Motor replacement??

[JScritch]

1992 525i Auto -- completely stock

Well, my wife was driving the car this morning and it started blowing white smoke out the tailpipe and the temp gauge pegged. She shut it down right away, but I'm guessing there's some head/gasket damage with the smoke out the tailpipe. I looked at it and it threw the belt and was puking coolant when I picked her up :(

If so, how hard is it to drop an M5 motor & tranny in place of what I've got now? I figure if I have to spend some $$ I might as well upgrade what I've got and make it worth my time, unless it's ubber hard or expensive.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

[mike okisbig]

It won't be easy or cheap, considering you'll have to replace the transmission, ecu, wiring harenss, radiator, etc as well, and finding a good used m5 motor will be a tough proposition. You're better off taking the car to a mechanic to see if the head is warped and find out what it would take to get your head rebuilt or the entire motor rebuilt.

[peterllo]

MIke O is dead on, rebuild or replace with the same M50. Check Ebay there is a head rebuilder that frequently runs a BIN auction for remanufacted heads for $750.

Did an engine swap in another car changed years, same type motor. The mechanic forgot to mention the need to swap the harness and ECM, now that that's done it still won't pass emissions, likely its the motor. The "savings" from the swap were lost long ago to the aggravation of fixing one thing after another.

[JScritch]

Just to change gears slightly....

How hard is it to swap the auto in mine to a manual? I might be looking at doing this while I have things torn apart anyway and the car is down. What else needs to be swapped besides the tranny?

[Rustam]

1992 525i Auto -- completely stock

Well, my wife was driving the car this morning and it started blowing white smoke out the tailpipe and the temp gauge pegged. She shut it down right away, but I'm guessing there's some head/gasket damage with the smoke out the tailpipe. I looked at it and it threw the belt and was puking coolant when I picked her up :(

If so, how hard is it to drop an M5 motor & tranny in place of what I've got now? I figure if I have to spend some $$ I might as well upgrade what I've got and make it worth my time, unless it's ubber hard or expensive.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

You will also have to look for exchange of the computer, air flow sensor (new ~$600US) and possibly rear differential. If the exchange will not then engine maintenance will kill your bank account (one day). You may want to check out the prices for camshafts for this engine to get an idea what you maybe facing. I would simply replace that gasket if its that simple.
Looking for more power I would consider ECU chip replacement and cold induction upgrade - would not cost an arm and a leg but would provide a bit more punch.

[ArtemLepilov]

Check out Jon K's project - may be cheaper and more reliable than an M5 internal swap.

-Artem

[Rustam]

Just to change gears slightly....

How hard is it to swap the auto in mine to a manual? I might be looking at doing this while I have things torn apart anyway and the car is down. What else needs to be swapped besides the tranny?

besides the transmission swapped must be the rear differential, possibly the drive shaft, probably some electronics - auto and manual m30 setups for example use different throttle position sensors...

[+ the pedal, + modification to accomodate the shifter around the console]

Looking for more performance and considering gas prices I would be in favor of switching to manual transmission

[E34 530]

If your considering engine swaps, what about an s50 or s52 M3 engine??

[Rustam]

If your considering engine swaps, what about an s50 or s52 M3 engine??

Yes this sounds good - you may want to consider that...
Swapping in m5 engine would also change weight distribution so you may have to swap suspension. New radiator will have to go on too, new hoses, new exhaust, at least catalytic converter. For the money needed to spend for the swap you can probabvy buy e34 m5...

Swapping in s50 or s52 however, as suggested here, is nice idea since these engines are essentially your engine - m50 - tweaked, and will fit like a glove (american variant), possibly with only one upgrade of the computer by means of a chip.

Besides, your engine packs essentially same hardware as does m5 engine - 24 valves, dual camshaft + distributorless ignition (BIG plus)...

[Kalevera]

It is my opinion that if you are to keep the car and want performance on a DIY budget, sourcing and installing the drivetrain from a '95 M3 is the best choice.

The S52 swap isn't difficult, but it would require a bit more work and I'm not sure that the gains would be worth it. The real motor to get would be the Euro S50B32, one of which sold with a complete drivetrain for $7000 yesterday on eBay -- an excellent deal for 320+ hp and a six speed.

The S50 swap is much more managable. Electronics are easy, you don't (theoretically) need to mess with the differential beyond changing the input flange. Parts are relatively easy to come by and not as expensive as most. A manual swap is a 6 to 8 hour job with a little experience. If adding an S50, the one thing I'd do as preventative maintenance is replace the valve collets and caps before the engine goes in the car.

best, whit