M62B44 1991 318is Swap

[CMart]

EDIT* this went from a M62TUB44 build to M62B44 after a came across a deal on a running 1998 540i/6.

I have been looking to start a new project for a while and after tossing around several ideas I finally decided on one. I missed out on a really good deal on a E30 roller two weeks ago, but picked this up last week:









2000 540i with a 6 speed. Rear end collision and the body is rough in places, but the motor ran great, compression checked out, and the tranny shifted perfectly. M5 swapped interior that I should be able to sell for a good amount of what I paid for the whole car. Coilovers, rims, etc.

Now I just need to find a clean E30 and get to wrenching.

I am posting on here so I can learn from other people who have done this or a similar swap. I bought an entire car so I knew I had everything I needed to get the motor running in the E30. I know this particular motor is not as easy to swap as the earlier M62 or any M60, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

Any input on parts I should keep for the E30 swap?

I will obviously be keeping the motor, ecu, wiring. Likely selling the 6 speed for a 5 speed so I can use the stock driveshaft. I thought using the E39 brake booster might be a possibility or the radiator. I have been reading so much my head is spinning, but with the donor car in possession I need to get my plans finalized.

[Northern]

There aren't a lot of m62tu swaps around. Ews3, dme flashing, and drive by wire are some of the issues you need to figure out, less so since you have the full car.

I have a tu in my shed I'm planning to swap, but I'm thinking about running MS3X for an ecu instead of buying and flashing an oem dme, and sorting out the drive by wire stuff.

Other than that, I think it is the same as any other m6x swap. I believe the garagistic setup works without any changes as well.

[CMart]

There aren't a lot of m62tu swaps around. Ews3, dme flashing, and drive by wire are some of the issues you need to figure out, less so since you have the full car.

I have a tu in my shed I'm planning to swap, but I'm thinking about running MS3X for an ecu instead of buying and flashing an oem dme, and sorting out the drive by wire stuff.

Other than that, I think it is the same as any other m6x swap. I believe the garagistic setup works without any changes as well.

I am really banking on the fact that I have a running car. If I can't make this motor run in something else . The Ews3 shouldn't be an issue if I use the column from the 540i and the drive by wire can be taken out of the 5 series and placed in the 3. It will likely be a wiring nightmare, but trial and error will get me there.

I haven't decided if I want to go the garagtastic route or fab my own mounts. For how cheap they are I will probably go garagtastic.

I heard the ECU monitors the transmission and rear end, both of which I do not plan on using from the current car so hopefully I can figure that out...

Do most people stick with the fuel pump from the E30?

[P Arkus]

It will likely be a wiring nightmare, but trial and error will get me there.

You've got balls man. I'm not gonna lie, it terrifies me when people have the "trial and error" attitude when it comes to electrical wiring. Maybe cause I dont know much about it, but I know it can fuck up alot of shit if you dont do it properly. Good luck to ya!

[CMart]

You've got balls man. I'm not gonna lie, it terrifies me when people have the "trial and error" attitude when it comes to electrical wiring. Maybe cause I dont know much about it, but I know it can fuck up alot of shit if you dont do it properly. Good luck to ya!

If everything was in pieces I would be up a creek. And I would call it more educated trial and error than just connecting random wires and praying for the best.

[Jony]

hello ! i do m62TU swap into my e30 coupe but its really wiring nightmare. i will check your swap maybe you should post some good info about wiring guide :)

[CMart]

I will not be starting the swap for 2 more months at best so I cannot help until then.

I'll post what I can about wiring. I will need to be very organized to make sure it goes smoothly and once done I may be able to do a write up.

[Vtec?lol]

I am really banking on the fact that I have a running car. If I can't make this motor run in something else . The Ews3 shouldn't be an issue if I use the column from the 540i and the drive by wire can be taken out of the 5 series and placed in the 3. It will likely be a wiring nightmare, but trial and error will get me there.
I haven't decided if I want to go the garagtastic route or fab my own mounts. For how cheap they are I will probably go garagtastic.
I heard the ECU monitors the transmission and rear end, both of which I do not plan on using from the current car so hopefully I can figure that out...
Do most people stick with the fuel pump from the E30?

