New M54 engine swap forum.

[buzzbee]

im new to e30 zone and i too am in the planning stage for my e30 cab.. im looking at a complete 2004 330ci at the minute for a donner.
if i have the complete 330ci 6 speed manual what other parts am i going to need ??? will prop fit ?? will i need to make any changes to the tunnel or will the engine and box drop in ?? would the front seats fit ? questions questions .
any help and knowledge would be great

Look back up the thread and follow the links posted, that will answer a lot of questions.

Seats will fit if a subframe is made up, whether you would want them in an E30 is another matter.

No idea on the prop, rather than chase round the country with a tape measure I was going to get one shortened professionally to the right length for the 6-speed. If you make one up from two halves it still needs to go somewhere to be balanced unless you really enjoy the feeling of driving over rumble strips



I would also strip out the ABS and loom if it is a Facelift with a MK60 ABS.

It is not the easiest swap and many will say an M52 is better for lots of reasons. The M54B30 is good at some things and if those are what you like then it is a worthwhile swap. if you want to mess with it, go FI or want a high-revving screamer then best look elsewhere

sorry im a bit thick when it comes to computers and only just finding my way around the site..i"ll have a read through.
ref m54b30 ,im just hit 50 and finally getting round to doing them cuz i can no longer work (ostioarthritis) in multiple joints means a lot of painkillers and these little gems might just save my head from exploding lol,
i want to feel and here it but without red lining everywhere and have some comfort, what are your thoughts ?? the right swap for me ??
once again sorry for being a bit slow i"ll soon get my head round it.
i havnt brought the donner yet and not clued up at all on e46 range, what year do i want to be looking at for the ABS and loom ??

[flybynite]

Don't take this the wrong way but if you are not good with computers then I would stay well away from the E46 and M54 as a swap unless you are going to hand the swap over to someone who has done it before and live close to them for troubleshooting. I would also leave the ABS as it is.

Personally I would stick to an M20 and use one of the tried and tested methods of getting a bit more out of it depending on your budget along with a 5-speed gearbox.

[buzzbee]

Don't take this the wrong way but if you are not good with computers then I would stay well away from the E46 and M54 as a swap unless you are going to hand the swap over to someone who has done it before and live close to them for troubleshooting. I would also leave the ABS as it is.

Personally I would stick to an M20 and use one of the tried and tested methods of getting a bit more out of it depending on your budget along with a 5-speed gearbox.

no offence taken. thats why im asking lol.
im starting with old blue first, its m42 conversion but the conversion i had done back in 97. it went in to have head gasket done in 2004 and the garage went bust.
anyway it means the first car im doing is more engine rebuild. again ive never done it but i have time and patients. im only bad using computers by the way, wiring, following wiring diagrams and so on im not bad, its the bits where computer has to be plugged in il need to bring someone in

[Extremepower3918]

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/know ... y-work-281

Has anyone had any experience with or thought about using one of these? I've loctited my oil pump nut and installed an oil chain tensioner and I don't think I'll need it for 99% of the driving I'll be doing but it would be nice to have. It's looks like it could be a cheaper solution to oil starvation problems than the subframe that was mentioned previously or a dry sump conversion.

I'm also not sure how easy it is to connect to an M54 but I think there's some info on e46 forums that I'll have a look at.

[DanThe]

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/know ... y-work-281

Has anyone had any experience with or thought about using one of these? I've loctited my oil pump nut and installed an oil chain tensioner and I don't think I'll need it for 99% of the driving I'll be doing but it would be nice to have. It's looks like it could be a cheaper solution to oil starvation problems than the subframe that was mentioned previously or a dry sump conversion.

I'm also not sure how easy it is to connect to an M54 but I think there's some info on e46 forums that I'll have a look at.

You are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist, there is nothing wrong with a front bowel sump

[MrBenn]

You are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist, there is nothing wrong with a front bowel sump

Glad you've said that Dan. You've obviously run the S54 like that on track without problems, and presumably the M52 aswell?

It was a 'problem' I had read about, and considered in the past. Good to know it can be ignored.

[RickX]

Hello everyone,

Back on the forum after a break of a few years - life, or rather death, got in the way as they say.

I have been looking into an engine swap for my 1989 320 cabrio for a long time now. Have sourced all the conversion parts (thanks Dan) and even an original air-con unit.

I had bought an Alpina 3.3 motor in parts (fully refurbished cylinder head) but personal circumstances mean that I have given up on rebuilding it - maybe it is of interest to someone here. I even got as far as getting the EWS disabled on the Alpina ECU.

In the meantime I've been using a 3 litre E46 Sport automatic and am thinking about dropping the motor into my E30 eventually. The E30 is also an automatic and I so enjoy left foot braking that I've decided not to go the manual conversion route. Also, I've already fitted the E30 with electric seats from an E46 and am planning to add the necessary electronics, maybe even some Raspberry Pi trickery.

