junkyard s52

[jrobie79]

any special tools required? i have a pretty decent collection, just hate to have to go buy something while im taking it out...

[scottinAZ]

only thing special would be the reverse torx bits for the transmission bellhousing bolts, all others should be metric hex sizes.

[jrobie79]

yep, i got a full set from changing the clutch in my m42/240

[flyboyx]

the engine is worth the price you mention, but it may not be worth rebuilding. you could easily have 2k into a full rebuild where someone else does all the work. at that rate, you would have been better off just buying a good running s52. the cams are easily worth 300 bucks if they are good. the crank easily 250.00 or so.

m52 and s52 heads are the same part number. you might get lucky and be able to just swap out the head retaining the cams and trays from the s engine.

you will be taking a gamble, but chances are that what you are buying is something that can be made usable.

[Mr.SWISS]

the engine is worth the price you mention, but it may not be worth rebuilding. you could easily have 2k into a full rebuild where someone else does all the work. at that rate, you would have been better off just buying a good running s52. the cams are easily worth 300 bucks if they are good. the crank easily 250.00 or so.

m52 and s52 heads are the same part number. you might get lucky and be able to just swap out the head retaining the cams and trays from the s engine.

you will be taking a gamble, but chances are that what you are buying is something that can be made usable.

The cams and springs/retainers, and caps are all unique to the S52 as well as the primary tensioner. This stuff is worth $$$ also and is an upgrade to an M52.

[Adrian_Visser]

S52 is almost as expensive to keep 100% as a s54.

That I would tend to disagree with.

[RobertK]

Just beware of the cylinder head and pull the VC first to get a better idea of the engine's overall condition.

That I would tend to disagree with.

+1

Many parts are interchangeable with the M52 and the VANOS alone is has a huge difference in cost. A S54 is at least twice as expensive (currently) to maintain and requires more attention to detail when it comes to maintenance since very few (if any) parts are interchangeable with its M54 counterparts.

S52 for ease of swap and maintenance cost.

S54 for top notch straight 6 performance.

[Wanganstyle]

That I would tend to disagree with.

I've bad 3x S52's in the native cars they were shipped in, also one s54.

Under serious stress the S52 just wears down, to make a happy high-enough performance s52 for my needs every single bolt on and some longmotor changes would be needed. To me more expensive than just baller-ing up to the S54 ticket price and running it 100% as is.

some key running complaints regardind s52;

cooling system issues
ccv issues
water soft hoses setup/expansion tank
no oil cooler
no top end power
not enough low end power
not enough RPM's.
lifters are slow response at high RPM (HLA's). Solid lifters would be much nicer on the oil also
no advanced oil pickup/sump setup on S52 for serious track G's

none of these problems are solved without serious investment; thus S52 is a rather expensive motor sports item to run over time; I have played the game myself.

[RobertK]

S54 is not without its (expensive) downfalls as well.

cooling system issues
ccv issues

This can be said of other BMW engines. Cooling system / expansion tanks have always been a weak spot (or maintenance revenue generator) for BMW.

no oil cooler

Can be added I've only heard turbo guys really have a need for one considering the sump size.

no top end power
not enough low end power
not enough RPM's.

Those are subjective opinions of performance especially considering they have almost similar torque output numbers.

lifters are slow response at high RPM (HLA's). Solid lifters would be much nicer on the oil also

One time purcahse of solid lifters VS. 30k valve adjustments at around $450 a pop if you DIY.

no advanced oil pickup/sump setup on S52 for serious track G's

Price to add dry sump is about as much as it costs to correct S54 harmonic balancer failure under track conditions.

Add to the list...

VANOS unit failure to the tune of $1800+ and now shops are finding daily driven S54 motors with 120k+ on them with VANOS bolts backing out and in some cases shearing off and letting loose in the motor.

Rod and Main Bearing Issues. (Hopefully replaced under warranty / recall)

none of these problems are solved without serious investment; thus S52 is a rather expensive motor sports item to run over time; I have played the game myself.

Point is If you plan on tracking either engine be prepared to spend some coin to keep it reliable but in the end for a streetable swap car the S52 is going to be cheaper and easier for a shadetree mechanic to maintain not to mention slightly more reliable.

[jrobie79]

I just can't afford an s54 up front. If I buy this thing at least I can prolong paying for it, or else it just wont be in my car. Its easier for me to pay as I buy parts rather an a shitload up front. I am going to pick it up this weekend (all things considered) and hopefully start working on it in the coming weeks. I have no plans to put this into my car until mid-late summer. I want to take my m42 on a cross country road trip and the MPG of that engine will help greatly.

So like I said, if it costs money to refresh it, its easier to do it over 5 months then dropping a bunch on an s54.....and the s54 swap isnt as common, so I will have less resources

[Mr.SWISS]

S54 is not without its (expensive) downfalls as well.



This can be said of other BMW engines. Cooling system / expansion tanks have always been a weak spot (or maintenance revenue generator) for BMW.



Can be added I've only heard turbo guys really have a need for one considering the sump size.



Those are subjective opinions of performance especially considering they have almost similar torque output numbers.



One time purcahse of solid lifters VS. 30k valve adjustments at around $450 a pop if you DIY.



Price to add dry sump is about as much as it costs to correct S54 harmonic balancer failure under track conditions.

Add to the list...

VANOS unit failure to the tune of $1800+ and now shops are finding daily driven S54 motors with 120k+ on them with VANOS bolts backing out and in some cases shearing off and letting loose in the motor.

