e36 coupe engine transplant

[das84]

Hi i recently had an accident in my bmw e36 2.5tds and sadly the car is not worth the repairs BUT my engine seems to be fine and i am having thoughts of getting an e36coupe with an engine fault i know the coupes dont come in the diesel engines and i was wondering how much hassle would i have doing a conversion?

[das84]

This is the engine i have inline 6 very similar looking block to the 2,5i
I have been searching a lot lately if anyone has done it had no luck at all the closest was a compact but i think they come in diesel as standard anyway but no coupes

[cruuz]

Any way you slice it, it's not gonna be a 'bolt-on' swap. Going from gas->diesel will require at least some wiring work, which you should have the pieces of from you old ride. Also consider that the diesel may be optioned in the body you want, just in another country. So you may very well be able to get the right parts, but might have to broaden your search

[das84]

Yeah the problem i am facing is that those coupes dont have diesel as an option so i think all wiring will have to be replaced correct me if im wrong?

And talking about bolt on swap wouldnt the 325i inline 6 block have the same bolt ons? i have done some reasearch and appearantly i wont have to go into the trouble of getting a drivetrain that would fit for it as the diesel and petrol ones are the same.. this is just the reasearch that i did so do correct me if im wrong because i have no on hands experience with doing a swap like this

[cruuz]

i'm not specifically versed in any bmw swaps, i was just speaking more in general terms. it sounds like you need to do a hell of a lot more reading/research to dig up the info you seek. or you could try what i did on my first swap: pull the old lump and do whatever it takes to get the new one in and running

[nellydragracer]

Me and and a couple of friends successfully swapped a 325tds engine into a 318ti compact. Getting the actual engine and gearbox into the engine bay is a piece of cake, it's a whole lot easier when you have a complete car to swap all the necessary brackets over. The wiring isn't really too hard for someone who has a little experience, the plugs for the engine loom are practically the same, just a select few in different places or not there at all. You will also need to swap over the cluster or else you won't have a tacho.

I always wanted to do this conversion to my coupe because i love the 325tds engine. good luck if you do the swap, pm me if you have any other questions.

[das84]

Great stuff thanks for the info guys... if everything is well ill be posting about this swap when the weather starts warming up

[Pekå]

well, it depends on your knowledge in bmw-engines

i would buy a 325 coupe and just transplant the engine right in. not to hard if you take your time

you can probably sell the 325 non vanos easy cause it´s probably the funnies engine for turbo builds


i say do it! will probably turn out great