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[matthewphillips]

I have a '87 E28 525i which broke a valve and seriously damaged the cylinder head. To fix it I am buying another e28 for parts, the one I am interested ni is a B reg 528i.

I expect the larger engine to just drop straight into the other car. Can anyone advise me of potential pitfalls I may experience while doing this? has anyone tried it before?

I am hoping to start this work at the weekend and would like to be armed with as much info as possible by then. If anyone is interested in buying the car for parts once the engine is removed (you can have the damaged 525 engine too if interested) then please make an offer!

Thanks.

[edjack]

If these are both chain-driven, 12 valve engines, I would expect that they are interchangeable. Other than someone coming forth that has actually done this swap, the only way you will answer the question is to get both engines out, and place them side-by-side, to measure them, and note where the motor mounts fit on each block.

Here in the Colonies, as I remember, the only E28 engines we had were the M20 2.7 liter timing belt engine, and the M30 3.4 liter chain drive. The E12 ('79 to '81) got the M30 2.8 liter chain drive engine with L-Jetronic.

There is also the question of whether the bell housing on each car is the same.