Take two - on the tranny swap thing.

[ArtemLepilov]

I want to get the 525I parts car and swap my engine into it. How hard would that be to do? I have all I need - I have the whole car. After that I am thinking about parting MY car, because right now - my tranny is an automatic, my LSD was whining and still is a little after I filled it up and replaced the fluid. One of my rear trailing arms or the rear subframe need to be replaced, etc, etc...

Thats why im tihnking its easier to just put my M50 into that car and have a cool, working car to drive around in. Plus I can pick up an M20 head for like $50 in a junkyard nearby and slap it on the engine - making the repair total around $100 with a gasket set, etc... To drive the car meantime, while parting my car, and after that I can swap the M50 in and have fun with it.


-Artem

[Kalevera]

$100 for a good used head, new timing belt kit, head gasket kit, and new bolts? And that's assuming there's no block or piston damage? You've got to be kidding me.

And, I don't mean to come off as an ******* or anything, but it seems like you guys have your hands full in dismantling one car -- now you want to take on two other...projects?

I feel like a broken record here. Someone help me out.

best, whit

[ArtemLepilov]

$100 for a good used head, new timing belt kit, head gasket kit, and new bolts? And that's assuming there's no block or piston damage? You've got to be kidding me.

And, I don't mean to come off as an ******* or anything, but it seems like you guys have your hands full in dismantling one car -- now you want to take on two other...projects?

I feel like a broken record here. Someone help me out.

best, whit

I can get an M20 head at a yard here for about $50 if I pull it myself, which I would do. Head gasket, TB gasket, intake, exhaust, and the waterpump would prolly go about $100 more - but I would omit the waterpump, since I only want the car to run till summer if I get it, and then use my engine in it --> that is why the whole replacement should only go about $100 total. Im still reconsidering it all still though since the car has about 300K miles on it - I wouldnt mind the 5-spd and the differential, but I dont know... 300k miles seems like a hell of a lot of miles.

I might just get it and part it out. The other car we got rid of.

-Artem

[Kalevera]

I think it'd be smarter to swap the trans into your existing car, use whatever other parts to fix it up. Trailing arm swap is a bit of a chore, though (is the existing one bent? Accident damage?). However, given that you'd probably swap the m20/525 diff in (should be a 3.64, if I'm thinking correctly at the moment), it'd be routine to take care of it all at once.


Heck, I'd go for it...but I'd keep the M50 car, if only for insurance purposes (manual vs. automatic = premium difference, so it behooves one to keep an automatic vin car).

best, whit

[ArtemLepilov]

True. I always keep witching my mind. If i do get the car though - that would be a really sweet thing to do.

Trailing arm I think was bent during a total accident the car was previously in - back in 2000 about 3 quick owners ago...
Car looks like it never was hit.. Until you pop the rear seat and then - thats where the accident damage can be seen. Im sure its either the trailing arm or the differential. I would want to swap the entire rear end if i was doing that, since im not sure whether its the trailing arm thats bent or the entire subframe in the rear - the alignment difernce is not that big - about a degree off but thats a whole degree!

-Artem