My M60 Mtech II dream

[P Arkus]

I figured i'll start my first ever build thread on this car as I know I will have lots of questions and opinion seeking along the way. Here's some background...

Picked up a 91 325is Mtech II almost 2 years ago. As this has always been one of my dream cars, I wanted this to be the car that would be with me for a VERY long time. That meant that the M20 (with an automatic transmission) just wouldnt cut it. Researched a bunch of different swaps, and came to the realization that with it being a weekend city cruiser, nothing would feel better than a nice v8 packin some good low end torque.

So the dream is slowly turning into a reality (nightmare lol). I did a bunch of research on the M60 swap, bought Franks swap manual, and traded a set of wheels for a 95 540iA donor car. This past weekend I finally pulled the motor out of the donor car and am ready to start tearing it apart and rebuilding it. This is the car its going into:



As for my mechanical background (or lack there of), this is my first big project. The M60 was the first motor I’ve ever pulled. With the help of a few good friends, we succeeded. It was……interesting…..to say the least lol. But it was a very good learning experience. Right now I feel as though I may be in over my head on this one, but the best way to learn to swim is to dive into the deep end they say.

So with that said, I have a few questions right off the bat. The donor car is still sitting in my garage, and I want to make sure I take absolutely everything I need from it before sending it to the scrap yard. So far what I have pulled is the motor, in the process of pulling the wiring harness, the AC lines and the AC condenser. I pulled the brake booster assembly but for now the plan is to go manual brakes. I will be buying Garagistics M60 package which includes the motor mounts, the drive shaft, the transmission brace extenders (will be a 6 speed transmission), and the pedal box.

Is there anything I am missing that I would need to pull from the donor car?

Thanks in advance for following me through this journey of mine!

[P Arkus]

Alright so with the weather getting nicer, i've decided its go time and I want this thing done at some point this summer so I can still enjoy it a bit. I'm copying part of this from my intro thread and will try to stay on top of this one in the next few months as I progress. Been slowly working away at disassembling the v8 in my garage in order to clean it up and seal it with all new gaskets. Got most of it taken apart, just need to get a solid understanding of the timing of it before I remove the heads. Gonna be deleting the AC while I'm at it as well since I never really use AC in my cars, just open the windows and enjoy the breeze.

A few pics of its stages of nakedness



Went down to the border this weekend to pick up a few parts for the swap. Thanks to the guys over at Garagistic, they basically make this swap a bolt in procedure by eliminating all the custom fab work that needs to be done. Highly doubt I would be taking on this swap if it wasn't for them!


So I now have all the pre-fabbed items for the swap. Still on the hunt for a 6 speed transmission for this beast, a 404DME and possibly a new alternator (Derp moment)

Picked up a set of ground control coilovers that I will be installing shortly. Just need to pick up a bunch of bushings and replace them all at the same time. These coilovers look great and I know first hand that the ride quality on them is amazing. Cant wait for them to be in.


Also a little gift from the wife, which is another huge motivator to get this car finished in show quality style. Need to hang it up in my garage so I can look at it everyday when I work.

[P Arkus]

So that was the progress about a month or so ago, last weekend I ordered all new parts and gaskets for the M60 to get it fully refreshed, should be picking those all up this weekend. Trying my best to make this engine "like new" again, and hoping to minimize the amount of times I need to pull it once its in.

Thinking i'm going to pull the rear subframe next weekend and have the reinforcements welded in, then powdercoat. I have a 3.15 Torsen LSD from a Z3 waiting to go in, so put that in, replace the bushings, put the new suspension in, and then at least the back half of the car is mostly taken care of.

This weekend i'm gonna take the time to fully roll my fenders flat and get started on re-sealing the engine. I know 205 tires wont quite cut it with a v8 haha

[Gertech]

Gonna be a sweet car man! Looks like a clean engine, too. Good luck with the build!

[Old city bimmer]

valve train looks super clean

[garagistic]

Looking good!

[P Arkus]

Thanks. Surprisingly the valve train is very clean, which gives me high hopes for its reliability after I'm all done refreshing it!

[Sacrilegious340]

Congrats on swap Op. I'm subbed in for this.

[P Arkus]

Been a bit busy with school the past few weeks and have a final in Tax coming up shortly, but still made some good progress on the motor this weekend. Had a friend come over and help me take apart the rest of the engine.









Overall it all went pretty smoothly with only a few minor hickups. I'm stoked to be doing this, and very thankful at the same time because I know i'll have a great running motor when i'm done. For 236xxxkm's, the engine looks very clean and healthy, the cylinder walls all look good, and with me replacing all the chains, guides, gaskets, etc, I'm sure its going to be very reliable for me. Just need to clean it up.

