89 S52 Swap

[cdl723]

So I recently picked up a 1989 325i with a manual swap. I was originally planning on refreshing the suspension and doing some interior work. The PO did a manual swap and put all new gaskets on the engine.



I had a buddy with a 97 M3 (US Spec) who crashed it a few times. With some persuasion from a friend i was talked into buying it and parting it out. I decided to keep the S52, ZF and driveshaft for my E30. Let me know if anyone needs e36 m3 parts.



I also picked up a 3.07 LSD off of an E28 525e for the swap. I figured a 4.10 with a ZF wouldn't be too fun on the street. I am doing the swap with an OBD2 tune from Kassel performance with revshift mounts. For the brakes i am modifying a 944 booster for clearance. I'll have some more updates on the build this weekend.



I am just doing a refresh of the engine (Water pump, 88C thermostat, Valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, rear main seal, etc.). Then for the trans i'm doing detents (Shifter lean is bad). It has some lifter tick but its not too bad. If it is bad enough after the swap i'll replace the lifter, but i figured it would be fine in the mean time to get it up and running. Im going to try and run a 16" SPAL fan with the stock e30 radiator, but if it starts to overheat ill get something a little bigger.

As far as other mods go here are my plans:
-H&R Sports
-Bilstein Sports
-E90 top hats
-Red46 oil pan
-Purple tag E46 steering rack
-AKG Subframe,TA,Diff bushings
-Refreshing the CA bushings

[E30335i]

Nice! You have hydraulic lifters so when you finish the swap you can just add an oil additive and bleed the lifters, 2k rpm for 10 min? Hopefully that will clean up the gunk inside the lifters or at least reduce the noise. You shouldn’t have overheating issues, replace your aux fan temp switch with one from a 95 318ti. Low will turn on at 1/4 and high right when you hit half. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cdl723]

Nice! You have hydraulic lifters so when you finish the swap you can just add an oil additive and bleed the lifters, 2k rpm for 10 min? Hopefully that will clean up the gunk inside the lifters or at least reduce the noise. You shouldn’t have overheating issues, replace your aux fan temp switch with one from a 95 318ti. Low will turn on at 1/4 and high right when you hit half. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was planning on using an additive with lighter weight oil for a few miles to bleed the lifters and clear them out. I have an auxiliary 82C fan switch for the SPAL fan i am running.

[cdl723]

So I made some progress this weekend. I ended up getting just the engine in doing some basic seals and all. I ended up doing the oil pick up gasket, oil pan, valve cover, thermostat gasket, thermostat, rear main seal, and water pump gasket (Ended up being a fairly new looking metal impeller pump).

After looking around the 205k mile S52 i noticed a peculiar oil leak coming from where the head and block mounted. The PO said the coolant gauge got into the red zone one time and he immediately shut it off. He said it was normal for him to add oil every couple of months and thought it was normal with an older car. Being that oil and coolant didn't mix or go into the combustion chamber, I did not think anything of it when buying the car. He also said he had been driving it for sometime (3-4k miles) since it over heated. I am deciding to put it in the car to get it running and driving, but I am expecting to have to do a head gasket soon. I will keep a close eye on coolant and oil after the swap and will check under the exhaust side after I get it running.

I also started on the detent repair for the transmission, however I ran into a road block with putting new detent sleeves in. I didn't have the tools to put them in properly and feared I would mess it up, so I ordered a set of OEM tools. I used a chisel at first to try and split the sleeve, however after 30 minutes of unsuccessful hammering/and scoring the bore, i decided to make my own tool. I used an old screw driver and put an angle in it as seen in the picture. This worked like a charm and pried the sleeve up in just a few whacks. I took a Dremel with a sanding drum to the badly scored part of the drum, then used 400 grit sand paper on the rest of it.

I was able to pull the M20 this weekend. Nothing exciting happened with this other than finding a bunch of newish parts the PO put in before he sold it. That is my roommates car on the right. He is planning on doing some iron block LS shenanigans.