You've got balls man. I'm not gonna lie, it terrifies me when people have the "trial and error" attitude when it comes to electrical wiring. Maybe cause I dont know much about it, but I know it can fuck up alot of shit if you dont do it properly. Good luck to ya!

I'm hear to tell you that doing this will cost more than any e30 swap known or documented in this forum unless you run a full stand alone/ aftermarket ecu. even then comes the cost of building and and dyno tuning your car.

This swap is pointless as hell as the m62 hardly makes anymore power than the m60. The dual Vanos pretty much just brings the power band either lower or higher and I can attest that it feels no different than a good ol m60 after advancing the already factory retarded cams.

It's more than just drive by wire and EWS. Without the e39 body and suspension systems the motor will run in safe mode. Not limp mode, but it will not accelerate or put out the power because it thinks all of it's systems are down.
Traction control is built in, it will need to be programmed out if possible. without signal from all four wheels and e39 rings, it will think it's not putting the power to the wheels properly when sensing load.
The e39 uses auxiliary heat pumps. Without these the ecu will always show a fault.
ABS is also coded to the ecu. The engine cuts power when theres an abs fault. You can not use the e30's abs
The ecu also uses torque sensing steering sensors and angle sensors, it will cut power when there's no input from them.
You will have to use the e39 cluster.
You can't use any other transmission with this ecu as it's programmed for the 6spd and has the crank sensor in the trans.
You have to run the e39 cats (all 4 (65lbs)) and all 4 O2 sensors or else you'll have a fault and cuts power.

No you can not use the e39 brake booster as it's firewall mounted unlike e32 and 34's.

I, like you had a complete e39 at my disposal and wanted to swap everything from it. I instead gave the car back to my insurance and bought a complete e34 6spd with hail damage for $1500 shipped 800 miles away. I parted the car out for more than what I paid and used the $800 in profit to buy swap parts. Couldn't have been happier.

That also brings me to my next comment. Although it's really fun as fuck to have a V8 in an e30, it's really not cost effective to but a heavy bmw v8 in unless it's an s62-65.All that money for a motor that will barely put 300 to the wheels.

[Vtec?lol]

also, nothing about that cars interior is from an M5 from what I see in the pics.

I'd suggest gutting that bitch out and getting it light as possible and using it as your fun toy instead of trying to fit it all in an e30.

The interior in an e39 weighs at least 700lbs. cut the rear metal out the trunk, ditch the steel safety wall between the trunk and cabin, ditch the spare, AC, carpet, headliner, door panels, I'd say you can shave at least 1200lbs in a weekend. Swap the heavy muffler for straight pipe... You've got a car as quick, if not faster than an e39 m5.

[CMart]

I appreciate the input.

I should be able to part the car out minus the drivetrain for more than what I paid for it so it wouldn't be the end of the world.

I need to dig in there to see what kind of wiring is actually going on before throwing in the towel. That being said selling the drivetrain sounds like it could buy me an older 540 so it looks like a win/win.

[_JohnnyD_]

I'm hear to tell you that doing this will cost more than any e30 swap known or documented in this forum unless you run a full stand alone/ aftermarket ecu. even then comes the cost of building and and dyno tuning your car.

This swap is pointless as hell as the m62 hardly makes anymore power than the m60. The dual Vanos pretty much just brings the power band either lower or higher and I can attest that it feels no different than a good ol m60 after advancing the already factory retarded cams.

It's more than just drive by wire and EWS. Without the e39 body and suspension systems the motor will run in safe mode. Not limp mode, but it will not accelerate or put out the power because it thinks all of it's systems are down.
Traction control is built in, it will need to be programmed out if possible. without signal from all four wheels and e39 rings, it will think it's not putting the power to the wheels properly when sensing load.
The e39 uses auxiliary heat pumps. Without these the ecu will always show a fault.
ABS is also coded to the ecu. The engine cuts power when theres an abs fault. You can not use the e30's abs
The ecu also uses torque sensing steering sensors and angle sensors, it will cut power when there's no input from them.
You will have to use the e39 cluster.
You can't use any other transmission with this ecu as it's programmed for the 6spd and has the crank sensor in the trans.
You have to run the e39 cats (all 4 (65lbs)) and all 4 O2 sensors or else you'll have a fault and cuts power.

