My M52TU Swap

[hoveringuy]

I moved my PS resevoir down to the engine mounting arm to gain some room.

Also, can you take a picture of your manifold to booster clearance.

How does it drive?

[Lawson509]

Here are the photos of the oil distribution block installed in the car. It is so freaking tight in there. Everything is tucked in around it. I got it in once and it started leaking like mad, so I had to pull it out and retighten all the bolts and now it works. Here are some photos of the car itself as it sits.

[Lawson509]

It mounts on the back of the oil filter block. I will have pics up later of it in place.

[hoveringuy]

Nice progress! I'd love to see your car at the picnic this summer.

[accident]

noob question, but where does it mount?

[Lawson509]

Fricken adapters

So I forked over way too much money for an oil adapter for gauges from Bimmerworld. Turns out they list it as working on the m52 motor but don't care to mention that it doesn't fit on the m52TU motor. I got all excited, went to put it on... and failure. So then I spent the rest of today modifying the adapter and finding fittings to make it fit. I could've made my own that fit in the time I wasted modifying this piece of crap. Anyway, I made this deal and it looks like crap but I hope it will work. I installed an oil temp sensor and oil pressure sender on it.

Here is a picture of what it started out as from Bimmer...


Here's how it turned out...

[Lawson509]

Yeah keeping most of the e46 systems kinda makes this one a bit of fun. Working through the differences in sensor read outs and system variations can get a bit challenging at times. The e46 looks for a lot of digital signals from sensors and switches which the e30 doesn't, so working through that has required a lot of adaptation.

[Leo_328i]

Lawson, this is really impressive! I really like how you're trying to retain as much of the E46 electronics as possible, this is a really complete and total conversion!

Looks like a lot of stuffing around though - I really wish I had time to do stuff like this still but I just started a new full time job!

[Lawson509]

Running through some diagnostics

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz202/Lawson509/Wiring%20stuffs/DSCN4299.jpg

Wiring with half the wires stripped down to only necessary wires

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz202/Lawson509/Wiring%20stuffs/DSCN4300.jpg

Here is the sensor mount installed

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz202/Lawson509/Wiring%20stuffs/DSCN4308.jpg

[Lawson509]

No we have two tig welders in our shop. Both are foot operated and both are Miller. One is digital and 200amp with hardly any setting adjustment and the other is 250amp and you can change anything, purge time, dwell, etc.

[e46s54dr]

Youre running a lift arc tig welder without a foot control arent you? Awesome work though, I love me some fabrication.

[accident]

This is coming along really well. Very impressive. :up:

[Lawson509]

Yeah my next big leap to get done is wiring in all the lights and body electronics into the system. Because the OBDII system uses the LCM (light control module) as a back up location for data filing with the instrument cluster and DME I have to use it and adapt it into my wiring harness. I also have to attach bits and pieces to the e46 body control module to get things reading right.

[accident]

holy shit!

[Lawson509]

Started

Hey so Thought I would post a little bit of an update. I finally got everything hooked up and wires all soldered up and cut out tons of wires. I have spent countless hours working on this through the last couple weeks. I had trouble getting my CAN busses to communicate, but I finally got things to work out and have focused on wiring in all the extra sensors.

The lack of sensors being hooked up has been throwing codes at me through the DME, but I have nailed most of those down and fixed them except for CAN bus error to the EGS, Fuel tank sensor codes, and purge system codes. The purge codes, I haven't decided how to tackle those. I might add a purge tank system in later, It wouldn't be too hard. The EGS code I am having a BMW service rep to get me the letter coding to flash the Tranny out of the system so it won't look for it anymore. The fuel tank sensor codes are being a bitch. The e46 fuel level sensor operates on a full/empty Ohm reading of 250/10. The e30 uses a full/empty of 5/70. So they are complete opposites in reading styles of resistance and voltage levels. I have been playing around with the idea of making a small circuit board using an opamp to flip the signal from a 0v-12v reading to 12v-0v. We'll see how that works.

Other than that the motor barked to life really quick. I will post photos of overall progress later. I had to customize and fabricate a sensor mount out of aluminum to get the e46 radiator outlet coolant temp sensor into the system. I welded it up and then a buddy and I worked on machining it so the sensor would click right in and seal.

The new sensor and mounted



Here's a new PS high pressure hose I had a hydraulics shop make. Works awesome.