I installed a purple tag E46 steering rack with the Garagistic spacer set. I was not happy with this set as the bolts were too large and they were difficult to install. I ended up having to drill the clevis out to fit the bolts and be able to tighten them. I also put on a 944 booster with a cut and rethreaded pedal side rod. This took some time, but I am happy with the results.

Lastly, I put the S52 in the engine bay without a transmission and was able to hook up power steering and the coolant lines.

I am waiting on a clutch kit and the detent tools to come in before I put the rest of it back together. I plan on using the 97 M3 down pipes and I cut it at the cat. I then plan on using some of the E30 piping to do twin exhaust back.

[E30335i]

Is that cirrusblau? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mjweimer]

You've made some serious progress over a few days - nice!

I really like your idea of cutting the angle on the end of a screwdriver for knocking out the detent pin sleeves....I will try that next time I service a ZF trans. Luckily that is the worst part of the job, putting is back together is not too bad.


Just a heads up (if you have not figured it out yet)...M52 and S52 downpipes are double walled at certain points between the manifold flanges and the converter. This can make things a bit more difficult when cutting the pipes for clearance around the subframe.


MJ

[cdl723]

Is that cirrusblau? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is Cirrusblau Metallic

You've made some serious progress over a few days - nice!

I really like your idea of cutting the angle on the end of a screwdriver for knocking out the detent pin sleeves....I will try that next time I service a ZF trans. Luckily that is the worst part of the job, putting is back together is not too bad.


Just a heads up (if you have not figured it out yet)...M52 and S52 downpipes are double walled at certain points between the manifold flanges and the converter. This can make things a bit more difficult when cutting the pipes for clearance around the subframe.


MJ

I understand the S52 down pipes are double walled and there may be some clearance issues. I have mocked them up and used a little gentle persuasion with a hammer to help them clear the subframe/sway bar. Im hoping to finish the exhaust Thursday. One of my buddies with a welder is helping me cut and weld the exhaust then... Just need to get the trans in before.

[mjweimer]

I understand the S52 down pipes are double walled and there may be some clearance issues. I have mocked them up and used a little gentle persuasion with a hammer to help them clear the subframe/sway bar. Im hoping to finish the exhaust Thursday. One of my buddies with a welder is helping me cut and weld the exhaust then... Just need to get the trans in before.

Excellent, hopefully you can get the trans in and the exhaust fab goes well, look forward to the next update.


MJ

[E30335i]

I have one myself but link isn’t working ! Congrats

[cdl723]

I got it running after some finagling with the wiring. I installed the m50 manifold with kind of janky vacuum lines. I installed the M20 ICV because they appeared to be similar, and I figured the DME would adjust to the difference in resistance to straighten the idle out. I used a combination of M20 hoses, S52 hoses and some other stuff i had laying around to get the ICV to be hooked up. Hopefully this holds for the time being and i can find something a little better to replace it. I decided to do this because i am deleting the SAP, and CCV. I also shaved down the last 4 fins on the manifold to make it fit with the brake booster. I ended up breaking the 3/2 valve from the M3 and decided to get an M50 fuel rail with the FPR on the rail. This cleaned the fuel lines up a little bit and i'll have to see how I can attach the beauty cover.

The next thing i did was get the exhaust welded up with some Autozone 2" tubing and hammered a lot to clear the control arm lollipop bushing and sway bar. The lollipop bushing is almost cleared and i am unsure as to what i should do for the sway bar (Maybe make a spacer or hammer some more). I am going to try and put it on the ground to see if the exhaust hits the sway bars when the front is not in full droop. The exhaust doesn't look pretty, but my goal is to get it running for the time being and get... a more professional exhaust made for it.

