EndlessProblems Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 Hello E46 people So my story is I inherited a astravan, I put a little work in to it and got a mot then sold it on, I enjoyed working on the van, it's not something I get to do often now as I work for the NHS, so started looking for something else, I saw a few things nothing took my fancy until I saw a BMW 318ci convertible automatic on autotrader, it needed a new engine but was so clean bodywise and only 79000 on the clock, an was up for withing my van earnings budget, after a 2 hour drive over to Manchester, I parted with a deposit and rented a tow truck for collection later that week, I paid £320 for her in total and got her on the back the drove her home. It was (and still is) a non runner, I originally planned to do a engine change like for like (N42B20A to N42B20A) and get her on the road, but that hasn't been straight forward, N42 have a bad rep for time chain jump and i'm building this for myself and wanna do as much work as I'm able, so started to look at other E46 engines and fancy a 6 cylinder engine but I want (need) to keep it automatic (I'm a left leg amputee), so my questions are: Are the front subframes the same in all e46's? Are the gearbox's interchangeable between models? Would it be a nightmare getting a manual engine to work with my auto box? How much work would it be to fit a SMG gearbox over a manual? Is this too much for one post? Sorry about the length of this, and thanks in advance for your time, this isn't something I can walk away from as I really want to build my own BMW now, Cheers Christopher PS please don't say get rid and get a 6 cylinder auto as it's not possible and other engines are available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndlessProblems Posted October 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2019 A quick look at where I'm at & the damage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted October 2, 2019 Report Share Posted October 2, 2019 https://www.bmw-driver.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-44534.html From what others have said online it's probably best to try to upgrade to an M54 engine. There's loads of Auto 325i/330i around so plenty of parts available. Sounds like it's plug and play. Don't think there'd be any issues fitting an engine which came from a manual to an Auto box - the box is different.. Not the engine. Would probably be easier if you had a non-runner with an M54 engine though as you may want to upgrade some of the other bits like prop-shaft/diff/rear-subframe/driveshafts/brakes etc.. EndlessProblems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkynut Posted October 5, 2019 Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 I too would get a whole donor car for the mounts, brakes etc but the tricky bit will be the ECU and immobiliser. I don't know if they will just swap over or if the looms differ too much. I don't know how easy it will be to do a complete loom swap with it being canbus. I did this years ago on a Vauxhall Nova but the E46 is a tad more complicated. Kirkynut EndlessProblems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndlessProblems Posted October 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 3 hours ago, kirkynut said: I too would get a whole donor car for the mounts, brakes etc but the tricky bit will be the ECU and immobiliser. I don't know if they will just swap over or if the looms differ too much. I don't know how easy it will be to do a complete loom swap with it being canbus. I did this years ago on a Vauxhall Nova but the E46 is a tad more complicated. Kirkynut Thank you both for the reply @mono & @Kirkynut, it's appropriate. So let's say I wanted to go 330i M54B30, to keep it auto would mean I'd need to source a auto ECU/loom/ews ect from that engine mode? I know keeping a BMW automatic isn't the mainstream but I was hoping to get lucky, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted October 5, 2019 Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 There's loads of guys on Facebook who have done this. Best people to contact would be Las Erikas - Breaks lots of BMWs. but does lots of Auto TO Manual conversions so he may have an Auto or two at a good price for you. Nick Jupp - Owns a breakers in Swanley, Kent. Doesn't do conversions but breaks a load of E46s. He may even have a donor car available. Both would be good for advice at least. I've dealt with Nick a few times via Facebook, really nice guy! Tbh with the E46 being as rust prone as it is i'm sure it wont take long to find a donor with full running gear, but rusted out shell. EndlessProblems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirkynut Posted October 6, 2019 Report Share Posted October 6, 2019 19 hours ago, EndlessProblems said: Thank you both for the reply @mono & @Kirkynut, it's appropriate. So let's say I wanted to go 330i M54B30, to keep it auto would mean I'd need to source a auto ECU/loom/ews ect from that engine mode? I know keeping a BMW automatic isn't the mainstream but I was hoping to get lucky, lol I'd say so yes but would look for a rusted out of crashed car for engine mounts etc, so you know how it ought to be, even if you replace with new. There's more autos about than manuals, so your choice is easier. Kirkynut EndlessProblems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
