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I am not responsible for any damages or modifications of any type to your vehicle. This site is for informational purposes only!

BMW OEM E46 M3 Engine Transplant

 

What's this all about? My parents leased me a 2000 BMW 323i for college, which I acquired the lease at the end of the term. I found a used E46 M3 engine, SMGII transmission, rear subframe, etc and decided to transplant the engine into the car. I had very little automotive knowledge prior to this project and thought I'd learn a few things in the process. The transplant took me a little more than a year from 2004-05-20 to 2005-08-26. I've made sure to document everything with over 6,000 pictures and a discussion over on E46Fanatics.com through the link below:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=176943&pp=80

 

Since it might take half a day to read the whole post, I've extracted all of the updates below:

2004-05-20 1st Inspection

2004-06-25 2nd Inspection

Rough Parts List

2004-07-11 Engine Cart

2004-07-14 Parts Delivery

2004-08-21 Head Cover Throttle Actuator Pullies

2004-09-04 Throttle Bodies Fuel Air Rail

2004-09-10 Engine Harness Engine Mount

2004-10-16 Rod Bearing Recall

2004-10-23 Rod Bearing Recall

2004-11-06 Plasma Coils Iridium Spark Plugs

2004-11-07 AA E46 M3 Supercharger

2004-11-20 Oil Filter SMG Oil Air Pipes

2004-12-10 Engine Pallet Jack

2005-02-03 323i Disassembly Lights Bumper Radiator

2005-02-04 Disassembly Front Suspension

2005-02-05 Disassembly Steering Rack Control Arms

2005-02-06 Disassembly Exhaust System Interior Seats

2005-02-07 Disassembly Center Console Steering Wheel

2005-02-12 Disassembly NAV Removal

2005-02-15 Disassembly Front Dash

2005-02-20 Disassembly Rear Bumper ECU Steptronic Coils

2005-02-26 Disassembly Engine Tranny Mounts Rear Suspension

2005-03-12 Disassembly Fuel Rail Exhaust

2005-03-19 Diassembly Rear Subframe Driveshaft

2005-03-20 Diassembly Engine Pull

2005-03-26 Assembly Wiring + Driveshaft

2005-03-27 Assembly Rear Subframe

2005-03-31 Assembly Fuel Pump + SC + Transmission Mount + Misc

2005-04-03 Assembly Coolant Tank + Air Pump + Engine Mount

2005-04-04 Assembly Fuel System

2005-04-14 Assembly Fuel Lines + Fuel Filter

2005-04-15 Assembly Drive By Wire Pedal

2005-04-16 Assembly Steering Rack

2005-04-17 Assembly Transmission + Reconfigure + Body Harness

2005-04-20 Assembly Engine + Tranny + Driveshaft + Rear End

2005-04-21 Assembly SC Oil Tank + Pipes

2005-04-22 Assembly SC Intercooler + Pedal + Shifter

2005-04-24 Assembly SC Oil Cooler + Breather Hoses

2005-04-27 Assembly Control Arms + Radiator + Front Shock Mounts

2005-04-28 Assembly Drive By Wire + Control Arms

2005-05-01 Assembly MAF Module + ECU Wiring

2005-05-03 Assembly Master Brake Cylinder + Oil Cooler

2005-05-06 Assembly Misc Attachments

2005-05-08 Assembly Engine Fluids + Steering Connect

2005-05-09 Assembly Coolant + Wiring

2005-05-10 Assembly Fuel Relay Wiring

2005-05-15 Assembly Power Brake Unit

2005-05-17 Assembly Fuel Relay Wiring Install

2005-05-21 Assembly Steering Toes

2005-05-21 Assembly Praxis Air Suspension

2005-05-23 Assembly Brake Components + Key Set

2005-05-23 Wiring Harness + Compressor + Rear Height Sensors

2005-05-24 Front Height Sensors + Front Shock + King Pin + Sensor Linkages

2005-06-01 Assembly Xenon Height Lever

2005-06-01 Electrical + Air Pipes + Air Tank

2005-06-03 Assembly 323i Brakes + Wheel Bearings

2005-06-10 Assembly Wheel Bearing Press + Rotors + Calipers

2005-06-14 Spring Mounts + Rear Shocks

2005-06-22 Wiring + Rear Springs

2005-06-25 Assembly DME Wiring + Steering Connection

2005-06-26 Assembly Wiring + Engine Fitment

2005-06-27 Assembly Wiring

2005-07-01 Assembly Ignition Key Cylinder + Stock Wheels

2005-07-03 Assembly General Control Module + Fluids + Battery

2005-07-08 Assembly Wiring + OBDII + Fuel Pump Voltage

2005-07-09 Assembly EKP Revisit

2005-07-13 Water Pressure Washer

2005-07-14 DPE Wheel Fitting

2005-07-15 Car Towed

2005-07-16 CWBMW EWS + Brakes + Differential + Throttle + Starter

2005-07-18 CWBMW Start Up + Resonators + AC Refrigerant

2005-07-19 CWBMW Alignment + Tow Home

2005-07-22 AA R10 ECU Software Upgrade

2005-07-25 100 Octane Race Gas + Toyo T1R Tires

2005-08-11 DSC Unit + Load Deactivation + SMG Calibration