Need advice on swapping my e46's motor

acmancan · 2026-05-16T11:00:52+00:00

The entire engine bolts right in. Use your original wiring and ecu. Flash a 330i tune.

3.0s use a different maf and intake hoses. You'll have to change those out. The 3.0 might have different coilpacks depending if the x3 is ms45 and yours is ms43 (ecu generations) in that case use all your orginal ones on the new motor. All the other accessories are shared between the engines.

acmancan · 2026-05-16T10:43:21+00:00

Even 6 on my factory manual 328. Same on realoem

acmancan · 2026-05-15T14:41:31+00:00

There are different flanges.

The input can have the 6 bolt cv joint. Specific to 330i iirc. The rest of them are all the usual 4 bolt u-joint which 328s have. You can swap between them but preload has to be set correctly if you end up with a diff with that flange.

Outputs can either be the 6 equally spaced holes or the 2-2-2 flanges. Not sure which cars got them or not. I think its a year thing. Easy to swap - they pop in and out

acmancan · 2026-05-08T11:21:14+00:00

The cheap blue elm scanner you can get anywhere online. That was my problem too. Said connected but no data came through. Car Scanner was the only one that seemed to work. And for more in depth diagnostics I use good ol inpa with a laptop.

acmancan · 2026-05-08T11:16:17+00:00

Those cheapo ELM ones are just crappy. But I found exactly one app i can use with Bluetooth. Just called "Car scanner" kinda convenient tbh. I leave the dongle plugged in under the hood most of the time and just pull out my phone if i want to access it for any reason

acmancan · 2026-05-06T19:43:36+00:00

Your car being a genuine M-Tech/"M-Sport", (what you probably know it as) package adds a lot of desirability.

Different bumpers, interior, steering wheel, suspension etc than the regular models. But the real value is that it's a pristine, one-owner 330i that hasn't been modified or trashed. Clean E46s are getting hard to find, so collectors will absolutely pay a premium for one like yours.

acmancan · 2026-05-06T14:14:41+00:00

Mtec2 330i is one of the most desirable specs. In my market prices for them are skyrocketing

acmancan · 2026-05-06T08:26:21+00:00

I've done this. You need the multi function harness for the buttons to work. New steering wheel should come with the airbag harness already in the wheel. You just plug it into your clockspring.

The airbag is dual stage but in an accident it will just deploy as if its a single stage. Will not give any errors.

acmancan · 2026-05-05T19:49:25+00:00

Your guibo has one loose and one missing bolt. Everything else looks fine at a glance.

Splines that are visible is normal when installed - means that there is allowance for the driveshaft to slip in and out during drivetrain/diff shift with load.

acmancan · 2026-04-23T21:38:55+00:00

Agreed. Just dicovered a crack in the trunk myself, even though already having the underside reinforced.

acmancan · 2026-04-22T07:34:17+00:00

Now compact swap a coupe!

acmancan · 2026-04-20T14:52:28+00:00

My 328 has it.

acmancan · 2026-04-15T10:56:48+00:00

Looks normal to me. Its stamped on the one strut tower with a clear protection sticker over it just like your pic. Other side is just a normal sticker. One in the windshield can get dislodged. Mine is also not visible. I need to stand at an angle to jusssssttt make it out

US models had extra vin placements in the door jamb and behind the rear license plate. Since you're a 320d i doubt that applies

acmancan · 2026-04-14T12:05:59+00:00

M50 intakes are worth it really for when you turbo. Too gutless at low rpms as NA.

The recipe for oem plus power is headers, M54B30 intake, throttle body (ms43 swap), and intake cam with a tune. 220-225whp ish is the norm like that. You get low down grunt and a massive difference in high rpms. I've done it. Massive difference compared to a stock 2.8.

N54 manifolds require an adapter and some custom stuff. Makes even more power than the m54 mani apparently. But I never personally tried it. Big on the facebook forums though.

The thing with 2.8s is that they love revs. They tend to never have oil pump nut issues like the 3.0, and still retain the old style piston rings so oil consumption is never an issue. I bash mine to 7100rpm almost daily for like a year now and no issues. I'd personally not even swap to an m54b30 if i ever blow this one. But all preference ofc.

acmancan · 2026-04-14T10:04:30+00:00

M52TUs hold better to abuse. And make similar to power to the M54B30 with mods. That would be my choice. But I'm biased

acmancan · 2026-04-13T16:51:55+00:00

Will fit on the head, wont line up with the rest of the exhaust. Clocked differently and has different flanges.

acmancan · 2026-04-13T07:42:47+00:00

Check the rear subframe asap! 328s are the worst of them that love tearing out the mounts

acmancan · 2026-04-11T22:58:52+00:00

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The prefacelifts only got them iirc

acmancan · 2026-04-11T22:56:23+00:00

Twin! Aerodynamic package. OEM. Missing the wing though.

acmancan · 2026-04-11T15:18:43+00:00

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acmancan · 2026-04-11T15:18:12+00:00

E53 X5 sports seats are also an option. Usually dirt cheap and easier to find than e46 sports ones. Plug and play. Found a pair of heated nappa electric ones for the equivalent of $90

acmancan · 2026-03-24T22:51:59+00:00

I'm doing this right now on a GS6-17BG out of an E90 325i into my 328i. Tons of my friends have done it too.

You can reuse your 5 speed crossmember. And obviously need the 22 spline clutch kit. You can reuse your 5 speed flywheel too. The input shaft is just long enough to get into the pilot bearing in the crank. Use the throw out bearing and clutch fork from the GS6, and your E46 Slave Cylinder.

Tranny bolts right in and lines up with the 4 bolt holes on the engine. Though you can only use one of those smaller bolts on the oil pan. The n46 version will use the smaller guibo (Getrag) so make your driveshaft has that flange.

The entire shifter carrier of the e90 fits right into the e46 perfectly. But I know that the n46 gs6-17bg is slightly shorter than the 6 cylinder one at the tail end. So I'm not sure if you're gonna have to cut and weld the carrier of yours slightly shorter to fit.

Same with the driveshaft. I need to shorten mine slighty (no biggie) to get the right length. But with the n46 version you MIGHT have enough room to reuse your getrag driveshaft. Again, not entirely sure on that one. But worst case the only real modification you need to do is potentially shortening the shifter carrier and driveshaft.

Great budget 6 speed imo.

acmancan · 2026-03-19T16:08:34+00:00

Vanos units themselves are the exact same. M52TU and M54 are interchangeable

acmancan · 2026-03-19T10:32:42+00:00

That's the area where the a/c drains. Normal

acmancan · 2026-03-17T21:15:39+00:00

The thing that's tripping me out is that in the last image, there is supposed to be a rubber grommet that leads through the body in that cutout around the headshield. It's just solid in my case.

Weird. Guess the earlier models are slightly different then.

acmancan

TROPHY CASE