Also this will ensure that everything is bolted up properly, I found 4 (yes FOUR) completely loose screws from the oil pump at the bottom of my oil pan, so I tightened everything back up and made sure its actually tight. Luckily there's about 10 bolts altogether so the pump stayed in place and didnt cause any internal damage.

So next i'll be cleaning all the parts up and painting certain parts of it. I'm waiting on a large order from Blunttech and ECS that I should be picking up soon, then I can start resealing the engine and putting it all back together. Unfortunately I havent gotten around to pulling the rear subframe yet but hoping that will come in the next couple weeks (along with engine and front subframe) once school is done for this semester.

So a couple quick questions for you guys:
1) What do you guys use to clean up the pistons and block? I know with the alusil linings you have to be very careful with the cylinder walls, and I want to make sure I dont damage anything.
2) Is the oil pump nut a common failing point in the M60 engines as it is in the M5x engines? I know in the M5x engines people find ways to make sure that bolt doesnt get loose, but is this a problem with the M60 as well or is it pretty safe? It was tight when I took the oil pan off, but I have no idea if and when its ever been tightened in the past and want to be safe.

Cheers and stay tuned for more! :pimp:

[pandaboo911]

Manual brakes in a DD cruiser? Nope


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JGood]

That engine looks insanely clean in the timing chain area. Almost too clean for that many miles. Somebody definitely used high quality oil with frequent changes.

So a couple quick questions for you guys:
1) What do you guys use to clean up the pistons and block? I know with the alusil linings you have to be very careful with the cylinder walls, and I want to make sure I dont damage anything.
2) Is the oil pump nut a common failing point in the M60 engines as it is in the M5x engines? I know in the M5x engines people find ways to make sure that bolt doesnt get loose, but is this a problem with the M60 as well or is it pretty safe? It was tight when I took the oil pan off, but I have no idea if and when its ever been tightened in the past and want to be safe.

For the pistons, I turned the block upside down and put the piston at the top of the stroke, then used a maroon scuff pad. Then took a shop vac around it just in case any particles decided to defy gravity. The pistons stick up past the block almost the exact thickness of the head gasket (1.74mm). For the tops of the cylinder walls, I did the same thing, but with the piston at the bottom of the stroke.

Here's the thread where I was asking about that method:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=314282

Surely not a perfect method, but it's not like it's a $10k race engine. I have 10k miles on my m60b44 now, compression is great, no oil burning, no issues at all.

I've never heard of the oil pump nut on an m60 backing off, but it can't hurt to tack weld or safety wire it. I would loctite the oil pump bolts if I were you. Even after tightening, I've heard of some people having them repeatedly come loose. I think I remember Gary (bmwmech1) say he actually drops the lower pan in his e34 540i once every year or two during an oil change to check the bolts just as preventative maintenance, and considering how easy/cheap that is, I think it's a great idea. I've had to remove my oil pan about once every 6 months for the past 3 years for one reason or another, not by choice, so mine frequently get checked regardless lol.

[P Arkus]

Awesome, thats the info I was looking for. Good idea to turn the block upside down and have the shop vac ready as well. Thanks Justin! Also good to know that the oil pump bolts coming loose are more common than I thought. I'll pull them all out one by one and add some loctite for some piece of mind.

[P Arkus]

Hoping someone can help me out with this. Searched around a bit but couldnt find a definitive answer. I'm looking for an Alternator for my M60. I would prefer to get one locally, but there isnt much for M60 engines being parted out. Are the M62 alternators interchangable? I know the M62TU alternators are watercooled, but are the early M62 alternators watercooled as well? Would they (or any other alternator) fit the M60 engine as a direct swap?

Thanks in advance!

[P Arkus]

Been working on cleaning the whole engine the past couple of days and getting everything ready for paint. Its unreal how filthy these engines get, but with a little bit of elbow grease you can get them looking like new.

Here are a few pics for comparison







Currently its all clean and taped up ready for paint. Just need to sand down all the covers and prep it all properly. I want to make sure to do this right so that the paint doesn’t begin to chip after a few months. Went with some Endura paint in custom colors as I have a friend who has used Endura and has had nothing but good things to say about the paint.




Also went down to the border last weekend and picked up a bunch of parts. Mostly stuff to just refresh the M60 engine, but on the list of fun parts includes H&R front and rear sway bars, an E60 short shift kit with a ZHP 6 speed shift knob, and a Z3 2.7 L2L steering rack from the rackdoctor.

Hoping to have all the parts sanded down by next weekend and get everything painted quickly. Also hoping to have the M20 pulled out of the car next weekend. Then once the engine is painted, start putting it all back together and sealed up. Still waiting on ECStuning to ship out my UUC LWFW and clutch kit which was ordered on April 6th…… hoping it will show up sometime this summer lol.

[HersheySquirts]

Good work, sub'd