M54 swap thread

[Miami524td]

E28 M54B30 swap. I hope this can help those of you trying to do this swap.

First and foremost, why the M54 vs the well-known and trusted S50/S52. Ill try covering some of the differences between these engines for those that love the argument, and it will help explain why I decided going with this motor.

Horsepower.
S52B32- 240 bhp.
M54B30- 231bhp

Weight.
S52B32- 308 lbs.
M54B30- 277 lbs.

Price.
S52B32- 4000 to 7000 USD
M54B30- 500 to 1200 USD

As you can see from the previous numbers the M54B30 its cheaper by a lot, its 30 pounds lighter and has 9 bhp less than the S52. The amount of money you save by going the M54 route it is so significant that the 9 bhp difference in power doesn’t really make a difference when deciding which of these motors to choose. Also, the M54 platform has so many upgrades in recent times that you can gain a significant amount of power just from bolt on mods and software. In my case I decided to go with the ZHP tune and some short headers to compensate for the 9 bhp difference. I was by no means interested on building a racing car so if you ask me 240 bhp from a reliable motor its more than enough for my application. The car has power steering and AC . Another good point to raise will be the most hated DISA valve. Most people just hate this valve because they don’t understand how it works and the performance it adds to the engine. To keep it simple the DISA valve improves the way air enters the intake chambers therefore providing a better torque line at low RPM which it is where my motor will spend most of its life since like I mentioned before this is not a racing car. The car feels great, and it goes once you step on it. I upgraded the pulley system with the Turner Motorsport power pulley and removed fan clutch and replaced with a 16inch Spal fan with adjustable fan switch. Also, a great benefit about this particular set up will be the OBD2 port. I’m able to hook up an OBD reader to scan the car and test components. with the basic explanation as to why out the way lets go to the build thread. I’ll try covering everything, but this will not be a bible and things will change for different models and year vehicle. My car is a 1986 524 TD, that means I had the M21 turbo diesel motor so wiring will be particular to this model only. It may have similarities to other E28 vehicles, but I can’t say it will be exact so you will haver to do your research.

Engine mounts:
You can use the trusted E28 engine mounts. You will have to source the engine mount brackets since you won’t be able to use the standard m50/s50 ones. There are at least two companies you can acquire these brackets from. MyE28goodies being one of them and the other one autopartsmarket105 on eBay (I got mines from them). Be advised these brackets will be coming from Europe so you will have to wait a bit. Mines took around a month to get to the US.
Oil pan:
You can use the trusted M50 oil pan and it will bolt right on; however, the oil picks up tube won’t work and there’s two ways of going about this. Number one you’ll have to modify the original M54 pick up tube which is the way I went about it. You’ll have to cut the pickup tube and weld it after you take the measurements to make it work with the M50 oil pan. Just be careful when measuring because if you don’t go deep enough into the oil pan you will have oil starvation problems. Rule of thumb will be .25” inches from the bottom of the pan to where the pickup tube suctions the oil. The second way of solving this issue will be sourcing a pickup tube from an E38 728 car. The problem with this is that only the boys in Europe had this car available to them. We did not get that model in the US, so you’ll have to order a new one from a dealer or someone in Europe. The problem is that most people in Europe that sell this part online know that we use that for engine swaps, and they raised the price significantly. My experience was that I ordered this part from eBay for 170 USD and the seller cancelled the order and then listed again for almost triple the price. Part number for this pick-up tube is 11417503261.

Transmission:
There’s plenty of transmissions combinations you can use with the M54 motor since you can use most BMW transmissions from E36, E46 and E39s. it really comes down to preference and availability, so I won’t really get into details about which is best and why. Lots of people love the ZF trans and claim to be more reliable than the Getrac but with almost 12 years of experience working on bimmers and doing swaps I really don’t see that big of a difference between the two brands. Obviously gear ratio and all that good stuff should be considered but it also goes with the differential that you are using and realistically for street use I don’t really care about that. I went with a Generac 220 out of an e36 Z3. I decided going this way because was cheap. I’ve been driving the car for almost a year now of daily driving and have no complains. The car has an LSD from factory, 3.25 and I cruise at 70-80 MPH at about 3500RPM.

