engine change?

[bullyd]

hi to all!!! tread from a desperate newbie:- i have recently bought an e34 520ise (m20) body work was mint and she sits on deep-dish 17s that look the bomb,needless to say i got a really good deal on her as at about 3500rpm the crank rumbles like a stadium of people stomping to 'Queens' 'we will rock you'. im not a rich man but have always wanted an e34 as my e28 was starting to bore me (ive gone as far as i can with her,shes a full M5 rep inc interior see pic). i am a keen home mechanic with a comprehensive tool box, i have been told that i can fit a 2.5 m20 lump straight in mine as long as i just plug in the corresponding ecu without changing the entire loom, does anyone know how true this is or even if a larger lump can be fitted without the dreaded loom change? also anyone know of a good, cheap, compatible engine for sale in the east anglia area of the uk? thanks in advance for everyones answers/suggestions.

[bullyd]

anyone know who i could mail about my problem? im kinda desperate here!

[Kalevera]

Welcome!

Give it a day or so; the european clique -- the only people who know what to do with those tiny engines -- will probably have something to say...

best, whit

[bullyd]

thanx lowell, im just impatient thats all, id love a 3.5 or 4 litre, but theres no way i could afford to pay someone to wire it up or run it when petrol over here costs nearly £5 a gallon, good forum though on our ukbased bmw forum its all about 3series and theres very little activity from one day to the next, ill wait......

[bullyd]

jus bringin it back to the top to hopefully get noticed,

[E34-520iSE]

I have been told that i can fit a 2.5 m20 lump straight in mine as long as i just plug in the corresponding ecu without changing the entire loom, does anyone know how true this is or even if a larger lump can be fitted without the dreaded loom change?

Yep, the 2.5 M20 will drop straight in like for like. If your car or the donor car has an autobox then rebuild the flywheel end to suit. Use the complete 2.5 inlet manifold & use the 2.5's 6 into 2 exhaust system. Plug in the 2.5 ECU, check the valves, timing belt, bleed the cooling system and away you go!
There is a 2.7 conversion that can be done on the M20, but a stock 2.5 will be great fun - then you may want to add the 2.5 diff later for smoother cruising, and a digital dash, and the..........

Hope that helps! (from a fellow UK model owner)

Shaun

[bullyd]

thanks shaun, i see you have fitted the digital dash, was it a difficult conversion?

[E34-520iSE]

thanks shaun, i see you have fitted the digital dash, was it a difficult conversion?

It's not the easiest conversion! It took a bit of research with the wiring diagrams etc to get the new dash to work. About three days all in!

Cheers,

Shaun

[bullyd]

i dont suppose you kept you research did u? or is that hoping too much

[E34-520iSE]

Actually I still have all my scribbled notes, diagrams, wire colours etc. You are converting two plugs (blue/yellow) to four (brown/beige/white/grey). I would say it's wiser to fit the dash from a 525 into your car, rather than the 535 one because of coding plug issues. If your car has a manual 'box then get the digi dash from a manual car. If you get a dash I'll try and help you out.

Cheers,

Shaun