Radiator upgrade - stock face lift 325i rad compared to the new ali one.
It is substantially thicker than the stock rad.
The M10 rad in the car now it slightly smaller than the 325i rad.
Northern - made in the USA and bought off eBay in the UK!
Comes with all the bits you need to customise the radiator anyway you need it.
First test fit of the new radiator
[Ace Ventura]Like a glove[/Ace Ventura] the fit is pretty much spot on, just needs a small notch in the mounting metal to clear the steering column.
At this height the cone goes on over it with pleanty of clearance. Only issue is that the oil cooler needs its pipes relocating as the rad uses up the space with were in.
More than enough room to fit a big fan behind to suck the air in. The oil cooler need some 90 degree bends so that it can sit back on top of the front chassis cross bar.
Marking out the position for the inlet pipe.
This is how far down the rad stick under the car. Not too bad still higher up that both the steering rack and sump. This may need some extra protection from any potential impact.
Oil unions. Need a 90 degree bend which nobody seemed to make so the solution was to use a 90 + connector + straight.
What is the all sizes of the spacer at the front of the crank for the oil seal to sit on? For m20 2.8
Hi Roberts, I’ve added the crank spacer diagram to the gallery above (last image). It is sources from e30zone.net. I used to as the base but sorted out the final details when I turned the piece on the lathe.
Thanks, Patrick 🙂
Hi! Are you using stock piston on your M20B28 ??
Hi – I used the stock M20B25 pistons from a 1988 model. They are short skirt type. If you use early model pistons the the skirts get in the way of the conrods.
on stock 325i ECU/DME ?
Stock ECU, chip tuned for 2.8 capacity 🙂
Patrick I’m lost in details,but can you tell me one thing? The engine block you used in your m20b28 is it from a 2 liter M20B20? Or a bigger 2.5 liter m20b25? I find amazing that a m52b28 crankshaft would fit an M20B20 or b25 block. I am very curious because I would love to increase the cc in my M20B20 wich currently “lives” in a 1990 E34 520i. Thank you!
Hi, the block is from an M20B25, as are the pistons. The conrods are from the M20B20 – they are a little bit shorter than the M20B25 ones. All that’s needed to make M52B28 (non-VANOS) crank fit is a spacer for the front of it. You need to check piston skirt clearance too – some of the earlier M20B25 pistons have longer skirts.
I believe it is possible to use the crank from an M54B30 but that’s needs custom conrods and pistons. Each BMW 6 cylinder is a futher development of the previous generation so there tends to be some compatibility between them.
Thanks Patrick
There’s a more concise page about the engine build here:
http://www.msportster.co.uk/question/m20b28-build-in-full/
I can also recommend this really good article on e30zone:
https://www.e30zone.net/e30wiki/index.php/Building_a_2.8
Thanks Patrick