Clutch:
I went with single mass Valeo 52401220 and have no complains so far.

Drive shaft:
I used the standard 524TD driveshaft just had the local shop weld an E36 front flange after I measured the length. I had to weld the e36 flange because my car was auto and I had the 4-bolt flange, but like I said it may vary for your application since BMW used different trans and flanges sizes. So, you will have to do your research on this.

Headers and Exhaust:
I went with shirt E36 headers from eBay. You must be careful because most equal and long length headers will work for the E30 chassis but remember the E28 steering its quite different and you can have clearance issues while turning the wheels to full lock. E28 uses pitman arms, and they can hit the headers. My experience with the shorth headers was great but if I use 2.25 inches exhaust pipe then it’ll hit the steering components while turning. I ended up going with 2” inches from the exhaust flanges to the mid muffler and 2.25” all the way back. I custom built my own exhaust. I used a Borla Pro Xs mid muffler and straight pipe all the way back. The car sounds great and it’s not annoying.

Cooling and radiator:
The trusted E36 318i radiator worked for me with some custom hoses since you won’t be able to attach the E28 coolant sensor to the engine block you will have to use one of those sensor adapter junctions. I got one of those 36 mm one with the 3/8 NPT threads and I ended up drilling it and tapping it for the E28 sensor. I think the thread size was m12x1.50. Most of the heater and coolant tank hoses are a mix from E28 E36 and some E90 hoses so you will have to use your brain and come up with the right combination of hoses to make it work.

ECU:
Even doe not completely necessary, a tunned ECU will be the way to go. MS43 are so cheap now a days and there’s plenty of guys out there than can program it to delete the EWS and all the unnecessary things you won’t be using. Most important that speed signal delete something most people overlook, but its such an important piece to this puzzle because without deleting it from the software the ECU will hit limp mode and won’t allow the engine to rev past 5000 RPM. I got my MS43 from a guy on Europe that goes by the name n1ksonaaa on eBay. He can customize your DME for your needs. Mines been working with no issue, and I have the following upgrades: tunned ignition timing, vanos control and fuel mixture. EWS deleted, SAP deleted, secondary O2 sensor deleted, speed signal deleted, popcorn burble exhaust, 7000 rpm red line. That makes the DME plug and play.

Engine Harness:
Will be recommended to use an engine harness out of a e39 or E53 car. The E46 harness will work, but since the DME goes on the right side of the engine bay the harness won’t reach all the way to the glove box therefore you’ll need to come up with another place to hide the DME. E39/E53 harness will not have this issue since the DME is in the left side for these two vehicles. I was able to tuck the DME in the original place on the E28 by the glove box with the E53 harness.

Throttle pedal:

M54 has the drive by wire throttle so no cable will be needed. You’ll need to source a throttle pedal from an E46 or E39 and modify the car to make it work. Your best shot is getting a throttle pedal from a donor car and cut the connector with all the wires so that way will be easier to connect to the DME. I shaved the original throttle pedal bracket from the car floor and used the E46 pedal bracket. I then installed a threaded insert in the floor and bolted the mounting bracket from the E46. The pedal then just slides in. The wiring part won’t be an issue if you have the MS43 pinout which can be sourced online. Also, some people talk about not using an automatic car pedal since it has the kick down and can give issues. My experience is no issues just you will feel the kick down if you step on it all the way down. I used the pedal from an auto E46. My understanding is the stick shift pedal connector is different and wont work with the auto pedal that’s why I recommend taking both from the same donor vehicle.

I wired as follow but like I explained before colors and pin numbers may be different depending on which harness you using and were you source your pedal. Also stick shift and auto pedals may have different pinouts and colors.

Pedal Connector will be wired to DME X60004 connector (40 Pin Connector)

Pin1- Brown Green to DME Pin 7
Pin 2- Brown to DME Pin 12
Pin 3- Yellow green to DME Pin 14

Pin4- White to DME Pin 8
Pin5- Yellow to DME Pin 9
Pin 6- White Green to DME Pin13

Wiring DME:
This wiring guide was the one I used on the 524TD chassis. The c101 connector located on the side of the fuel box can have a different pinout on your vehicle if its not a 524TD. Do your research and find your wiring diagram and follow accordingly.

