Will there be a S54 f.a.q. / how-to, like there is in the M/S50/2 section?

[butters]

I'm dreaming of down the road upgrading my S50 to an S54. I do want an E46 M3 but at the same time, a re-swap actually could be the sensible thing to do (cost up-front, fuel economy, insurance, etc) while also being more interesting and more fun / faster.

Anyway, I will pop in to this forum every now and again hoping to read a guide on the swap. I'm mechanically inclined, but hadn't done any real vehicle work aside from oil changes and suspension installation prior to swapping the S50, and I always credit this forum for making that possible with the knowledge that can be found in writeups and build threads.

Has anyone thought of creating a somewhat in-depth guide, do I just need to be more patient?

I'm mostly curious as to how close I am, given that I've done the S50/ZF swap, to simply dropping in the longblock and dealing with the electrical and throttle. Seems like I'm closer than with the M42 in there, but still there are many unknowns to an S54 noob like me. Thoughts?

[DesertBMW]

but still there are many unknowns to an S54 noob like me. Thoughts?

For the most part it is same as doing an m50 swap.

differences are:

1981 320 brake booster will have to be used and moved 1/4 of an inch for stock manifold to clear.
late model E30 coolant bottle has to be moved to the other side of the bay, late model, radiator and clutch fan setup can be used, will clear the same way as m50, you can mod the E30 oil cooler to work for oil cooling. Coolant temperature gauge sensor can be installed in the coolant drain plug behind AC compressor. Vanos accumulator will have to be moved one inch back for M50 A/C compressor to fit with bracket, if you chose to use A/C. Heater lines are very similar to M50 setup.

s54 fuel pressure regulator can be modded to fit near engine compartment, E30 fuel filter can be left in stock location.

electric gas pedal will fit fine in stock location, run the wires trough old gas pedal cable hole.

Some modification to the wiring can extend enough so that the DME is installed in stock location on E30. DME will have to be tuned to delete all of the components that are not required, basicly makes the ecu similar to obd1 413 function. There is no open source on wiring yet, I am working on one now.

Thats about it.

[FredK]

I covered the essentials, including wiring, in my project thread. I didn't take a whole bunch of pictures though, sorry about that.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=193429

[Wanganstyle]

There are a decent amount of S54 FAQ's but if you have already done the 24V DOHC swap the S54 will directly install with all existing ancillaries and accessories of the M50/s50 pedestrian motor.

you need:

S54 motor with both manifolds and complete electronics/induction/exhaust/fuel system

just install s54 items in place of current M50 items

[DesertBMW]

There are a decent amount of S54 FAQ's but if you have already done the 24V DOHC swap the S54 will directly install with all existing ancillaries and accessories of the M50/s50 pedestrian motor.

you need:

S54 motor with both manifolds and complete electronics/induction/exhaust/fuel system

just install s54 items in place of current M50 items

Did you use just the regular fuel pump relay or did you use fuel pump module/relay from e46?

[butters]

1981 320 brake booster will have to be used and moved 1/4 of an inch for stock manifold to clear.

So the iX/E32 booster is a no-go? I would want to avoid messing with the brake pedal as much as possible and retain ABS.

Fred, are you still on manual brakes - how is the feel? I have it in my head that manual brakes aren't a good idea for a DD street car, but I've only ever felt them on a small race car with dual MCs so I'm not sure. Does the undersized MC compensate well enough?

Kind of a bummer but I suppose booster-related fabrication is a relatively minor thing. This is one aspect I might wait on to see if a bolt-in option reveals itself.

Vanos accumulator will have to be moved one inch back for M50 A/C compressor to fit with bracket, if you chose to use A/C.

I'm not sure what the vanos accumulator is, I'll have to look into that one.

I covered the essentials, including wiring, in my project thread. I didn't take a whole bunch of pictures though, sorry about that.

Thanks for the diligence - though it needs updates! The fuel pump guide should be very helpful, that's another thing I've not touched before.

[240zs30]

Thanks for the contribution of information. I point allot of my customers to these threads so they can find good info on how to complete the swap I'm selling.

