I am starting this thread because me and my husband are trying to conclude if changing a V6 engine an old BMW is worth the stress and the funds than buying another car.


Can a v6 engine be changed to the V4?
If it can, what can one expect to experience after it has been changed?
Apart from getting a new engine, will the wiring change? Because someone told us that i will have to buy another ECU (brainbox)
Do we need to buy anything apart from the V4 engine?
What other intricacies are involved in making the car run smoothly
Ps:i forgot to mention that its a manual drive.

honest responses will do the magic.

thanks

If you are coverting your V6 BMW to I4, then you will be altering a lot of things.

To start with, what is the series of the BMW?

The weight of the car was considered when manufacturing the car with V6 engine. Trust me, the suspension and other mechanicals in the front, aside engine, will differ from the same I4 model.

But to answer to your question. Yes. Its possible to covert the car from V6 to I4. And Yes. You will have to change or replace the ECU(s) [aka brainbox] to the I4 engine model. It dosent stop there. The engine harness ( wires from the ecus to relays and engine sensors) will be changed too. God have mercy on you if the electrical conversion is done by an incompetent rewire. Speaking from experience!

If you convert that car to I4, depending on the car's weight, the car might end up consuming more fuel than the V6. Why? Because installing an I4 engine in a heavy car, there will be more load on the smaller I4 engine to pull the overweight body. It will run sluggishly as well. Its better to upgrade (convert I4 to V6) than to downgrade (convert V6 to I4).

If you and your husband want I4, I would advise you guys to sell the car and purchase a factory I4 BMW. Its what I would do.

Ikenna.

thanks mr ikenna

all that stuff, dont think we want to go through that.

the so called car electricians can make a mess of ones car, we would rather leave it as V6 if it will still end up consuming fuel resulting from a sluggish movement.

talking about fuel consumption, its okay its just that you cannot compare it the regular honda/toyota.

also, the car clutch depressed and i could not drive today cos gear will not change and i noticed that some kind of oil leaked out from the clutch pad, will this be expensive to repair?

the vehicle is a 1990 325ix

First, your engine is I6 (Inline 6) engine. Its straight line 6 cylinder, not V configuration.

About the clutch failure, its not oil, but hydraulic. Your clutch master cylinder has failed. No, it wont be an expensive repair. It only need to be rekitted (changed 2 rubbers inside the cylinder). But if the cylinder or shaft/pinion has worn, you will have to replace the entire master cylinder. But even replacement of clutch master cylinder wont be an expensive repair either. Since its the master that is leaking, I believe the slave cylinder will still be ok. That one is under the bell housing (what Nigerian mechanics call banjo).

Ikenna.

Thank you so much mr ikenna may God continue to bless your efforts
yes i think its a straight cylinder i6 like you said.

80% of your thanks should go to Siena. The knowledge i have now on autos is because of him.

Ikenna.

@Poster,

Yes as Ikenna mentioned, Its very possible and  I just  changed the upper clutch of my 1990 3 series for less than N1000 this past Saturday.

My car was a I6 2.7 litres IX (four wheel  drive)  But due to difficulty getting  the Shocks and lower arm  replaced, I opted for convertion to regular  Shocks  which  led to my replacing the engine to 325 proper because the Oil pump could not work.

However,  3 years ago I changed the engine from I6 to I4 and its been moving me just fine as I do mostly city driving  which was easy on fuel.

Within the 6 years that I have owned the car, I have also owned  a Peugeot prestige 406 which was milking me dry b4 I sold it then followed by a  corolla  which I also sold because  I was tired of frequenting  my mechanic.

This BMW has suffered lots of abuse from me but I just can't let it go yet as I plan to make it an antique and keep it.

It has really served me well and I have gotten to know a lot about it that I am always happy fixing  minor faults on it.

It has never left me stranded.  The downside is that the electricals are where you have to be very careful after your convertion.  Make sure it is expertly done.


PS: I have seen 5 series body fitted with  I4 motors.

cheers.

@ poster, looks like we use the same kind of car so i will like to know the location of the workshop/person that worked on your car as we need to do the same(change the engine/shocks from I6 to I4) as we cant stand anybody doing trial and error because it can be costly.

Talking about electricals expertly done, kindly recommend this person that worked on yours.

are these people anywhere in lagos.

awaiting your reply

@patlead

I did my conversion  3 years ago but I can give you the number of my part seller at Ladipo (Lagos)  he is the one that introduced  those guys to me.


His name is Nickolas (NICK). Tell him you are from  Mr. Peter  his number is 07037248057.

