Euro M3 Compact
 

Hi Folks,

after a lot of thinking about a swap, reading Jim's manual 100 times and looking on the internet it is finally going to happen.

I was originally looking for a damaged 328i from Germany, but they are very expensive. In Great Brittain (United Kingdom) are the car prices very low and I found a really interesting 1997 M3 3.2 Evolution Saloon with 6-speed manual.

The only problem is the steering wheel, it's at the right side of the vehicle, stupid people... :biggrin:

But I was in love, the biggest engine in my favorit Compact, so I bought the M3 and took it home. :tongue:

This is a picture of my Compact;

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0177.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/IMG_0124.jpg

Here are some pictures of the M3, if the steering wheel was on the left...

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...anvoorkant.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...achterkant.jpg

I allready took the engines out of the cars, placed the 4-cilinder on a palet and placed the M3 engine in my Compact.
Here some pictures of the swap;

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/P1010051.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/M43eruit.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...0Sedan/S50.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/P1010047.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/P1010076.jpg
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q...n/P1010082.jpg


But, all of the issues starts here, the wiring of the engine.

The DME unit is on the other side and the wires are to short to place the DME in the original place. The engine wiring loom is to small for all the wires too. I don't know how yet, but I think it's possible.

How did you guy's fix the 'Auxilliary Fan' problem, the connection to the fan is the same, but it doesn't work ?
What do I need to change to get it work properly for a 6-cilinder ?


Thanx mates,


JeroenB3

WOW! I must say your TI looks very nice! Excellent choice of wheels to compliment..

Was the M3 fully functional when you got it?

Nice! Euro S50 swap
I'd like to see how it turns out for you! Hopefully the swap goes smoothly for you!
Keep us updated!

Hey Jeroen... nice looking Ti!
looks like you hacked up a nice 4dr M3 to get it though, almost a pity.. :eek:

As for your issues,
your only option short of splicing longer wire onto everything is to get LHD engine harness from Ebay or a junkyard in your area. After the money it looks like you spent, that shouldn't be much of a problem.

As for the aux fan, I just plugged mine into the same port.
mine does not turn on until the temp gets above half anyways, which is vey rarely even without the engine driven fan.. but i do run a 80c thermostat with a 80/88c fan switch.

Question though, how do you know it is not working if you can't wire up the engine to actually reach a temp to engage the fan???? The aux fan connection is part of the bodyharness IIRC, it will only turn on when the sensors tell the DME to tell the fan its needs to work. You'd need a running motor to find out if it works or not.

Thanx guy's, I'll keep you up to date :wink:

@ Philly, thank you for the information. Somebody told me the aux fan is different for 6-cilinders. The wiring in the M3 really is different from the Compact.
But according to you it's just plug & play ?

What's the normal thermostat temperature en switch, do I need to change it ?


I also have to make the wiring for the extra coolant reservoir and the extra engine connection.


Greets, Jeroen

just get a LHD harness from a junkyard or Ebay man.... your asking for trouble otherwise, IMHO.
Once you have the proper length wires, it should all plug and play without an issue. Its probably just a little confusing right now with everything being opposite to what it looks like. Too early to panic! ;)

The aux fan is different for the 6cyls, but i presume you have one from your M3... it should work no problem.

I can't recall off the top of my head the normal temp thermostart... 88'c I believe??... the only reason I run the lower temp thermo and switch is because I deleted my engine driven fan. If you are still going to run the engine fan, I would not worry about it.

Hi Philly, thanx again ;)

The engine harnass is fine, just the DME is on the other side, but that doesn't seem to be a big problem.

The problem is the car harnass, my Ti is missing the following connections;

Small 12 pin engine connector,
Window washer resevoir sensor,
Extra coolant resevoir sensor.

I do have the M3 Aux. fan and the Ti has the same connection as the M3, but I understood the 6-cilinders have a different way of controlling it. The fusebox says the 6-cilinders and diesel versions use other fuses, it's not just for fun I suppose :D

But it should work just fine, with the Ti connection? (2-speeds ?)

My M3 Aux fan works just fine. No mods necessary.

Make sure you install the front suspension from the M3 too..

Feel free to send me the M3 chassis when you're done with the swap:biggrin:

Hi,

I'm not going to use the M3 frontsuspension, I don't know the condition and I've got a Coil over set for the Compact, which does'nt fit with the M3 suspension.

What do you need the M3 chassis for, there is nothing M3 about it :biggrin:
I allready sold the bumpers, mirrors, interior and door stripes, the chassis is the same as every other E36 Saloon.
It does have the suspension and complete rear axle.

The TI does lack one of those "twistcap" connections... assuming yours is the same as mine. That should not pose a problem.

Im sure you can do without the low windshield washer light ;)

Extra coolant resevoir? are your referring to the expansion tank??

As for the aux fan again, it will work just fine. Yesterday was hot here, and mine was kicking on and off all day long with no problems. And like I said, as long as you are going to run the engine fan as well... you'll have no issues in the cooling department.

PS. if your front clip is still off your compact, now would be a good time to replace the thermostat and whatnot for piece of mind. Its slightly a PITA to do with everything in front of it, but takes 10 minutes without all that stuff in the way.

just pull the bulb

I was wondering why the reservoir on the ti has a little indent in the side like something's supposed to fit in there :rolleyes:

99% sure thats part of the body harness anyways now that I think about it.

Thanx Philly, I will change the thermostat immediately :wink:

Do you know the function of the small 'twist cap', wich our Ti's don't have ?

And yes, I did mean the expansion tank sensor, it will probably just give a warning too, like the windshield washer :biggrin:


I bought a Z3 M differential, but it doesn't fit offcourse, the input flanche has 4 bolts in stead off 6 and the output flanche is 94mm where the Ti is 80mm.

I do have some 3.2 M3 shafts, but I don't know if it will fit.


I am getting grazy because of all the problems, why didn't I just bought an Z3 M Coupé :biggrin: