Frank Macaluso's E30S62 Swap Thread

[Turk]

Looking great Frank!

[Garageaholic]

What a monster this will be! Good job man! Any ideas on the weight difference between the s62 and m60?

I think that the S62 (480lb) is about 20lbs heavier than the M60 (460lb). These are rough numbers.

I think this is because of the extra pumps, VANOS...etc. I have a flywheel that's approximately 15lbs lighter than stock, so that should help!

Frank - you are the man......

btw - all your pictures are missing from your m60 swap thread ;(

Sorry, George. I'd have to check the code! All my s62 pictures now are linked to facebook, so I suspect that i'll never lose the link.

[Garageaholic]

Updates 6/20

Some updates for the past couple weeks. A lot of fabrication work. I worked out all the wiring, but I have yet to create my harness and test it. That will be coming shortly.



Took the dashboard out for a couple of reasons:

• The harness will fit underneath the dashboard, so there is no way I would have fit it in there had the dashboard been in there.
• Wire up the on board computer MPG adjuster
• EASILY tap into any power, signal, or ground wire that I need to while it's all out.

Too, the 3.15diff out and will be putting in a 2.93 for some lower-rev highway cruising.


I grommetted all of the areas where wires will be going through the firewall. These were seemingly hard-to-find, but I found them online by the foot. I RTV'd it with black sealant to keep it in there.


I decided to make an adjustment for the clutch fork distance. Especially since my clutch was engaging basically right off the floor.









Almost complete... just need to cut the threads down now.


Now I need to drill out the hole and insert a helicoil. Why helicoil and not just tap? Because the hole was too big to simply tap a M12x1.5, which is the size I decided to go with. Check it out below.





After drilling it out with 31/64", I can now start using the special tap for the M12x1.5 helicoil.



Helicoil tool.




Adjustable Clutch Fork Pivot tool ready for install!


Adjusted for more throw:


Back to stock if necessary!


Now I decided to investigate why my clutch was leaking fluid from the upper boot. It started leaking a little bit, but once I loosened the boot, brakefluid came pouring out and even though it was a new master cylinder, I figured it was time to buy genuine BMW and not aftermarket shit.

So this is what I found on the seal after I removed it. no wonder it was leaking slowly.....






So I haven't posted it, but I've been concentrating (preparing) a lot on the wiring and the pedal potentiometer. I decided to mount the potentiometer on the front driver wheel well housing near the brake booster. I don't have pictures yet because it's not yet complete, but with that being said, I wanted to move the cruise control motor and cable to inside the car and I think I found a spot to install it. I'll have to rig up some way to install it easily and with adequate strength.

[Garageaholic]

Next steps are:

Complete Pedal Potentiometer with Cruise Control
Fit engine in again and build oil filter housing bracket
Build wiring harness
Begin fabricating exhaust manifolds.

that's about it!!

By the way, I came into this swap thinking that it would be very straightforward and it would be an easy install in a matter of a couple weeks. I quickly discovered that this is much more involved than the M60 was from every angle. Everything needs to be beefed up, all clearances need to be made with adequate space, and wiring is.....well, to be CORRECT and ACCURATE and to maintain all functionality, it needs to be very thorough and meticulously checked over and over again.

This is not an easy swap. It's very much more involved than the M60.

[golde30]

looks very involved. these kinda swaps dont happen fast unless its some1's full time job to get it done, with unlimited resources backing them up. Even at that it still takes alotta time. That being said, kudos to you for taking it on, cant wait to see it finished!

[Garageaholic]

I'm still aiming for the end of august to have a complete swap sleeper. I'd like to get it started before the end July. Everything else after that should be a cakewalk.

[NickL]

Awesome progress and innovation man, can't wait to go for the M60.

[Cephas]

Very cool! I can't wait to see vids of it running.

[noid]

Time sert >>>>> helicoil

[Garageaholic]

Time sert >>>>> helicoil

agreed. can i install a timesert with typical helicoil kit?

[LJ851]

agreed. can i install a timesert with typical helicoil kit?

No.

[noid]

agreed. can i install a timesert with typical helicoil kit?

Nope, time sert kit includes

Drill, tap, driver, counter bore and the inserts. You may already have the drill, the tap, but likely would not have the appropriate driver nor counter bore.

The good thing about time sert kits is that you can sell them for nearly the same price you buy them for minus one insert after you are done.

[RobertK]

Instead of using the E39 potentiometer have you considered using a pedal from an E46? Would be a lot easier to mount up.

[Garageaholic]

i didn't want to take the chance of having a pedal pot with differentresistance values.

the s62 has 2 servo actuators for the throttle bodies. one for each side of cylinders....and the pot ismade for that configuration. the pedal pot that i obtained from the m5 is made for that engine.... and it's that peace of mind that i wanted, regardless of the difficulty involved with the mounting of the module. besides, i just finished!

[RobertK]

i didn't want to take the chance of having a pedal pot with differentresistance values.

the s62 has 2 servo actuators for the throttle bodies. one for each side of cylinders....and the pot ismade for that configuration. the pedal pot that i obtained from the m5 is made for that engine.... and it's that peace of mind that i wanted, regardless of the difficulty involved with the mounting of the module. besides, i just finished!

That's not true at all. The M5 has one servo that controls all. Same as the S54 only it has spots for 2 linkage connectors not just one. Take off that intake plenum and you will see what I'm talking about.

For future reference the E46 pedal is a perfectly viable alternative and much easier to install.