Need help with S14 swap

einhander · #1 (**permalink**) 08-30-2002, 10:34 AM

Hey guys I need some advice in swapping engines in my two cars. Are there any sources that would provide information or advice as to how to make this any easier? Anyone know of any special tools? I think I have what I need but I'm probably forgetting something. Any help would be awesome.

BMW Club Racer · #2 (**permalink**) 08-30-2002, 12:47 PM

what are you swapping the S14 Engine into? I'm in the process of doing that swap my self, except its going into an E21.

Reelizmpro · #3 (**permalink**) 08-30-2002, 10:50 PM

He has 2 M3's and he wants to do a straight across swap.

BMW Club Racer · #4 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 01:19 AM

The Factory Service Manual is probably the best source of information to help you with the swap. There are no really special tools that are needed for the swap. Since you are installing the same engine you are taking out, its pretty simple, and is just a bolt in process, everything lines up in the same place.

Is there some specific info you are looking for?

einhander · #5 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 06:40 AM

No, I was just checking to make sure there are no hidden things that should be taken care of. I have all new engine and tranny mounts and the manual. Just being overly cautious. Thanks for the info. Barry is your M3 all done (the power upgrade I mean)?

TOLOFOU · #6 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 06:42 AM

I would lik to hear more on the E21 s14 swap.. What all has to be done.. I have a 1980 320i

Rob

M3 Ryan · #7 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 08:00 AM

I did this in a day, on the street with a jack and 2 jack stands. Just needed a wrench to remove the clutch fan, everything else was very stright forward.
no new gaskets are needed, but I would reccomend some new hoses, and some will be in rough shape and will need to be replaced...

good luck!

Reelizmpro · #8 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by einhander
No, I was just checking to make sure there are no hidden things that should be taken care of. I have all new engine and tranny mounts and the manual. Just being overly cautious. Thanks for the info. Barry is your M3 all done (the power upgrade I mean)?

No, it's been put on hold for the time being.

BMW Club Racer · #9 (**permalink**) 08-31-2002, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TOLOFOU
I would lik to hear more on the E21 s14 swap.. What all has to be done.. I have a 1980 320i

Rob

Hi Rob,

An S14 engine swap is a pretty complicated swap into an E21!

Parts you will need:

S14 enigne w/ engine harness, AFM and ECU
E30 M3 Transmission w/M3 shifter linkage or modify the 320 linkage
M10 oil pan modified to take the S14 oil breather
M10 motor mounts and block mounts
320i Tranny mounts

E28 5 series, E30M3, E36 M3 or any of the big block enigne cars, you will need the front part of the driveshaft since it has the larger coupling to match up to the M3 tranny. You will need to have the 320i driveshaft shortened and have the M3 coupling installed on the 320i driveshaft

E30 M3 radiator, the E21 lower radiator supports will need to be cut and lowered approx 1 inch or have a custom radiator made

you need the Euro323 coolant expansion tank, and have the mounts made on the right front shock tower

then comes the fun of wiring everything together, and you will need the Body to Engine Harness Connector since you don't want to cut the M3 wiring harness and would rather cut the Cheaper 320i Harness to wire everything to.

there are a few other things that need to be done, but they need to be figured out during the swap.

You will also need to mount the battery in the trunk

Duc748 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-01-2009, 02:15 PM

Everything seems pretty straight forward but I am curious about a few things. Will an E-30 M3 exhaust system follow the same path under my E21 320is? Or, is this going to be a custom job that I'll need to weld up? I have heard mixed things about the Speedo hook-up? Will the S14 work with my existing fuel pump and delivery system? I am pulling my stock engine and tranny this next weekend and going to start clearing the work area, removing the battery tray, and sizing things up. The new engine is a healthy one out of a 1990 M3 that had and S50 swap done on it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. What do people think about me running the stock steering rack? Can I drop in a different system with power steering? Thanks in advance. Chad