[FredK]

Fred, are you still on manual brakes - how is the feel? I have it in my head that manual brakes aren't a good idea for a DD street car, but I've only ever felt them on a small race car with dual MCs so I'm not sure. Does the undersized MC compensate well enough?

Feels fine. I still have ABS. It's my DD. I'm not sure there'd be as much brake torque with regular E30 brakes and a manual setup, as I have E30 M3 brakes which are just a smidge larger. It definitely takes more pedal effort, but you get used to it after a while.

There is just enough information in my thread to duplicate what I've done.

I'm not sure if Wooster is Worcester MA but if it is, you're welcome to drop by and check things out for yourself. It's not complicated at all.

[nando]

e30polak used an ix booster slotted over a bit

I think I'd rather use manual brakes than the crummy E21 booster.

[bimma360]

When I was at VAC about a year ago, I saw the S54 swap they did to a white e30 M3. They were able to retain the factory booster and location by cutting a corner chunk out of the intake manifold and welding it back up.

Although not ideal (some loss of hp), personally I would rather go that route than mess with the braking system.

[FredK]

The problem with a manual setup the way I have it is not the ability to generate braking torque, but rather the reduced precision in brake modulation. I wouldn't mind a single chamber booster and a stock 22/17mm MC.

[Andrew325is]

You want a guide huh? :) I may make one. I think everyone who has done this swap should. For the components there's a lot of preference involved. For example, I elected to install the hydroboost brake system and keep ABS, use a standard E34 525i oil pan with euro S50b30 oil pump (the S54 is just a revision of that engine), use an E46 M3 rad and retain the E30's oil cooler (the E46's isn't much bigger), etc. Also, there are things you can't really write a guide for such as the exhaust because that has to be totally custom made.

For now here are a few tips from my personal experience:
-Use E90 335is header stud bolts (torx) when using "eBay" headers because the S54's studs are too short for the nuts to secure properly.
-Have a custom front anti-sway bar made and cut a notch (& weld in a piece for reinforcement) out of the subframe for the lower header to clear.
-Use M50 motor mount arms (or 2001/2002 Z3M).
-You'll have to make your own brackets for most everything under the hood. (A good engineer friend made many for me. Many thanks.)
-Use the E34/E32 V8 brake fluid resevoir with hydroboost and use a seperate resevoir for the clutch (no 3rd outlet on that resevoir).
-If you are using a ZF310/320 5 speed transmission the only non-aftermarket flywheel you can use is the one from a 2001/2002 Z3M (or possibly other euro S50 flywheel). This works with the E46 M3's starter.
-The E46 M3's power steering pump can be used with the E34 pan but you'll have to grind some metal off the port the lower hose goes on.*
-Cut a hole in the side of the E34 dipstick tube and attach (solder) a small pipe onto it (connected by rubber hose with hose clamps) for oil drainage from the intake manifold, otherwise you'll be dripping oil everywhere.
-Use the X60004 connector from a SMG or automatic E46/E39 etc and reroute the wires for your wiring. Solder everything; don't crimp and use heat-shrink tubing for professional looking work. :)
-I used E30 rear window defrost buttons for the SPAL fan override switch and for sport mode.
-Use fuel hoses with high pressure connectors (like the E46 M3's) or you'll probably start spraying fuel everywhere. ;)
-Reset the MSS54 ECU's electronic throttle adaptation otherwise the car will go into fail-safe mode.
-For heater hoses you can use 2 of the shorter E46 M3 heater hose.
-You can keep your E30 charcoal canister. Just connect it to the evap valve.

[nando]

I don't think wiring is that big of a deal, but I'm used to it too. the WDS is hard to get used to after using the ETM for so many years, but once you "get it" it's actually really nice. You can find way more detail than was on the ETM, and you can see how similar the MZ3/E46 M3 wiring really is, and what the differences in years breaks down to (not much).

use a [] euro S50b30 oil pump (the S54 is just a revision of that engine),

What's the difference between a euro S50B30 pump and one from a US motor?

use an E46 M3 rad

Any mods required, or does it pretty much fit right in?

and retain the E30's oil cooler (the E46's isn't much bigger)

I like this idea but I'm probably not the only one who has some concerns. that said, I may try it anyway.