Ikenna351:

80% of your thanks should go to Siena. The knowledge i have now on autos is because of him.

Ikenna.

Good Comment Ikenna,


Olorogun Siena, kindly accept these accolades

@obijack

I quite appreciate your effort, i will ensure we contact mr nick.

Also, i forgot to ask, did u change any ECU(s) as mr ikenna mentioned earlier on or did u just go ahead to use the already existing ones.

if you can remember anything, can u just give an highlight of the total amount it cost you then e.g engine, ecu, etc and likely amount for workmanship.

i hope i am not disturbing you.

thanks

Here is a list of things  that must ebe changed.

1. ECU-- this used to be 3K  for the I4 (May be a little more than that now.

2  Gear Box  (Transmission)  bought mine for 5K then should be around 6.5K by now

3. Propellar shouldn't be more than 2K mine was 1K

4. Engine 1.8litres. Mine was 35K  and as at last check it was 36K

5. Air flow metre.   replaced mine February of 2010 for 4K

6. New Exhaust system. Bought mine (Backport)   for 13K then and for  centreport I used a Peugeot (not sure which model) centreport  which was welded  to mine when I felt the cost was not worth it.  The pogo then was 2K and its still there till date.

7. Engine Wire (Harness)   was 3K. should still be the same  amount.

8 Radiator was  5k.


Hope this helps.

PS: there will be some  welding  and a little extra expenses  for service parts and all.  My advice for you is to drive the car there prior to any work so they will tell you exactly what you need.  and be sure to sell the other engine back to them. If you  want to be shrewed like them, price the engine in bits (that is price the parts separately just as you bought urs. Though they know u do not need it so they will always want to have their way.

Remember service parts too like plug, oil and filters.

Also is your car an all Wheel Drive ?

@obijack thanks for the lecture , im beginning to feel like a very good auto person with all this enlightenment. i just checked, was supposed to be an all wheel, but i guess it was converted as i cannot see any link between the front tyres and engine.

so will we have to sell the current gearbox(transmission) , current exhaust system cause it cant work along with the engine?

must the radiator change compulsorily?

whats pogo?

@patlead,

Pogo is short for Peugeot or maybe my spelling was wrong but that is what we used to call it those days.

With the right hoses, u can still use the radiator. Try to check your car again, does it have any front shaft ?

If it does not, then you need not change the shocks and lower arm (Ball Joints). Just do the engine conversion and you are good to go.

Hope it helps.

@obijack

Thanks

@patlead,

Just to be very sure a conversion has been done on your car, check to see if your front brake cylinder has a place where u fit in the head of a shaft.  The front shafts may have been removed.  If it does have it, then you have to change the shock  and lower  arm during your conversion. Do not do it in phases like I did it will cost you more money.  The IX  front Shocks is 28K and lower arm is 18K (No less). It gets better,  they are so difficult to get because according to an article I read some years back   less than 2000 units of this very model was produced by BMW and a couple of them  has ended up on our shores of which I own 1 of them and its like you own  another and I have seen quite a few on the road. You will know they are distinct because they are padded (especially the 89 -90 models).

Note: Do not allow any mechanic to tell you that u can still use the 325IX engine after conversion, Its a big lie. The oil pump is the show stopper there.

The steering of the IX crossed under the sump (Oil Pan). believe me its a very funny construction and  the oil pump is on one side.  At the end of the day, the engine block must be changed to I6 proper. I say this  because "NOTHING TEACHES LIKE EXPERIENCE"

Note also that you will have to change your steering  rack to normal e30 which is 8k now if the conversion has not been done.

On a softer note, check the engine properly to be sure because it may just have the 325IX stamp at the back but it's actually 325i or 325is. (I still drive around with mine showing it's an IX while its just a 1.8 litre  daily knock about)

I am sure oga Seina  can throw more light on that.

@obijack,padded yes wow one out of 2000 units, can i say we are lucky

talking about the sump(oil pan) there is one hole i can see , from our knowledge of cars i think there should be a rod that connects the engine to the tires,right now its hollow and it looks like i can see thru the sump(oil pan).

its still an ix(confirmed from a mechanic) and straight I6 cylinder.

when converting, i can sell the shocks and lower arm to get the one that the I4 will use. can also see the sump on one side.


so after conversion, will still change to e 30 rack

O' Boy,

Good, now that u are very sure, u know exactly what u are getting into. U can give them the shock at a discount and u will still have change after buying regular lower arm and shocks because complete front shock with spring (used) goes for around 8k and lower arm (used) is 4k.