Starting my M54B30 swap...

[Elysian]

Haven't had the budget to work on this, kinda sucks, the E30 is just taking up space right now in the garage and the M20 and M54 are just taking up space in my driveway... I did pick up a new daily though, my Pathfinder's transmission decided to kick the bucket. Found an 87 635CSi, guy wanted 2300 for it, I got him down to 1700 and snatched it up. Pics:




Style 5 2 piece wheels, roughly 150k on the odometer, E30 sport seats retrofitted, 5 speed swap, 3.46 open diff, tan and brown interior. All around decent car, though I did have to replace the entire rear subframe, as the passenger side trailing arm mount had completely ripped out. Luckily, I had gotten one for free a few months before. I'm going to have the broken one repaired and have camber and toe adjustment welded into it.

[hoveringuy]

I just need you to develop an M54 OBD1 turbo tune!

[Elysian]

How are you going to tune the M43 for boost?

How is it more reliable than the 413? Those have been running for many years and I wouldn't call them unreliable. They are certainly more accessible and easier to tune. The MS43 has more processing power but that's used mostly for emissions functions. I'm making as much or more power with the 413 than any other M54 with a similar configuration running MS43.

My thoughts on the subject are this:

1. If ESS and AA and Technique Tuning can tune the MS43 for boost(and Technique Tuning has tuned it for a turbo already), then it can definitely be done.

2. TRM wanted to give me $50 credit towards a tune, meaning it'd cost me 400 or so just for a base tune for the 3.0, if I use my existing DME, I can skip this step, lower the cost a little bit. That's just a bit too steep for my tastes for a tune that I'm absolutely 100% going to have to pay to have modified anyways. It also means less conversion work, not having to deal with figuring out sensors, even using the larger stock 330 TB, those types of things are definitely a plus.

3. OBD2 also means better trouble codes, more information, that's something I can get onboard with.

Emissions isn't a concern, the car doesn't need to be smogged here anyways, it's just past the age window, the real concern is keeping costs down wherever I can, because this isn't going to be a cheap build. The concern with old electronics dying is a valid one, so that's another plus about sticking with the MS43. My mechanic has been doing the E46 thing for a while now, he used to track an 03 330ci, and just today he was working on the Vorshlag E46 track car, replacing the oil pump and some bearings because the oil pump nut came off. I've got enough faith in his knowledge that I don't think he's leading me astray here.

[hoveringuy]

How are you going to tune the M43 for boost?

How is it more reliable than the 413? Those have been running for many years and I wouldn't call them unreliable. They are certainly more accessible and easier to tune. The MS43 has more processing power but that's used mostly for emissions functions. I'm making as much or more power with the 413 than any other M54 with a similar configuration running MS43.

[Elysian]

Just got the engine back, the oil pump nut was loose, he welded it on. The pan is now attached and the oil pickup is made. I'll have to take the pan back off at some point though, I didn't get a chance to relay to him to leave the pan off it, no worries though, a gasket is cheap. I talked a lot of shop with him, threw some of my ideas out there. I'm probably going to go with a .85mm thick head gasket to bump the compression down a tad, I'll likely be going forged pistons and upgrading the rods as well. I talked to him about boring/sleeving it to 3.2, but the gains wouldn't really be worth the cost. I also talked ECU and tuning, and he's convinced I can run the MS43 without having to have all of the other stuff like EWS, meaning I wouldn't need to use the key, he's telling me there are ways to trick the ECU, so if he's correct, I'll probably still wind up running the stock ECU and tuning it for the boost. He also said it'd be a more reliable ECU than the older M50 and S50 ECU, and another benefit would be not having to hack up the wiring harness, and I could run both VANOS's that way. We'll see, I'm sure I'll be sitting down and talking with him more about this as the swap progresses. He also mentioned a cast exhaust manifold that's supposed to be excellent for these types of projects, but he couldn't remember the company name, so he's going to be looking that up for me. He seems as excited about my project as I am, and I'm not even going to be putting any money in his pocket besides the trade of the E46 shell with its torn rear subframe mounts

[Elysian]

I'm sure he hasn't adapted too many M54s to e34 oil pans. He can't just swag it, the pickup needs to be in the right place.

He has built plenty of BMW based track cars though.

[hoveringuy]

My mechanic has done these sorts of swaps before, I've got confidence in his ability.

I'm sure he hasn't adapted too many M54s to e34 oil pans. He can't just swag it, the pickup needs to be in the right place.

[Elysian]

Hardest thing is knowing where to put the pickup. I made a little plywood form that mimicked the bottom of the oil pan.

My mechanic has done these sorts of swaps before, I've got confidence in his ability.

[hoveringuy]

Hardest thing is knowing where to put the pickup. I made a little plywood form that mimicked the bottom of the oil pan.

[Elysian]

Engine is at the shop now for the oil pickup tube. It'll probably go back there in the future for the turbo oiling needs. Got my trans brace in from White325is today as well, looks great.

[Elysian]

Engine is loaded in the back of the Durango, ready to get the oil pickup tube made. Taking it in on Monday, tried to take it today, but they were out at an event and had nothing about it on their answering machine...

[Elysian]

Yeah the picknpull won't be on carpart.com. You have to pull the oil pan yourself hence the name . A friend and I pulled the oilpan in under an hour, so it was worth it for me. You can check their inventory on their website picknpull.com.

I figure for $100, the time spent driving plus the time spent pulling the part makes the slightly higher price worth it. Just picked up the oil pan, it's in good shape, just needs to be cleaned up a bit. Guy had a 525i that got wrecked and was going to be putting its engine into a roller 525iT, but never wound up doing it, so he started selling the parts he knew would make money. Some 4 other people in the area also contacted him, lots of demand, especially at that price

[Gnarles]

Yeah the picknpull won't be on carpart.com. You have to pull the oil pan yourself hence the name . A friend and I pulled the oilpan in under an hour, so it was worth it for me. You can check their inventory on their website picknpull.com.

[Elysian]

I picked up an E34 M50 oil pan, dipstick tube, and dipstick for $40 from the pick-n-pull on I30 and Loop12. You should order a new pickup tube, they are only around $25 new and don't forget to get the pickup tube gasket while you're at it...

I've already checked Car-Parts, nothing listed close by, and the stuff that is listed is "Call" or $150.

[Gnarles]

I picked up an E34 M50 oil pan, dipstick tube, and dipstick for $40 from the pick-n-pull on I30 and Loop12. You should order a new pickup tube, they are only around $25 new and don't forget to get the pickup tube gasket while you're at it...