-You'll have to make your own brackets for most everything under the hood.

For what specifically? I won't do hydroboost so I'm guessing you're talking about the coolant expansion tank? what else?

-If you are using a ZF310/320 5 speed transmission the only non-aftermarket flywheel you can use is the one from a 2001/2002 Z3M (or possibly other euro S50 flywheel). This works with the E46 M3's starter.

Why couldn't you use the starter from a ZF310/320?

-The E46 M3's power steering pump can be used with the E34 pan but you'll have to grind some metal off the port the lower hose goes on.*

Is it the front sump thing that it hits or somewhere else? This probably doesn't apply to me but I'm curious.

-Use the X60004 connector from a SMG or automatic E46/E39 etc and reroute the wires for your wiring. Solder everything; don't crimp and use heat-shrink tubing for professional looking work. :)

why does the X6004 need extended but not the X6001, 002, 003?

also the connectors aren't that expensive and you can buy the pins in bulk from an electronics supplier, and crimp them like stock.

-Use fuel hoses with high pressure connectors (like the E46 M3's) or you'll probably start spraying fuel everywhere. ;)

Did you use E46 M3 fuel hoses and connectors from the tank all the way to the FPR?

-For heater hoses you can use 2 of the shorter E46 M3 heater hose.
-You can keep your E30 charcoal canister. Just connect it to the evap valve.

these are good to know. I think I'd buy a new charcol canister rather than use my 25 year old one, though.

[FredK]

For what specifically? I won't do hydroboost so I'm guessing you're talking about the coolant expansion tank? what else?

Shrug. If you get a Z3M timing cover metal pipe (fairly inexpensive) you can run the stock E30 late model expansion tank in the stock location.

I made a bracket for the FPR assembly, as the stock E46 M3 filter/FPR assembly is tough to fit in a convenient place. I retained the E30 fuel filter and mounted the FPR on a simple L bracket attached to the driver's side frame rail.

I also made some brackets to mount an aftermarket oil cooler. Most people that track an E46 M3 see pretty high oil temps.

I used the stock E30 oil cooler to cool the power steering fluid, which is known to get hot and boil if a cooling loop isn't used.

Did you use E46 M3 fuel hoses and connectors from the tank all the way to the FPR?

The Z3M uses a mishmash of parts--the fuel filter hardline actually mates to normal 8mm fuel hose. So, I just used 8mm fuel injection hose, stock E30 hardlines, to the S54 FPR. The FPR outlet was plumbed using the E46-style quick disconnect hose.

[nando]

Shrug. If you get a Z3M timing cover metal pipe (fairly inexpensive) you can run the stock E30 late model expansion tank in the stock location.

That's great to know, although I actually favor relocating it to the passenger side (I have no washer tank and a big space where the battery tray is).

I made a bracket for the FPR assembly, as the stock E46 M3 filter/FPR assembly is tough to fit in a convenient place. I retained the E30 fuel filter and mounted the FPR on a simple L bracket attached to the driver's side frame rail.

I intended on using the E46 filter but I'd forgotten about having to mount the FPR. I wanted to do that ahead of time though.

I also made some brackets to mount an aftermarket oil cooler. Most people that track an E46 M3 see pretty high oil temps.

yeah, my main concern. Although, I don't track a lot and it's not very warm here. I think I'd be fine.

I used the stock E30 oil cooler to cool the power steering fluid, which is known to get hot and boil if a cooling loop isn't used.

I intend on using a PS cooler. I picked up a brand new 7 series PS cooler (whatever the last gen was) for $5. if I can't figure out how to mount that (inlet/outlet on opposite sides), I'm going to use the E30 325ix PS cooler (about $70).

The Z3M uses a mishmash of parts--the fuel filter hardline actually mates to normal 8mm fuel hose. So, I just used 8mm fuel injection hose, stock E30 hardlines, to the S54 FPR. The FPR outlet was plumbed using the E46-style quick disconnect hose.

so basically as long as I replace the 8mm hoses to all the hardlines I should be fine. I need to do that anyway, they're all original.