Lastly, I hooked up the wiring for the rest of the harness and it started!!! I spent around an hour trouble shooting only to realize I hadn't hooked up the crank sensor at the back of the block. I did not have the coolant sensors or really anything else required to run an engine for longer than a few seconds. Also, I didn't have the drive shaft hooked up because I tore the CSB trying to flip it on the M3 driveshaft. I installed it the correct orientation on a G260 drive shaft and this resulted in the holes not lining up on the chassis when installed this way on the ZF320 M3 driveshaft.

I am going on a little vacation for the next few weeks, so unfortunately i wont be able to make it drivable until mid/end of August.

[cdl723]

Well I got everything else installed and ready to go for it’s first drive with an S52. I installed the auto m20 radiator and filled it up with water. I haven’t put the fan in yet. I put some hose clamps on the ICV hoses to help hold the ICV in place. I put a catch can in where the cruise control was. Lastly I bled the brakes, installed the driveshaft and my Frankenstein exhaust. I had to remove the front sway bar to clear the exhaust, but I will modify the exhaust and reinstall it.

Currently I still have the 4.10 open still in it. I also didn’t do a great job of aligning it, maybe a few degrees of toe in.... I did a little test drive and it was very underwhelming. I think there’s a vacuum leak somewhere as the engine is delayed and it barely felt quicker than the m20. The alignment is also probably taking some power out of it as when I came back the tires were very warm to the touch.

Next I would like to properly align the car and find the vacuum leak (I think it might the FPR vacuum nipple on the bottom of the S52 throttle body).

[cdl723]

I finally found a break from school work with some nice weather to do a few things. First i was able to raise the engine ~0.42" using some washers. I did this to increase the clearance on the intake, sway bar and for extra oil pan ground clearance. I used 7 - 1.25" washers stacked up and put some Loctite on the mounting studs and nuts.

I also found a leak coming from the larger banjo on the power steering pump. I decided to pull it out and noticed the threads came with it... First i tried Helicoil taping it as the banjo bolt didn't have threads to tighten it down with. This worked and allowed me to torque it down, but after filling the reservoir up it also leaked out. I decided to look a little closer and saw i didn't tap the hole 100% straight. It is maybe 5 degrees off at the most, but I decided I am done with this power steering pump and am looking for a replacement.

The next thing I did was loosen and retighten the manifold along with the hose clamps for my ICV circuit to try and work some vacuum leaks out. I removed the throttle cable as it was just barely holding the intake open and started it. It idled at about 1500rpm for 20-30 seconds then dropped to 600-700rpm. I did not drive the car because of the power steering leak. The next thing i need to do is modify the throttle cable (e34 525i m50) so I have slack when on off throttle. I am running an OBD2 throttle body on an OBD1 intake manifold.

The last thing I did was pull the gauge cluster and replace the odometer gears. I also touched up the needles with some red sharpie as the previous owner did a poor job of doing just the speedo/tach needs with orange sharpie. I also tightened the gas gauge nut to get a better ground and now it is reading properly.

[cdl723]

Ive gotten a few things done since my last update. First i found my running issue was from the cam sensor wiring being frayed. The sheathing disintegrated and was shorting causing it not to run correctly. I have ordered a new sensor and I am waiting for the Vanos solenoid O-ring to come in to replace the cam sensor. I also ended up getting the Garagistic chassis shifter as neither the G260 shifter or ZF320 shift arm put the shifter in the right location (To far forward or to the right). I am really satisfied with the quality and feel of the shifter, however it is a little notchy and not as lush as the oem option.

I also swapped the 3.07 LSD in and its nice being able to drive around and not shift through all the gears to get it up to 50 mph. It seems to lock up nicely, so for $300 i am satisfied with the differential. When i found the cam sensor wiring i tried taping them up which seemed to clear the code, however it will occasionally throw a code while driving and go into a limp mode again. With the 3.07 and a semi functioning cam sensor this thing was fast.