Connector X60004:
Pin 26- 15+ to Pin 6 C101
Pin 1- alternator charge indicator to Pin 1 of C101 connector.
Pin 17- RPM to Pin 5 C101

Connector X6011 is a 12-pin connector found in the donor harness usually located by the glove box. Depending on the car could be black or translucent.

Pin 3 Black goes to the starter and should be hooked to the ignition switch thick black and yellow wire. I won’t get into details how I did mines since I converted the car from auto to manual and I had to bypass the starter relay. There are different ways of doing this but the easiest way its just the way I mentioned before.
Pin 8 Oil pressure switch to C101 pin 14
Pin 5 Unloader relay to pin 8 C101

You will need to fabricate a completely separated Fuel pump relay since the harness doesn’t have one. I hope that you have a basic knowledge on how to do this but if not, YouTube is always an option. The fuel pump runs trough Pin 3 C101 connector so that would be the pin 87 of your relay once you get it done.

Obviously, you will need to attach all the terminal 30 (thick red wires) but I’m sure you can figure that out.

Power steering:
The M54 platform used two types of power steering pumps: LF20 and LF30.
The LF30 replaced the LF20 which was known to fail by breaking the shaft. I encountered a problem while trying to use the LF30. I couldn’t use the LF30 since the exit line was hitting the M50 oil pan. I ended up going with the LF 20 which solved my clearance issues. For the lines I used the chase bay high pressure power steering hose from the e30 M54 swap. I used some AN fitting to make it work with the E28 steering box and I have no leaks whatsoever.

For the most part that’ll cover the swap although I’m sure I’m missing info. Feel free to reach out with any questions and follow me on social media (IG) @losmuchachosgarage. I’m working on some cool projects including an E39 touring conversion. I will also be working on some videos to upload to my newly open YouTube channel. So don’t be shy and go subscribe Los Muchachos Garage.

[Mike W.]

Wow, an incredible amount of in depth info here, thank you.

I agree with your conclusions, but a couple of comments though. M54B30 ratings do seem to vary a bit, but I usually see 225, not 230HP, and I think I've seen as low as 221. No big deal. Torque on the M3 engine is ~20 pounds higher. But for the amount of money involved it's trivial. Having played with BMWs since Bavaria/E3 days I'm always a bit cautious on cooling systems. Why a 318 radiator and not a 325/328 E36 rad which will fit E28s? And I would think hoses would be simpler with it too. Given the common oil consumption of M54s, I'd be tempted to throw new rings in and rebuild the Vanos just cause, while you're there. But rings might be a bit more than many are willing to get into even though it's no big deal.

But wow, what a writeup and outstanding detail, my complements.

[Miami524td]

Hey Mike, thanks for the kind words. In my case I’m running the 3.0 version of the M54 and the actual numbers are 228 hp 221 ft-lb torque vs 240 hp and 236 ft-lb. Not much of a difference in number, but a hell of a difference in price. Plus the weight savings will probably make up for the difference in power. As far as the radiator goes I’ve used the 318 in multiple swaps and I’ve never had any overheating issues. I’m sure using the bigger version will be beneficial as far as managing temperatures, but I live in the sunny Miami and I’ve really never had an issue with my temperatures. I also run an electric fan set to come in at 185f so my temperatures are always within specifications. As far as oil consumption and vanos, I agree it will be great to change rings and rebuild vanos, but I didn’t go that route since the engine I sourced was low miles. Once again thank you for your kind words.

[GVILLAGE]

Do you have pictures of the process as well?

[Mike W.]

He's got a video on youtube, but it doesn't show a whole lot. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-MmuvOhHqRw

[vinceg101]

Not that I have much empirical evidence other than my own driving & servicing experience, but I stand by my belief that the M54B30 is one of BMW's top 10 (if not 5) motors they have ever made. There are a few issues you need to work around and correct, but by and large it is a very robust and long lasting engine with impressive performance statistics; it is also very versatile.

