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pengers 
Newbie
Joined: 10-January-2005
Location: SW London
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Points: 22
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 Topic: M42 dipstick tube
Posted: 07-March-2005 at 07:52 |
H E L P P L E A S E...to anyone who has an E36 1.8is (M42 engine): could you have a look at where the dipstick tube is located and tell me whether its in front of (radiator side) or behind the belts (tight up against alternator) please?
Only the dipstick tube on the engine I installed recently was loose, someone else pulled it out ( thanks!) and now I'm struggling to get it back in. It doesn't want to thread its way down between various belts and pulleys etc. - its kinked in a way that does not seem to thread through the small gaps available. Plus the belts on this motor have been upgraded compared to the old E30 engine which I pulled so I cannot use the old one to compare. However the two tubes are identical so I suspect the tube should be behind the belts hard up against the alt.
If anyone's got any tips on how to do this with engine in place I would v.v. much appreciate eg. do the belts need to be removed first for example or the tube bent to suit space (but its a fairly strong piece of pipe and not easily re-shaped). Very frustrating since I didn't even cause the problem and holding up rebuild completion.
Thanks for any assistance, Pengers.
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b318isp
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Joined: 10-October-2002
Location: Ireland
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Points: 2057
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Posted: 07-March-2005 at 08:05 |
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On the E30 it is on the engine/alternator side.
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Hammer1
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Joined: 11-August-2003
Location: United Kingdom
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Points: 97
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Posted: 07-March-2005 at 12:32 |
Its near the back by the battery (the red circle is the top of the dipstick)
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e36 318ti sport
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pengers
Newbie
Joined: 10-January-2005
Location: SW London
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Points: 22
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Posted: 09-March-2005 at 17:37 |
Tks Hammer1, do you or does anyone else know if there are different 'eras' of M42 engines? Only my car is an E30 1.8is, the old engine had the dipstick at the front, lives next to oil filter/alt. The new engine which I have just installed I believe was out of an E36 1.8is (has wide belts instead of thin ones so some updating to M42 obviously took place over years...but moving the dipstick from front to back?) and there's a hole in the top of the sump which the dipstick tube fits into which is in the same place as on the old engine. Nothing around where your photo shows it to be except the starter...how do you upload a picture in a post??
Pengers.
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neileg
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 20-July-2004
Location: Northumberland
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Points: 638
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Posted: 10-March-2005 at 07:42 |
On my 1994 E36 M42, the dipstick is held by a bracket bolted to the inlet manifold. There is a sort of blanking plate on the end of the manifold (nearest the battery). The bracket fits to the rearmost bolt on this balnking plate.
The curve on the dipstick tube is only side to side, not front to back and is a clean run. In other words the distance from the radiator to the top of the dipstick is the same as the distance to the bottom of the dipstick.
However, the E36 installation has the engine at an angle whereas I think the E30 is vertical. The inlet manifold will be different and I presume you will have used your E30 mainfold. It is likely, therefore, that the dipstick for the E36 won't fit, and you will need to use the E30 dipstick.
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Cheers, Neil
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neileg
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 20-July-2004
Location: Northumberland
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Points: 638
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Posted: 10-March-2005 at 08:08 |
More
If you look at the E30 and E36 dipstick arrangements, they're quite different because the sump pan is different. On the E36 the dipstick is halfway back the engine, on the E30 it's at the front. You'll need to have swapped the sump pan from your old engine to the new one so the dipstick will be in the original place. So the position of the dipstick when the engine was in the E36 is irrelevant. I wonder if you may have to swap the old drive belts, pulleys, etc, to the new engine to give you the correct clearance?
Edited by neileg
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Cheers, Neil
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b318isp
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Joined: 10-October-2002
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Posted: 10-March-2005 at 08:17 |
 neileg wrote:
However, the E36 installation has the engine at an angle whereas I think the E30 is vertical. The inlet manifold will be different and I presume you. |
The E30 engine is angled over the same. Interesting post though as I didn't know of this difference between the E30/36 M42s.
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neileg
Really Senior Member II
Joined: 20-July-2004
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Posted: 10-March-2005 at 10:54 |
Ah, yes Brendan. I see the E30 is angled over too. But the E30 seems to have a bolt on oil pan at the front of the engine that fastens to a plate closing off the rest of the crankcase. The E36 engine has a 'more conventional' one piece sump pan.
pengers have a look at these two pages
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AF92&mospi d=47256&prod=19910500&btnr=11_0159&hg=11&fg= 10
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BE52&mospi d=47425&prod=19940800&btnr=11_1957&hg=11&fg= 10
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Cheers, Neil
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pengers
Newbie
Joined: 10-January-2005
Location: SW London
Status: Offline
Points: 22
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Posted: 10-March-2005 at 13:31 |
Ah yes, yes, yes, of course! I have indeed swapped the sumps so the correct tube would be the one from the E30 engine (as I have been attempting) BUT...now the belt arrangement on the E36 engine is totally different and I can't seem to install it. As Neil suggested, possibly necessary to swap the old drive belts and pulleys etc (incl alternator I would think) to the new engine to enable fitment. Anyone know this for sure?
Thanks!
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pengers
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Joined: 10-January-2005
Location: SW London
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Posted: 03-May-2005 at 13:13 |
Final answer to this one and it may be of some use to anyone else doing the same job (fitting an E36 M42 engine into an E30 1.8is as its the 'same' engine).
The pulleys and belt system is different (updated) on the E36 M42 engine compared to the E30 M42 engine and they have different dipstick locations (see above thread) but you need to use your old sump off your E30 M42 engine but using the old sump means that the old dipstick does not fit with the new pulley system.
So, gently kink the dipstick here and there so that it fits in its hole with the handle end poking out through the middle of the all pulleys and belt up near the radiator shroud, fix (securely) to anything rigid and that's the best solution I can find, not ideal but at least you can tell how much oil you have!
Alternatively, re-fit all your pulleys, belts and alt from your old engine and use the dipstick un-modified but seems a step backwards, new grooved belts look far more up to the job than old ones.
Hope this helps. Pengers.
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b318isp
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Joined: 10-October-2002
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Posted: 06-May-2005 at 08:20 |
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Good job fella!
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M42 dipstick tube