fourdoorfanatic · #11 (**permalink**) 04-01-2009, 08:32 PM

you know the rest of your driveline will bolt up to the s14, right? the trans will bolt up, along with the flywheel and such. (people will say it won't hold up, if you beat the everloving shit out of it dumping the clutch every second you can, maybe not, but c'mon, its a high strung four cylinder, not a brutish s50 or something like that.) its essentially the same block. if you do it that way, speedo is unaffected. m3 trans has a...freeze plug thing (?) in the same spot as the 320 trans has the cable. it should be do-able that way as well, though im not positive. m3 trans has a bigger output flange so your driveshaft won't bolt on. erm.... your 320 is csi injection, right? if so the pump (s) are plenty capable of running the engine, the regulation of fuel is on the backside of the fuel rail. the only thing im not terribly sure of is the accumulator back at the fuel pump (stock 320), im not sure if it needs to be bypassed or left alone... *shrug* the car is light, throw power steering away!!! :P i don't use power steering in my e30 m50'd car, it hasn't bothered me a bit. good luck man! will be a proper sleeper.

Duc748 · #12 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 06:18 AM

I do have the e30 S14 transmission that I would like to use and adapt the speedo if anyone knows how to pull this off? So it sounds like I will need to cut and modify my driveline to bolt to the M3 transmission flange. Someone said something about modifying the area around the shifter linkage openning? I guess I'll find a lot of this out when I set the engine and tranny in. Is it easier to put them in as one or should I remove the tranny and bolt it in from the underside. I've done this on the 320is and it was a pain.

That is good new about the fuel system.

Does anyone know if the fuse panel needs to be relocated or if it is fine where it sits?

Thanks for everyones help

fourdoorfanatic · #13 (**permalink**) 04-02-2009, 05:32 PM

i personally always put the engine and trans in seperately, but i have a lift at work so im not crawling around on the ground. fuse box...it might be tight there, are you using the s14 airbox and all or something a little "colder"? im trying to remember exactly how inward and forward the 320 fusebox is, probably really tight with the s14 box. as for your shifter, i was thinking, you could use and modify your "steel plate" carrier setup you have now rather than the aluminum carrier, shorten it as needed. thats what i always did with 5 spd conversions in 2002's, shortened the 2002 plate to fit accordingly.

Duc748 · #14 (**permalink**) 04-06-2009, 11:26 AM

I have all of the stock air intake assembly for now until I get the engine in an get it running. how much difference will I notice between my stock 320is tranny and the M3 tranny. If I don't need to cut or shorten the driveshaft that is great but if the M3's transmission is far superior, I will do what is necessary. Do you know if the exhaust system takes the same path front to back on both models, or will I need to custom fit a hi-flow exhaust system? Cheers for any info.... CHad

BMW Club Racer · #15 (**permalink**) 04-07-2009, 06:13 PM

Wow! Talk about bringing a thread back from the dead!

Ok, the easiest and most simple thing you can do about this swap. Since its been years and I've tried and tested just about everything with my E21 and the S14 engine.

In its most basic form, the S14 is a modified M10 engine. Use the M10 engine mounts and brackets and bolt them to the S14 engine for that part.

Have your stock E21 transmission bell housing modified to accept the motronic sensors. Call up Aardvarc Racing in Cali, they have the equipment necessary to do the modification and its reasonably cheap. Home You want their M2 kit.

By doing this, it saves you a ton of modifications necessary to the body and drivetrain of the car. It also allows you to retain the stock speedo cable, so you don't have to go crazy with more modifications to make that work.

Depending on what year your car is, you will need the later brake master cylinder, which is shorter length wise and allows the intake tube to pass it perfectly into the intake manifold.

You will need to fab up a bracket to hold the air flow meter in place.

As far as the wiring goes, that's the real headache. At some point I did make a harness chart and posted it somewhere here or on bimmerforums. If you do a search, I'm sure you can find it. Otherwise I might still have it on my computer somewhere.

The exhaust system is another story. The stock manifold and downpipe fit the E21 fine. The rest of the exhaust system needs to be changed. I bought a used/damaged E30 M3 cat section and cut off the X pipe area and converted it to a Y pipe allowing use of a single exhaust from the cat back.

Good Luck!