[Starwax]

does anyone know the visual difference between a 1.6 or a 1.8 E36 engine, or any way to tell without resorting to papers. thanks.

 

[Joe9087]

The engine itself or the car?

 

[Starwax]

the engine, apparently its a 1.8 in a 316 but im not so sure.

 

[olivercox1983]

do you currently own the car? or is it a car you are looking to buy?

some info here, but no pics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_engines
if you have the chassis number and reg, BMW should be able to tell you what engine you have in the car

 

[Starwax]

I own it, i inherited it, but it was a end of the E36 last off the production line in south africa 316i but apparently they stuck a 1.8 in it. however after driving it around im not so sure, the documents say 1.6 but its an import and no one really told them about the engine, the reason its imported was we moved back from SA and had space in the container to threw the car in. i don't have the papers from back then, except the registration plates. I was wondering if there were any tell tails on the engine its self that you can tell what size it is.

 

[olivercox1983]

can you take a picture of the engine?

 

[bucky]

if it says 318 then its 1.8, if its a 316 its a 1.6. hope this helps

 

[Ronnie]

To be 100% sure have a look on the engine block, left hand side when sat in the car, just above where the sump meets the engine block, behind where the engine mount bolts to the block will be the engine code/number.

What does it say on the chassis plate? anything like 164E2? Or you got the usual SA car with no engine code on chassis plate?

 

[bucky]

i would guess an m43b16 (1600cc) for a 99, unless its a compact?

 

[Starwax]

that's pictures of it, may not be the right way around.

Ill have a look at the engine number, with the days getting longer might be home one day when its light :thumbsup

 

[eddiee36]

looks to me like a 1.6 lump. i have a 1.6 compact and a 1.8 compact. I will compare to mine when i get home and let you know

 

[eddiee36]

Hey i just found some pics from my 1.6 Compact. To me it looks definatly like a 1.6 engine.

 

[Unknownsoldier]

if it says 318 then its 1.8, if its a 316 its a 1.6. hope this helps

Not so, I had a 97' E36 316i saloon, and that was a 1.8, confirmed by BMW, it was one of the last made, and they used up the 1.8 block in it apparently.

Tom

 

[Unknownsoldier]

Definitely looks like a 1.6, mine looked slightly different. BMW, like Mercedes have an odd habit of not badging up truthfully, i.e. my 520iSE, was in fact a 2.2 and so on and so forth.

Tom

 

[Starwax]

thanks, interesting what you said, cause apparently that is what this one was "meant" to be, a 316 end of line with a 1.8 block in it, though i was never sure, and as it was imported its a pain to trace. mind you bmw could probably find out... but at what cost lol

just looking on fleabay at a 1.8 block, looks identical to the 1.6 block from what I can see, hmm.... ill look for the number on the engine later...

 

[Slacker-ray]

thanks, interesting what you said, cause apparently that is what this one was "meant" to be, a 316 end of line with a 1.8 block in it, though i was never sure, and as it was imported its a pain to trace. mind you bmw could probably find out... but at what cost lol

just looking on fleabay at a 1.8 block, looks identical to the 1.6 block from what I can see, hmm.... ill look for the number on the engine later...

To be sure, as Ronnie said- you need to look for the engine code on the block- it will be on the inlet manifold side where the sump meets the head.

Also, look for the chasis plate on the car.............the engine code will be stamped on the left hand side of it.