Rod and Main Bearing Issues. (Hopefully replaced under warranty / recall)




Point is If you plan on tracking either engine be prepared to spend some coin to keep it reliable but in the end for a streetable swap car the S52 is going to be cheaper and easier for a shadetree mechanic to maintain not to mention slightly more reliable.

I always thought that was the reeason we ended up with S5x engines, because after teh reliability complaints onthe E30 M3 BMW was not going to release the E36 M3 here until the CCA got all worked up and they made a special stroked M50 for the states, based on the more reliable M50 family and nothing like the Euro S50 which is far more similar to the S54.

I went with an S52 for reliability and performance, it's a great balance of both.

However, I don't go Wangin on it either, I drive it with respect and grins.

[etxxz]

$450... hella worth it. Worst case you'll easily double that amount in just parting the engine.

I've fully rebuild two s52's, including one of my own for $1100-1300 in parts without going too crazy (head gasket kit, even did the retainers cause i broke one, bottom gasket kit, all bearings, all torque to yield bolts and machine shop checking/surfacing head and touching bores). Sourced the bend valves and damaged piston online. Boom done. Replacing much more than this becomes expensive and often unnecessary. Now you have a new S52 for $1500. Can't beat that. If you want the swap, do this in a heart beat.

Take all the wiring, transmission, shifter, driveshaft. If you want to go OBDII search my wiring thread and it'll tell you what you need wiring wise. Don't forget the FPR. You can milk that car too - 5-lug front / brakes.

DO IT we'll help. IMHO anything short of s50/2 is north worth the effort. M50/52's can suck it for NA sorry if i offend anyone else here : p

[jrobie79]

Yeah I thinki I'm going to get it, I called them today and they still have it, they wouldnt hold it for me even with a deposit (which is retarded) but its pretty cold up here, I dont think many people will want to take it out in this weather so hopefully I will own it on saturday

[AsharC]

The yard I go to wants 350 for 6 cylinder engines. Still for an s52 its a good deal.

[Wanganstyle]

S54 is not without its (expensive) downfalls as well.


S54 is just expensive in general. it is a pureblood M engine, unlike a s52.



This can be said of other BMW engines. Cooling system / expansion tanks have always been a weak spot (or maintenance revenue generator) for BMW.

S54 has a OEM water pump that is durable, no need for some emp aftermarket pump to outlive an S52.


Can be added I've only heard turbo guys really have a need for one considering the sump size.

Heard? you have only heard? not ran it yourself and analyzed your camshafts (and the scoring from broken down oil) that shows up on many S50b30 usa and S52b32???

considering the M20b25 has an OEM oil cooler.....S52 needs an oil cooler when tracked heavy duty. Camshafts appreciate it.

Those are subjective opinions of performance especially considering they have almost similar torque output numbers.

a S52 and M62b44 have similar output graphs, but they are completely different driving animals. Same for a S52 and s54.

You miss the entire point of the S54 - Top end HORSEPOWER and lots more RPM's. 1,500 EXTRA RPM @ redline stock vs stock (6450 of stock e36m in 3/4/5 gear vs 8,000 of e46m in all gears)
RPM's allot for much shorter gearing. On track a stock S52 is extremely RPM/gearing limited


One time purchase of solid lifters VS. 30k valve adjustments at around $450 a pop if you DIY.

I would still replace the HLA with solid lifters if building up a s52; they are more appropriate for a high performance engine. "feel" is nicer at higher rpm (which the s52 does not have)


Price to add dry sump is about as much as it costs to correct S54 harmonic balancer failure under track conditions.

hell no. do you know how much a complete dry sump system tallies up to? a s54 harmonic balancer is made durable by running the proper dual mass flywheel. Cost = $0. run a S52b32 flywheel.

single vibrating stupid mass units are Moot for everything but pure race cars -WITH A TEAM BUDGET; all non trailered race cars (and many privateer track cars) that can retain a dual mass flywheel - the OEM harmonic balancer is quite durable with a OEM dual mass fly. IF you don't have a team budget or mechanic sombody else pays for why pretend you have one? for most people ........Privateer is not = PTG.

I do know some who privateer PTG/speed world challenge cars with an appropriate budget locally; they would agree that S54 is more economical to run than an S52 long term- from experience.

Add to the list...

VANOS unit failure to the tune of $1800+ and now shops are finding daily driven S54 motors with 120k+ on them with VANOS bolts backing out and in some cases shearing off and letting loose in the motor.

Go over your vanos before you assemble the engine. You could also add a brand new dealer vanos unit to the S52 build up cost per this logic.


Rod and Main Bearing Issues. (Hopefully replaced under warranty / recall)

Not hopefully nor recall; replaced by owner or installation shop before s54 is installed. Also replace hardware with non-limited stretch cycle bolts.

S54's use wider rod bearings than pedestrian s52/m50's - this is one part of its pure motorsports DNA


Point is If you plan on tracking either engine be prepared to spend some coin to keep it reliable but in the end for a streetable swap car the S52 is going to be cheaper and easier for a shadetree mechanic to maintain not to mention slightly more reliable.

Tracking = Money, how long you want too keep running is directly proportional to the amount of $$,$$$ sunk in the affair. Same can be said for an actual affair.

stay-ing away from shade tree entirely. Same person would be committing obd1 travesty on an obd2 s52.