If you want to keep it easy, sort of...
Is it an m20 or an m50?
An m20 can be upgraded to an m30. The gearbox and prop will need changed and either the diff and Shafts or you can change the diff flange but it will only last if you don't try any burnout. 735 is the same as 535 but again the m30 does not fit on the other gearboxes. Or if m20 you can upgrade to m50.
If m50 a bigger m50 is the way to go. A later m52 engine gets you a 2.8 option but there is a few bits and pieces to do to make that work, or a later 3.0 6 cyl from an e39 if you are feeling adventurous with the electrics.
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Guy who has a unit near me put an M50 2.5 in his E34 and then turbo'd it. Went well for a while, currently off the road with a blown HG I believe.
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The M52 is the weapon of choice in the E30 world, have a look on the E30 Zone website for detailed technical info on that swap. Not sure how much that helps with your E34 but will give you a good indication of the general swap.
The M20 would be a backwards step. Great engine in an E30, but not what you're looking for. Unless you want to go the turbo route in which case again see E30 Zone for details on how to do it, there's quite a few turbo'd E30s out there!
The M52 is the more stable choice I'd say, but a turbo'd E34 could be a hoot.
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Feb 16, 2016 11:39:34 GMT
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Thanks guys.
I am planning to buy a complete car. I have the time to find a good donor. I have to get up to date regarding m50's 52's etc as
I have no idea what is what.
I could not tell what is currently in the car....I just don't know where to look for.
I don't want to turbo at all. This car will become just a nice simple weekend cruiser.
So, 6 Cylinder is the way to go. That's fine. I used to have a 1990 e34 535i.
Would an engine from a car like that fit without to much drama's? I presume that the engine from a 735 from that same age will be
the same.
Thanks
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,001
Club RR Member Number: 58
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Feb 16, 2016 22:36:47 GMT
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This: So, 6 Cylinder is the way to go. That's fine. I used to have a 1990 e34 535i. Would an engine from a car like that fit without to much drama's? I presume that the engine from a 735 from that same age will be the same Is rather answered by this: Is it an m20 or an m50? An m20 can be upgraded to an m30. The gearbox and prop will need changed and either the diff and Shafts or you can change the diff flange but it will only last if you don't try any burnout. 735 is the same as 535 but again the m30 does not fit on the other gearboxes. Or if m20 you can upgrade to m50. If m50 a bigger m50 is the way to go. A later m52 engine gets you a 2.8 option but there is a few bits and pieces to do to make that work, or a later 3.0 6 cyl from an e39 if you are feeling adventurous with the electrics. It depends on whether you currently have an M20 or M50 E34 M20:  M50:   |
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Maybe a little bit more work, but the E36 M3 S50 is worth considering too.
3 liter had 280hp and the later 3.2 did 321hp.
You could also stick a low pressure turbo kit, gives about 240 horses and 300Nm torque on a 2.5l. Although this might be easier on a LHD than a RHD.
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 Click picture for more |
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M3 engine in Australia is an absolute fortune. Dear enough here, but there...
OP the M50 is the six cylinder engine in 2.0 and 2.5 capacity, built from 1990-1996, with a steel block and oil cap at the rear of the head as shown in the above picture.
M52 is the replacement 2.0, 2.3 and 2.8 engine built 1995-1998, with mainly an alloy block except for 1995 examples which were pig iron, and the oil cap at the front end of the rocker cover.
Essentially the same bare engine but different ancillaries and sensors and wiring.
But really the advice from now on really will need to be based on what engine you are starting from, so we would need to know what you have...
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Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate you teaching me this stuff.
Looking at the photo's my 525i has the M20 motor.
Yes, everything M is really expensive over here. I would be quite happy with a 3.0 or 3.5 motor.
I was dreaming of a V8 but I just do not have the expertise to make a transplant like that successful.
My wife has an 1999 e39 528i. I love that car. fast enough cheap to run and parts are not to expensive.
looking at the photo's that would be a M50 engine.
If that would fit that would be great as 528's can be bought cheap.
Would that engine fit as well or is this all different again?
Thanks
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mikeymk
Part of things
'85 Polo Coupe S 1.6 16v
Posts: 931
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750i/850i engine. Preferably on three sets of XJR1300 bike carbs.
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That would be uber cool!!
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Feb 17, 2016 21:17:23 GMT
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Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate you teaching me this stuff. Looking at the photo's my 525i has the M20 motor. Yes, everything M is really expensive over here. I would be quite happy with a 3.0 or 3.5 motor. I was dreaming of a V8 but I just do not have the expertise to make a transplant like that successful. My wife has an 1999 e39 528i. I love that car. fast enough cheap to run and parts are not to expensive. looking at the photo's that would be a M50 engine. If that would fit that would be great as 528's can be bought cheap. Would that engine fit as well or is this all different again? Thanks The 528i will be an M52. More than likely being a '99 car will make it a double vanos (variable timing) M52TU engine. Those you want to avoid, the wiring is difficult to get them into an E34. So you have the 170bhp M20B25 engine you reckon. From there it is not too awkward to go to the 192bhp M50B25 or indeed with slightly more work the 193bhp M52B28. What you'd really want to do there is pick up a cheap knackered M50 2.5 engine and a cheap 528i, as the E39 has a different sump and you'd need the M50 one, plus you can fit the M50 loom and ECU to keep it simple, rather than trying to adapt the E39 loom which is also different enough to the E34 one to be annoying. M50/52 engines will bolt to your transmission (although the M20 box is a bit weak for the M5x torque), or you can change the box and prop over if you fancy, not too hard. or, ignore all that, and go straight to the 212-215bhp M30B35. This needs to be from an E34 535i or E32 735i. The E28/E24 etc cars with this engine use different sumps, pipework, looms etc. One from the E32/4 will set right in. You will need to use the bigger radiator, and all the ancillaries and engine bay attachments, but otherwise straight forward. You will have no choice but to use the M30 gearbox as your m20 one will not fit, and you will need an M30 E34 (530i or 535i) prop - 7 series one is longer. You would also be well advised to change the differential to the 535i one which also means changing the subframe mounting bar and the half shafts. The M20 ones will not sustain the torque of an M30 for long. However the M20 diff is the same fitment as an E30 one so you can raise some cash from it to cover the expense. Exhausts are all different but are all twin pipe systems so you can figure out what you want to do there as you see fit. |
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Thank you for this mate. Again I really appreciate the help you all offer.
With all that in mind I might just stick with a 525i and keep it original.
I don't want to spend mega bucks on that car. I want a very clean weekend toy
nothing wild.
Finding a good parts car is not easy but not impossible. I will load some photo's up
when I have them
Thanks
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