So I have the following questions, if anyone can help:

1. Are there likely to be any issues with gearbox orientation?

2. Which propshaft will suit? I have the E36 shaft which is meant to fit the manual gearbox conversion and the E34 (I think) diff to give suitable gearing. I'm guessing that I will need to find a specialist to maybe shorten the E30 shaft? Don't want to hack the E36 shaft - it took a hell of a lot of finding, so I assume that they are getting rare.

3. Does anyone know of a mechanic, preferably in Kent, who could carry out the engine swap for me? It's beyond my capabilities and I don't even have a garage to work in.

Stay safe everyone.

[DanThe]

The autobox from the E46 wont fit, unless you start chopping up the lower corners of the E30 transmission tunnel as it is too narrow in that area, the M20 autobox will be rotated approx 10 degrees when mounted to the M54 engine which is not good either

[DanThe]

You are trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist, there is nothing wrong with a front bowel sump

Glad you've said that Dan. You've obviously run the S54 like that on track without problems, and presumably the M52 aswell?

It was a 'problem' I had read about, and considered in the past. Good to know it can be ignored.

All you need is an oil pressure gauge, without one you are just guessing at whats going on, plenty of S50/S54 sumped engines still suffer oil starvation and kill engines, not under acceleration but under hard cornering and braking as this obviously generates much greater G force

[RickX]

The autobox from the E46 wont fit, unless you start chopping up the lower corners of the E30 transmission tunnel as it is too narrow in that area, the M20 autobox will be rotated approx 10 degrees when mounted to the M54 engine which is not good either

Hi Dan,

Many thanks for the prompt feedback and sage advice, much appreciated.

Paul.

[Extremepower3918]

Has anyone found a good way to mount the 6 speed GS6-37BZ?

I don't think there are any BMW parts that work but correct me if I'm wrong?

kassel performance in America sell one but I don't like how it hangs off the mounts at the front and the welding on it doesn't look very good.

I think I'll try and get the place I work to machine one for me. I 3d printed this to test the location but I'm not sure if it's right. I'm trying to get the prop shaft as straight as possible but the top of the gearbox is very close to the top of the tunnel.

Thanks

Rob

[flybynite]

No, I have not seen anything OEM that fits, everyone has made one up that I can see. That is what I was going to do.

What have you done with the propshaft? Just getting one shortened and balanced was the simplest way I could think. I have the prop from the auto 330 which seems close

[martauto]

That`s a lovely looking piece of engineering you have done there !!
All they have to do is the machining which looks pretty straight forward too.
You have done all the hard work as in the design and the cad model and they will thank you for that !

Mart.

[Extremepower3918]

Yeah I was going to get the E30 prop shortened and balanced if I couldn't find the right bits. I had the front half from my E85 donner car and I bought the rear half from an E36 325i, I think the rear half is same length all 6 cylinder E36s. Bolts right up with an E30 csb and medium case diff, just need to get it balanced now.

Do you know if the E46/E85 clutch slave cylinder will work with the e30 master?

Thanks Mart. I'll share the CAD files and drawings if the mount works.

[DanThe]

As a general rule you should use the slave cylinder that comes with the gearbox

[flybynite]

As a general rule you should use the slave cylinder that comes with the gearbox

I think he was asking if the E30 master would work with the later E85/E46 slave. I haven't tried it yet but AFAIK it should not be a problem

Do you tend to baffle your front e34 sumps Dan?

[Extremepower3918]

I had another look and I think the E30 and the E85 master cylinders have the same bore and travel, so it makes sense for the slave to be matched to the gearbox as Dan says. I'll connect and bleed it soon to find out.

[DanThe]

No need to baffle an E34 sump unless you have some serious race car setup and can produce high G force in corners

[Extremepower3918]

Got my gearbox mount from the machine shop yesterday!

After a long night of finishing the last few bits I took the car for a little test drive . It seams to be ok but the clutch is slipping. It's drivable as it is and only slips under medium to hard acceleration and I feel like it was getting better the more I drove it. My current theory is that I just didn't clean it enough when I assembled it so I'm hopping it will fix itself after a bit of bedding in.

The flywheel, clutch, and slave cylinder are all standard Z4 parts the only difference is the E30 master cylinder. Am I right in thinking that anything master cylinder / hydraulic related shouldn't cause it to slip?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Rob

[Extremepower3918]

Sorry ignore the last post I'm just an idiot, the clutch is fine now.

I've attached a picture of a drawing for the gearbox mount. PM me if you want the full cad files.