I have also been dealing with some power steering leak issues, i know my apartment complex isnt going to like me when i leave... I wasnt able to find a reasonable used pump, so i started with the autozone special. This was a bad idea and immediately started to squeal and make a lot of noise. I returned it and found a pump on ebay and decided to give that a shot. Finally no more leaks or noises were coming from the power steering. I drove it around like this then parked it and found a pool of ATF sitting under it the next morning. The reservoir developed a leak on the bottom where it attached to the hoses. I am unsure if this is a crack or an issue with the hoses, but i have a replacement that i am going to try first.

I am also getting ready to rebuild the exhaust with single 2.5", replace the cam sensor, replace the power steering reservoir and replace the head gasket bolts to try and see if that wont help the slight head gasket weep.

[cdl723]

Replacing the head bolts 1 by 1 did not work. On the 3rd bolt, coolant started to spew out. I guess it was worth a shot for relatively cheap to hold off the head gasket, but it did not work. I decided to pull the head and found the gasket around the oil return galleys was basically gone. I got the head surfaced, cleaned, valve guides checked and valve seals replaced. The machinist took off 4 thousandths to get it into spec. I pulled the lifters and cleaned them out, then rebuilt the VANOS unit. I used a modified spacer from Race German, however it appears a PO before my buddy already sanded the spacer down. I threw in the new spacer and seals and decided to run it as there still wasn't a lot of play in the unit. I cleaned up the block, installed the sensors and other hardware onto the head and put it back on. I added a little bit of oil to wash debris that fell into the oil galleys down then changed the oil and filter. Putting the cams back in was fun to say the least... The timing for the cams and VANOS unit took a while to get correct, but i think i got it timed correctly.



Im not sure why, but i was more nervous starting it after the head job than i was when swapping it in. It ended up starting up without a hitch and was running strong. I did have a bit of a freak out as the coolant did not bleed properly at first, the oil burned off the headers and the oil in the cylinders burned off in the exhaust. I ended up scanning the ECU and found i had a P0300 and misfire in cylinder 4, 5, and 6. I need to look more into this, but i have a feeling it is either an O2 sensor failing or the injectors on those cylinders are clogged (I replaced the injectors for cyl 4, 5, and 6 with different pink tops because they were 24lb/hr). I will try moving the coil packs around, then the injectors to see if the misfire follows them to narrow it down.

Also when i started it, i realized i did not have a tach signal. I checked continuity through my C101 adapter and it was still there for the tach pins. I checked for continuity between all of the different pins in the C101 to check for it shorting out to another pin and i was unable to find anything. I guess next i will need to check from the ECU to C101, then check for continuity to the tach. It was working before i replaced the head gasket, but now for whatever reason it stopped.

I also replaced the power steering reservoir and re bled the system and this seems to have done the trick for the time being on the power steering. No more leaks!

[cdl723]

It has been a while since i have posted, but i ended up removing the manifold and reinstalling it and this cured my p0300 and misfire in 4,5 and 6. The tach ended up fixing itself when i was working on it (maybe a short in the cluster?). I drove it for a short drive, maybe 15 min, and had the OBD2 dongle connected. I was tracking the temperatures after i bled the system and i noticed they shot up to 105-110C so i decided to immediately shut the car off and pull over. While i was waiting it creeped up to 115C. I felt that the lower rad hose was cool and the fan switch did not activate. I think it had an air bubble stuck in the head from having the bleed hole orientated at the 6 o clock position. I pulled it and flipped it around to the 12 o clock position and i replaced the water pump as there was a small weep coming from around it. I cut off the threads to increase the clearance between the water pump and radiator.

Also my power steering reservoir had a very very slow leak around the hoses. I am tired of dealing with the power steering system so i ordered the chase bays kit for power steering and am waiting for that to be delivered.

I also had an issue with the manifold and 944 booster slightly touching, but decided not to address it until now. I removed the booster and shifted the booster 0.5" to the driver side. I drilled a hole in the pedal to fit the clevis between the clevis tab and pedal body. I used a bolt to attach the clevis and everything seems to work pretty well.