No you can not use the e39 brake booster as it's firewall mounted unlike e32 and 34's.

I, like you had a complete e39 at my disposal and wanted to swap everything from it. I instead gave the car back to my insurance and bought a complete e34 6spd with hail damage for $1500 shipped 800 miles away. I parted the car out for more than what I paid and used the $800 in profit to buy swap parts. Couldn't have been happier.

That also brings me to my next comment. Although it's really fun as fuck to have a V8 in an e30, it's really not cost effective to but a heavy bmw v8 in unless it's an s62-65.All that money for a motor that will barely put 300 to the wheels.

Ouch. What a buzz kill.

Isn't the M62TU swap the same as an S62 swap in terms of electrical complexity?

To the OP...
as long as you know what you are in for, do your swap and have fun with it.

[JGood]

Ouch. What a buzz kill.

Isn't the M62TU swap the same as an S62 swap in terms of electrical complexity?

That's the problem. All of that work/time/money, for what? It's been dyno proven that m62tu's make less power then m62 non-vanos engines at anything above 3k, even with the intake manifold swap. Even if they made the same power, you're putting an engine in with more expensive, failure prone parts, and you're spending more time/money to do it. I just don't see the logistics in that, unless you just like doing projects like this to learn stuff, and you have time/money to kill (and I do understand that, it's partially why most of us do m60 swaps, vs LSx swaps).

[36brua]

That's the problem. All of that work/time/money, for what? It's been dyno proven that m62tu's make less power then m62 non-vanos engines at anything above 3k, even with the intake manifold swap. Even if they made the same power, you're putting an engine in with more expensive, failure prone parts, and you're spending more time/money to do it. I just don't see the logistics in that, unless you just like doing projects like this to learn stuff, and you have time/money to kill (and I do understand that, it's partially why most of us do m60 swaps, vs LSx swaps).

LOL Thanks for clarifying this ..I've been wondering why I'm doing this swap (M60):D

[CMart]

That's the problem. All of that work/time/money, for what? It's been dyno proven that m62tu's make less power then m62 non-vanos engines at anything above 3k, even with the intake manifold swap. Even if they made the same power, you're putting an engine in with more expensive, failure prone parts, and you're spending more time/money to do it. I just don't see the logistics in that, unless you just like doing projects like this to learn stuff, and you have time/money to kill (and I do understand that, it's partially why most of us do m60 swaps, vs LSx swaps).

This motor does have the intake manifold swap. I bought this particular car because I will be able to part it out for more than I have into it and then have a chassis, engine, transmission, wiring etc all there.

If it makes more sense to just part out the whole car and start with a M60 that is fine with me and I appreciate the heads up before it is too late. The only reason I am doing this is to learn the ropes for a S62 swap. So maybe this IS the best way to go in my case?

As for the LSX theory I have one of my own. I am still confident I can get a free motor/trans out of a 540i by parting it out. From what I have seen E30s with BMW V8s sell for more than LSX E30s. So if I can build it for cheaper and sell it for more that just makes more sense. Neither one will be fast, so why not save the money? That all coming from a LSX guy.

[_JohnnyD_]

Before you keep going you need to define your end goal much better.

The only reason I am doing this is to learn the ropes for a S62 swap. So maybe this IS the best way to go in my case?

If you want to learn and money and time are not and issue, stick with the M62TU. Every other V8 swap will be easy after that (including S62).

From what I have seen E30s with BMW V8s sell for more than LSX E30s. So if I can build it for cheaper and sell it for more that just makes more sense.

If you want to build a V8 E30 and sell it for a profit. STOP now, part your 540 and sell your E30 as is (or part it depending on condition). There is NO way to put any V8 in your E30 and make more money than selling the E30 and part seperately.


If you just want the cheapest and easiest V8 in your E30 then part your entire 540 and buy a M60 or a Ford 5.0L and have fun.