E34 engine replacement

[halimtan]

I am bringing my mechanic tomorrow to check out the nonVanos before forking out the cash (approx USD1100, excl labor). As for the transmission, its auto but like I said, its ok by me. Appreciate your attention to this thread.

[tnt525i]

bear in mind that the transmission in japanese spec cars are different to the ones in the us and also in europe.
my experience when my tranny broke was that the jap spec tranny in the 1993 (M50 engines) or later cars were made by isuzu and it requires a different ecu, cross-member, drive shaft etc,
the ones in the euro spec cars (like mine) uses a zf 5hp18 tranny which is alot shorter in dimensions to the isuzu, and the zf 5hp18 tranny in my 525i is the same tranny you would find in the us spec 530i.
im not 100% sure which tranny the us spec 525i (M50) uses but i think its a 4hp22(i stand to be corrected), either way depending on where in the world you are, and you buy a front cut, chances are you wont get the correct drive shaft for it, another thing is, if you opt to use the isuzu tranny, if ever something goes wrong, you wont get parts as easily in the us as you would for the other models(zf and gm)
i dont want to dampen your spirits but i dont want you to make the same mistakes i made

[Jon K]

The power difference between a vanos and non vanos car is the same - its simply where the power comes on. I don't much like Vanos, but I have my reasons not to

[halimtan]

The half-cut comes with transmission, rear axle and exhaust. Will that overcome this issue?

[halimtan]

Ok, thanks for the info. Will discuss all this with my tech. He seems to think the Vanos is better, but then he's not doing the paying, if you know what I mean.

[tnt525i]

The half-cut comes with transmission, rear axle and exhaust. Will that overcome this issue?

it will

[halimtan]

Hi again everyone. Just thought you would like to know that I have decided against the nonVanos, not because of the engine per se but because there's no warranty on the engine and transmission. The norm here is a 30-day guarantee after installation. That accounts for the big difference in price to a Vanos unit which I found at another place. I am going with this unit which should be in the workshop early next week.

I also found a set of standard 16-in rims from a 7-series (E39?) which I was told has the same offset as my E34. The 3 main areas of refurbishment: engine replacement, body respray and re-upholstery will cost approx USD4000. I hope to upload the pics when the car is ready.

Thanks again for all the comments. Halim.