So here's the story. My room mate has a 1997 BMW 318i sedan that spun a rod bearing. After doing some research, I found that the m44 is prone to doing that very thing and, being a BMW, parts aren't exactly cheap. After weighing out our options, I convinced him to swap to a 4g63. I knew one of my friends had a 1992 talon tsi awd that he didn't have the time or money for, so we picked it up from him and got to work.

Here's how it started

And after a few minutes we got here

Without too much work we got the motor and trans out of the car

140 horses of German misery

Then it was time to start on the donor car

Piece of cake


I knew I wanted to clean up the 4g and the engine bay before I threw everything together though and replace all the gaskets and maintenance parts while it was easy to do. I got the motor stripped down and busted out the degreaser and engine paint and just generally started cleaning everything up. We drove up to Toledo and picked up a custom bell housing from Bill Hincher to mate the engine up to a w58 Toyota trans.








I figured since I was going through this much trouble and had to make mounts anyway, I might as well move the engine as far back and down as possible. I hoisted it into the general area it needed to be, and quickly noticed an issue.



The front sump oil pan sits right about where the crossmember is. I had a couple choices here. I could either push it about 10 inches forward to clear the subframe and sway bar, which I didn't like at all, or make a rear sump oil pan.






Granted, I'm only using this for mock up purposes. I'll probably have a nice thick flange machined and build a much better pan, but for it's needed purpose right now, this will work. The end result is that now the motor sits extremely far back.



I also have a ton of turbo space


Plenty of ground clearance too


Not so much for a brake booster though. I'll solve that issue when I build my intake mani and hydroboost


And this is how it sits right now


I have a lot more pictures but they aren't all stored in the same place. I've been taking pictures with my digital cam (which I can't find at the moment), my iPhone, and my ipad. I still have some more work ahead of me, but hopefully it will be on the road some time this summer.

Cool cant wait to see how this turns out!

hey man. its zeke from the DD page. glad I got to subscribe to this to see your progress.

Very cool build. Good luck!

God Damnit, you stole my next build idea . I love it though, subscribed!

I am in love with the e36 platform and thought it should be complimented with a 4g63 also

I was planning on using a r154 transmission out of the early supras.
How long is the w58 trans from toyota?

Great idea with the oil pan.

Nice build! Thought of doing the exact same build too!

Oh fack'n rights! Im glad to see a bmw here. Nice build so far man keep up the good work, cant wait to see it done. Sub'd for sure!!

I wanted to do this build with an e46 but i ended up with the datsun. can't wait to see how this build ends up, good luck!

agentorange313 said:

God Damnit, you stole my next build idea . I love it though, subscribed!



I am in love with the e36 platform and thought it should be complimented with a 4g63 also



I was planning on using a r154 transmission out of the early supras.

How long is the w58 trans from toyota?



Great idea with the oil pan.

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I thought about going with an r154, but I would've had to wait on my bell housing a little longer. It's actually the same casting as the w series bell housing it's just drilled differently. There's a few different variations of the w trans, and off the top of my head I'm not entirely sure how long it is. The shifter location is only a few inches farther forward than stock right now, but the cas is actually sitting where one side of the blower motor used to sit . I shoved this thing pretty far back. I'll probably do the same kind of flange as what jm fab does for intakes with the oil pan. About 1/2 thick steel with another 1/4-1/2 raised edge to weld to. I've looked all over and can't find a rear sump oil pan or just a flange though, so I'll have to get one made locally

Cool project. When I had my 318is I ran a small 16g on it for a few years. Mine was an M42, though. Anemic from the factory, but they respond really well to low to moderate boost.

The m44 isn't much better. The only saving grace of this car is that is a relatively nice car otherwise and it's a 5 speed

Good luck man! Looking forward to this one.
Was sitting here like "How's he going to mate the trans.....OHHHHH.... Me Gusta.."

97gsxIA said:

Good luck man! Looking forward to this one.

Was sitting here like "How's he going to mate the trans.....OHHHHH.... Me Gusta.."

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There's a guy relatively local to me that makes bell housings for the 4g63 to go to Toyota w series, r154, t5, t56, gm autos. I decided to run with the w just out of pure cost and the fact that it should be able to hold for a while until I start gettin some more power put down. Once that happens I'll probably run a t56.

Nice! Just do not be like me and get destructed by other projects! I have been working on 4g63 powered project since '01...

One advise I can give: define a clear goal and do not add extra things! That really derailed my project!

GRNDSM said:

Nice! Just do not be like me and get destructed by other projects! I have been working on 4g63 powered project since '01...

One advise I can give: define a clear goal and do not add extra things! That really derailed my project!

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Well I have an air bagged s10 to rebuild and finish and a 1999 4x4 suburban that I need to build at some point and still fit customer cars in . The s10 and suburban are still drive able though, so they can wait. Goal #1 is to get the BMW back on the road, all the go fast parts can happen after that.

First, I apologize for this being my first post. Second, where did this build go? Third(and most important) I have a donor 4g63t and 1995 BMW 318i. I have both the patience and skill to do the swap. The craziest part is what I am planing for everything after the motor. T56(Chevy) mated to a Ford 9" rear end and a slew of other odds and ends to help them fit. Unfortunately, This project is on the back burner until probably fall. I have the "concept" parts taking up space in the garage, that way I will not keep researching it/working on it. I'm just looking for help from others who have done the motor swap to help, mostly, with vac, coolant, and electrical lines.

Doesn'tMatter said:

First, I apologize for this being my first post. Second, where did this build go? Third(and most important) I have a donor 4g63t and 1995 BMW 318i. I have both the patience and skill to do the swap. The craziest part is what I am planing for everything after the motor. T56(Chevy) mated to a Ford 9" rear end and a slew of other odds and ends to help them fit. Unfortunately, This project is on the back burner until probably fall. I have the "concept" parts taking up space in the garage, that way I will not keep researching it/working on it. I'm just looking for help from others who have done the motor swap to help, mostly, with vac, coolant, and electrical lines.

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what all would you want to know?

as far as vac, you can do the basic delete of most of the emissions (being as this wouldnt pass anyway) and run the necessary lines for engine operation.

coolant, same thing. youll probably be needing to change the outlet for the water pump to a more front-facing option, and then run a hard line from the thermostat housing forward, till you can reach the rad with some hoses. or you could do a slimmer thermostat outlet, and a remote mounted thermostat housing further up front.

wiring youd be looking at an engine harness swap. being that the dsm harness can be made essentially stand alone, just keep the body harness for the bmw and run the engine solo. or get one of the kewl new mil-spec harness from ohm-racer if your feeling froggy (im not trying to promote, just giving other options).

past that youll have to post concerns that are more narrowed down to get better answers.
i too would like to know what happened to this build, looks like it wouldve been fun!

What clutch disc did the OP end up using with the w58 setup?

Since 1983 said:

What clutch disc did the OP end up using with the w58 setup?

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You typically use the toyota disk that the transmission comes with when using a w series trans w/ the 4g63.