My fantasy swap would be a M54B30 ZHP motor with 6 speed in an E34 Touring. Not sure why other than I really prefer the E34T over the E39T (body style-wise).

I will check all this out and bookmark it for sure. Thank you to the OP for the documentation and contributions.

[Miami524td]

Do you have pictures of the process as well?

I may have some pictures saved on my phone, but if you follow the write up you won’t need pictures. Is very straight forward swap.

[Miami524td]

Not that I have much empirical evidence other than my own driving & servicing experience, but I stand by my belief that the M54B30 is one of BMW's top 10 (if not 5) motors they have ever made. There are a few issues you need to work around and correct, but by and large it is a very robust and long lasting engine with impressive performance statistics; it is also very versatile.

My fantasy swap would be a M54B30 ZHP motor with 6 speed in an E34 Touring. Not sure why other than I really prefer the E34T over the E39T (body style-wise).

I will check all this out and bookmark it for sure. Thank you to the OP for the documentation and contributions.

Hey Vince I definitely agree with you. The M54 is one of the greatest. I know a guy down here in Miami getting around 650HP with a turbo set up on a stock engine and he’s been driving it for quite some time now. I also have a thing for touring. I’m currently in the process of building an M5 E39 Touring so you can expect a write up on that as soon as I’m done with it.

[Behzad_28]

Hello and thank you for your great and complete information. I've just got an M54B30 from an E60 and a manual gearbox from an E46 M52 320i for my swapping project. My car is a 520i 1984. I'm planning to run it with a standalone ECU. Right now my major problem is the engine mounts, you know it's kinda hard in my reagion to order them from Europe or US, so I was wondering if I could find a plan or schematic with dimension to build those mounts. Thank you so much.

[mattrutledge]

Hey there! im currently doing the M54 Swap on my E28 and had some questions. Currently im battling the wiring in the engine bay, as to what can be removed cause no longer needed and what needs to stay. The car is a 1986 535i and it was originally automatic, and I will be doing the M54 swap as well as a manual swap.

- One of my main questions is the purge valve on the M54 and what the 2 hoses are for coming off the charcoal cannister in the front left of the engine bay right next to the ABS. Do one of those hoses go to the purge valve on the M54?

- I am using a swap harness I got from redline motorsports, since the car was automatic where is the computer for the trans located so I can remove it so the excess wires aren't in the way.

- I plan on doing A/C at some point, what did you have to do to make yours work? I know these cars came stock with an R12 system, how did you convert to R134?

[mattrutledge]

Hey Mike, thanks for the kind words. In my case I’m running the 3.0 version of the M54 and the actual numbers are 228 hp 221 ft-lb torque vs 240 hp and 236 ft-lb. Not much of a difference in number, but a hell of a difference in price. Plus the weight savings will probably make up for the difference in power. As far as the radiator goes I’ve used the 318 in multiple swaps and I’ve never had any overheating issues. I’m sure using the bigger version will be beneficial as far as managing temperatures, but I live in the sunny Miami and I’ve really never had an issue with my temperatures. I also run an electric fan set to come in at 185f so my temperatures are always within specifications. As far as oil consumption and vanos, I agree it will be great to change rings and rebuild vanos, but I didn’t go that route since the engine I sourced was low miles. Once again thank you for your kind words.

Hey there! im currently doing the M54 Swap on my E28 and had some questions. Currently im battling the wiring in the engine bay, as to what can be removed cause no longer needed and what needs to stay. The car is a 1986 535i and it was originally automatic, and I will be doing the M54 swap as well as a manual swap.

- One of my main questions is the purge valve on the M54 and what the 2 hoses are for coming off the charcoal cannister in the front left of the engine bay right next to the ABS. Do one of those hoses go to the purge valve on the M54?

- I am using a swap harness I got from redline motorsports, since the car was automatic where is the computer for the trans located so I can remove it so the excess wires aren't in the way.

- I plan on doing A/C at some point, what did you have to do to make yours work? I know these cars came stock with an R12 system, how did you convert to R134?