I haven't heard of anyone doing it before but I can confirm that it is possible to do the engine swap with an MS45 ecu retaining the EWS. I won't go into details of how I did it but it wasn't to difficult it was just of taking the donor car's wiring apart carefully and bmwteka.com was useful for pinouts. I might switch to MS43 without EWS in the future for easier tuning but I'll keep it as it is for now as I need the EWS for cheaper insurance. The ECU works well but I still have the 5500rpm rev limit due to no vehicle speed sensor at the moment, I've got a plan and an Arduino ready to fix this soon.

For those of you who are interested or are planning to do this swap yourself I went from a running and driving M40 to a running and driving M54 for less than £2000. I got very lucky in a few ways as I found a broken Z4 3.0 for £700, this gave me a lot of the parts I needed and I managed to sell £800 of unneeded parts off it. I also found an LSD for £120 and the gearbox mount was free!! This doesn't include the cost any tools or my time and I was doing this on a very tight budget. I expect most people could do this swap for around £3000 - £4000 but I'm sure it you rise to £5000+ very quickly.

[RickX]

The autobox from the E46 wont fit, unless you start chopping up the lower corners of the E30 transmission tunnel as it is too narrow in that area, the M20 autobox will be rotated approx 10 degrees when mounted to the M54 engine which is not good either

Hi again Dan,

Yet more questions!

My E30 was a bitsa when I bought it and non-standard from the get-go, so chopping the transmission tunnel isn't out of the question. However, I've already fitted E46 electric seats which are a very tight fit - do you reckon that hacking the tunnel is out of the question?

And just to complicate matters further, the second-hand automatic gearbox that I had fitted as a stop-gap claimed to be from a M-series E30 and it's certainly "sportier" than the shift pattern on the original. So could I live with a 10 degree tilt? Decisions, decisions!

Many thanks as ever

[noorshah]

Hey all,

Surprisingly this forum has gone quiet even though there would've been more and more M54 swaps done vs a number of years back. But that's just my opinion.

Anyway - I've been lurking away on the zone for the past 3 years or so since I've gotten my E30 and definitely gotten a lot of help in all different scenarios.

Now, I'm setting out on doing the M54 swap on mine - Researching and gathering parts slowly - One thing I wanted to add here is that I've learnt from this great build (_) that we should be able to use the E38 728i Sump as well along with the pickup - This was the only time I had read this out of all the build threads I've seen.

So I've bit the bullet and bought the E38 728i Sump setup (WillsWheels ftw), awaiting delivery and it'll be a while before I get to install it but I'll keep ye posted for anyone who is doing this. If someone has tried this already, please share!

Noor

[DanThe]

Yes they are the same shape as the E34 M50 sump, you need the pickup from a 728i M52TU engine though as that will bolt straight onto the M54 oil pump

[noorshah]

Yes they are the same shape as the E34 M50 sump, you need the pickup from a 728i M52TU engine though as that will bolt straight onto the M54 oil pump

Thanks Dan, that's good to know. I actually never asked them what m52 it was. Too late now I think So will see.

If it's not m52tu, would the pickup not bolt on to the M54?

[DanThe]

No, as the oil pump is completely different

[noorshah]

No, as the oil pump is completely different

Got lucky actually as they had the TU one available and are sending that to me - So delighted with it.

Thanks Dan as I know for a fact, I would've only looked at it once I received it!

[DanThe]

No problem, if you need any conversion parts manifolds/exhaust/steering linkage etc you know where I am

[noorshah]

No problem, if you need any conversion parts manifolds/exhaust/steering linkage etc you know where I am

100% mate

I have had a skip through the website and I know I'll be in touch in due course.

Holding to get the engine and key bits over to the E30 first, that's the plan anyway

[Corasdad]

Not sure if this is right but found an oem gearbox mount part no 22316760303 this should fit according to this website

[flybynite]

Not sure if this is right but found an oem gearbox mount part no 22316760303

Yes but you still need something to mount that part to the body. That is the bit that needs fabricating as above.

[Corasdad]

Ah I see, it's such a mine field

Thinking of giving up and throwing in the towel

[clarko74]

You can buy the mount for the tilted E30 transmission if you don't fancy fabricating one. I used the garagistic one which worked fine:

https://www.garagistic.com/products/e30 ... ion-update

[noorshah]

No, as the oil pump is completely different

Got lucky actually as they had the TU one available and are sending that to me - So delighted with it.

Thanks Dan as I know for a fact, I would've only looked at it once I received it!

https://youtube.com/shorts/7NE_hgcdSl4? ... aOHPlXIIUF

E38 728i Sump and Pickup Test fit. Looks good. Plug and play, no cutting and welding

[noorshah]

Well guys, it's been pretty quiet here. Probably all the questions have been answered already which is a good thing
I've finally gotten back into things on my M54 Swap. Here's the latest on it:
As said in the video, I do want some input on whether to keep the sound deadning or not.