528i engine

[Brianmoooore]

What engines could be in a 1999 528i touring? Engine in question has a black plastic cover over the cam sprockets, an air valve thingy on the front of the head on the exhaust side, and the type of throttle body that is mounted low down.

[StuBeeDoo]

M52B28 Brian.

[Brianmoooore]

Could it be the M52B28Tu though with double vanos?
Am I right in thinking it can't be a M54 because the M54B28 was never made?

[StuBeeDoo]

Could it be the M52B28Tu though with double vanos?
Am I right in thinking it can't be a M54 because the M54B28 was never made?

I can't find an M54B28 listed on any of my available info Brian. Nor can I find any reference to a TU, but it does show the 1999 E39 M52B28 as having double VANOS.

I've just had another look, and it would seem that the M52B28 was single VANOS up to Sept. '98, and double from Oct. '98 on (probably co-inciding with the introduction of E46 production??).

[DanThe]

Yep, the M52B28 was double vanos from sept 98 to 2000.
Different engine altogether it would seem, has the flat intake manifold, not the curved earlier type.

[Brianmoooore]

Since a common upgrade for the M52B28 is to fit a M50 inlet manifold, I assume a standard M52B28 manifold looks like an emaciated version of the M50 one.
The inlet manifold on the engine in question has the box with the flap in it and the small bore air tubes, which must be carried on into the head, so it looks like this is the double vanos version.
I've already got one of these engines in stock, with a few bits missing, and I should be able to get this second (flood damaged car) one cheap, possibly to make a compete working one from the two.
Strange throttle body on the one I have. Has a conventional throttle cable on one side and a fly by wire motor on the other!

[DanThe]

Yes, I heard about those only the other day, apparently it was a half and half type thing they did before moving totally to fly by wire.

Will you be able to do the conversion with just the engine loom or will you need clocks and chunks of body loom?

[Brianmoooore]

Will you be able to do the conversion with just the engine loom or will you need clocks and chunks of body loom?

That's what's worrying me! Was hoping it was an ordinary single vanos B28.

[Jhonno]

the TU lump isnt as tuneable sadly

[DanThe]

Ideally Brian you would buy the whole car and mess about with the engine, find out whats needed etc, whilst its still in the 5

[Brianmoooore]

Ideally Brian you would buy the whole car and mess about with the engine, find out whats needed etc, whilst its still in the 5

This would be ideal, but the car's a cat B and is being broken. By the time I get the engine, the rest of the car will be in the crusher.
Didn't even get the EWS off the other one.

[Brianmoooore]

the TU lump isnt as tuneable sadly

Any idea how this is detuned to only 192 bhp. Doesn't seem to have the restrictive manifold that the single vanos lump has.

[DanThe]

Possibly just the management, when I had mine on the rollers there was an early E46 that did 220hp after a re-map

[Brianmoooore]

Possibly just the management, when I had mine on the rollers there was an early E46 that did 220hp after a re-map

Interesting! That's the sort of power level I'm looking for.

[Andyboy]

TU engines are a nightmare - double vanos and you cannot convert them to single because the head is different. And no, you cannot fit a single vanos head to a TU block because the blocks are different too.
To make it work you will need the complete loom and ECU plus god knows what else because it all takes signals from the ABS rings. You also have ASC to deal with (the reason for the two throttle body connections) as well as EWS. The only real value of a TU engine is to someone with the type of car it's meant to fit. I bought one off ebay with 10'000 miles for 75 quid and broke it up, selling the head to one bod, the block to another and the crank/rods to someone else again.
The alloy block engines are nasty hateful scrap anyway, so many dramas with alloy sinking between the liners, head bolt threads and head gaskets. The way forward is to rebuild a 2.8 into an iron block M50 (A TU crank with the trigger wheel fits perfectly) and use a non EWS E36 320i/325i loom.
The Exhaust vanos was for emissions, not power and they give no more power than a single vanos. The older M50 2.5 inlet manifold does not fit the TU or M54 engine.

[DanThe]

Did you physically try the crank in an M50 then Andy?

[Andyboy]

Yep.

[DanThe]

No issues with the front pulley I take it?

[Andyboy]

No, all the same. Someone else on E36 Coupe.com put all the bits from a 330i engine into an M50 block.

M50 block, TU crank, early front pulley on standard M50/M52 front hub (all the same). Because the TU does its timing on the rear trigger wheel the front pulley is different and you need the toothed one. There are two different kinds, vanos and single vanos and although they look similar, interchanging them will put the timing seriously out and the engine won't run.

When putting 3.0 or USA 3.2 M3 bits into an M50 block you need to grind clearance slots for the rods out of the bottoms of the bores. I've got a 3.2 US crank/rods/pistons coming from over there at some stage. Sadly they won't (apparently) fit into an M20 block.

[Toby_Unna]

Sadly they won't (apparently) fit into an M20 block.

thank god for that, then you'd be forced to strangle them with an M20 head

on a more serious note, I can't find anything about this on e36coupe.com, don't suppose you have a link to the thread?

[Andyboy]

http://www.e36coupe.com/forum/index.php


E36 wrongness everywhere though.

[DanThe]

There are two different kinds, vanos and single vanos and although they look similar, interchanging them will put the timing seriously out and the engine won't run.

Vanos and Non Vanos you mean, I know all about that......