In the US we had limited engine choices in tourings vs the Euro market. We only got the M52B25TU in model year 2000 for the 323i, and for model years 2001-2005 the M54B25 in the 325i and 325xi.

Common swaps are the M54B30 from a 330i sedan/coupe since it's probably the easiest. Or an S54 from an E46 M3.

I think there is at least one K20 swapped car on the forum, and there's currently a 2JZ swap in process. I can't say that I've seen anyone put an LS into an E46 yet, but I'm sure it's been done

 

why not stay diesel and get an m57b30? Seems like you can get crazy power out of those

 

Yes!

Here's some inspiration:

How We Made A BMW E46 330d Touring Quicker Than An E92 M3

We've finally done it! Our 330d Touring is now officially quicker than an E92 M3 on track. This is what it took to get it there...

www.carthrottle.com

 

well built M62/TU

 

what do you actually need to swap a m62tu into an e46?

 

Hi all!

First off i would like to say I'm new here and new to the E46 scene. i recently purchased a 320d touring with over 200000 miles on the clock. it is now starting to show signs that it is going to die. So i have decided to take it off the road and do what I've always wanted to do to a car and swap the engine out. which leads me onto my questions for everyone.

what engines do people usually swap into it and would be easiest to complete? money shouldn't be an issue and neither is time as this will be an on going project for myself for the next few years, and over this time i am planning to change and upgrade almost everything on the car.

i would have liked to put a K24 engine into it but after looking through a few posts on here i have discovered that this isn't quite as simple and straightforward as i first thought and was led to believe. is it worth buying a LS and swapping this into it instead or would you recommend just sticking with another BMW engine?

Has anyone completed any crazy swaps? and what hurdles and difficulties should i be looking out for while doing this (specifically for the 320d touring)

thank you for taking the time to read and any help will be much appreciated

200.000 miles and it is on its way out? I'm not really familiar with the diesel engines but it seems like quite fast for a diesel one. Usually diesels are made to last. If you want to do a swap, putting in a M57 would probably be the easiest one.

 

If you're thinking about an LS, or are just looking for entertainment, ShopLifeTV on YouTube has a somewhat well documented series of swapping one into an e46 sedan. A touring would be roughly the same process.

 

What about good old M50 and turbo?

 

The same considerations for the touring have probably been made with the coupe. For that reason, have to include S62 swap because with it being lighter than the S54, fits nicely in the bay, makes 400hp, and the noiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise (former owner reminiscing here), it's an amazing option.

 

Anything can be done given enough time and money. The 2JZ swap has been done. The S85 (E60 M5 V10) has been shoehorned in, as well. Start by asking yourself what your plans are with the car. What do you want do with it? What are your goals?

 

any suggested swap here will be a cool project but a ton of work. Don't forget you also need another fuel tank & pump because you're going from diesel to petrol. The M57 swap is the easiest and with some proper tuning and upgrades they can easily get to 300hp and ttons of torque.
Keep in mind that any other swap like those suggested above will never ever let you drive the car on the road again as it will never pass inspection. Something those from the US don't really have to worry about.

 

If you want to keep your car street legal, M57N is the best option. 204 hp stock but you can easily get 250-300 hp with chip and exhaust.
If you are not interested in legal driving, but only creating an interesting project, then among BMW engines, you can try m50 + turbo, m62b44 without vanos + compressor, s54 i6, s65 v8, s85 v10 etc. But with M engines, the budget will be unrealistically large (not to mention the fact that such engines are hard to find in good condition)... Also 2jz, ls, rb25-rb26, toyota UZs. Or m54b30 from 330i...Think about whether you want to have a car only as a toy for the track) In any case, a non-standard swap will be more expensive than the car itself and you will need many custom parts.

 

street legal, when going from 2.0 4cil to a 3.0 6cil, well, not really legal. But it will not draw that much attention unless they know what to look for.

 

Where I live, you can make it legal, but "the government" has to recheck your vehicle, and especially when swapping to an engine which has been delivered in that chassis as well, it shouldn't be to much of a problem.

 

Oh really, I didn’t know about that. If you want a bit more information and also understand dutch: Aangepaste of afgebouwde auto laten goedkeuren

 

As mentioned above, the laws in your country might limit what you can do with a road legal car. Kinda sux that your engine swap is affected by politics. But that's the unfortunate reality.

That said, if it were me I'd go with the M57. The car is already diesel, so swapping another diesel engine makes sense. And the M57 is a very good engine.