# E36 Motor and Tranny Swap



## 'Cane (Jun 16, 2003)

SoloII///M said:


> Awesome! Feel free to go ahead and pollute up the Earth as much as you want.


Don't blame him, he didn't abolish emissions testing here. 
:tsk:


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## SoloII///M (May 16, 2003)

330Cane said:


> Don't blame him, he didn't abolish emissions testing here.
> :tsk:


Just because the car isn't tested doesn't mean it's not a felony offense to remove the catalytic converter. :eeps:


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## BallzyDriving (Jan 16, 2005)

Forget about the damn emissions. Can i drop the engine in or not?!?! Where can i find one for a good deal?? Please. Thank You.


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## Nick325xiT 5spd (Dec 24, 2001)

You can do it.

The engine will cost you $15,000-$20,000.

It will probably take $15,000-$20,000 to get the engine and tranny to work in the car. It requires a LOT of custom engineering and careful work.

There's no guarantee, though. If you can't do it yourself, it's not a good idea to attempt it.


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## bol (Dec 24, 2001)

Power on the cheap = Chevy Small block conversion 

A guy locally dropped an LS6 into a 4dr e36... it's intense.


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## dawgbone (Nov 19, 2004)

bol said:


> Power on the cheap = Chevy Small block conversion
> 
> A guy locally dropped an LS6 into a 4dr e36... it's intense.


That's almost insulting :tsk: 
But probably quick


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## SoloII///M (May 16, 2003)

dawgbone said:


> That's almost insulting :tsk:
> But probably quick


Insulting to the V8, I'd say. 

BMW freaks get pretty upset when they find out that the "low tech" Chebby motor makes more torque and horsepower everywhere and also happens to weigh less than the S50/52/54... :eeps:


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

BallzyDriving said:


> Forget about the damn emissions. Can i drop the engine in or not?!?! Where can i find one for a good deal?? Please. Thank You.


A Euro 3.2 is a fairly easy peasy drop in swap.

I can source a motor and tranny if you want....just let me know and I can get you a price.


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## iateyourcheese (Sep 9, 2004)

Bruce said:


> A Euro 3.2 is a fairly easy peasy drop in swap.
> 
> I can source a motor and tranny if you want....just let me know and I can get you a price.


 A dumb question, why is the Euro 3.2 easier than the American spec 3.2?


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

iateyourcheese said:


> A dumb question, why is the Euro 3.2 easier than the American spec 3.2?


Never said it was. The original question referred to an S54 which is a PITA from what I hear. The Euro spec vs US spec swap should roughly be about the same work...but you get an extra 81 hp with the euro motor.


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## SoloII///M (May 16, 2003)

Bruce said:


> Never said it was. The original question referred to an S54 which is a PITA from what I hear. The Euro spec vs US spec swap should roughly be about the same work...but you get an extra 81 hp with the euro motor.


Except that the US 3.2 will bolt into a 325 / 323 / 328 / 3.0 M3. The Euro motor requires a custom driveshaft and different differential flange, among other things.

John


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## Bruce (Dec 24, 2001)

SoloII///M said:


> Except that the US 3.2 will bolt into a 325 / 323 / 328 / 3.0 M3. The Euro motor requires a custom driveshaft and different differential flange, among other things.
> 
> John


Not true. If you use a 5 speed tranny the US driveshaft is used. If you go to the 6 speed then you need the Euro driveshaft or you need to shorten the US one.

Not all US cars have 4 bolt input flanges on the rear diff. My 95 M3 has a 6 bolt input flange. It is hit or miss on the US M3s if they are 4 or 6 bolt.


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## John Payne (Feb 14, 2005)

I just faced this dilemma with my 96 M3...My original motor was starting to burn oil like crazy after 96,000 miles and innumerable track days....I looked at just trading it in on a new e-46, looked at buying a euro 3.2 motor, but I ended up going with a nice new US 3.2....with cams, Intake manifold, injectors, CAI, throttle body, headers, etc. the motor pulls as hard down low as either euro 3.2 or new e-46 M3....plus it was easy, as I just went down to the local BMW parts desk and had a brand new motor in 3 days.....BTW, they sell them as remanufactured but if you are lucky, you may end up with a new one, as they really have very few cores to remanufacture. Now if I want, after break-in I can look at forced induction for some big power gains, but for racing I really like the simplicity of a NA motor.


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