Did an S54 swap in e39 528i

[Impryder]

Ok so I need some help. I have not replaced the DME or S54 wiring harness. I have only swaped the stock 528i m52 motor to the new s54. I am wondering if this will work. I plan on using the crankshaft position sensor from the m52 and the the old cam shaft position sensor. This way everything will connect. as far as Vanos is concerned I've seen a special bmw tool which has a connector which connects to the Vanos plug on the s54. You hook this tool to a 12v power supply while hooking up compressed air to the top of the vanos unit. this tool has two buttons on it. On button controls intake the other exhaust. I wa sthinking I can modify this tool to only control my intake Camshaft. I will connect the 12v power supply connection to the vanos connector of the 528i wiring harness. this way I can leave the toll connected and expect it to control my intake camshaft while the engine is running. So my question is will this work? Or will i have to start messing around with expensive dme's and wiring harness's? Can any one point me in the right direction. I have to much money in this project to fail, this has to work one way or the other.

[Mark@EAC]

start by googling standalone engine controllers. then contact some manufacturers and see what they have to offer you.

[BimmerBreaker]

Nope. Wont be that easy. You need the DME. Should have asked how to get it to work before just throwing the engine in... it simply will not be that simple

[brandon5069]

uh oh...

[Paintballistic]

aren't dme's like 2 grand alone???

[forcemax]

maybe I AM wrong but I`ve to believe this will be toooo expensive !! I`m want to do same thing but ONLY will put engine from M3-1999 in this case this must be simple like plug and play.

[brandon5069]

maybe I AM wrong but I`ve to believe this will be toooo expensive !! I`m want to do same thing but ONLY will put engine from M3-1999 in this case this must be simple like plug and play.

s52 won't be plug and play, but will be easier than S54...

but I'd rather have an M5 if I was paying my money for this type of swap...

[forcemax]

s52 won't be plug and play, but will be easier than S54...

but I'd rather have an M5 if I was paying my money for this type of swap...

Why do you think so? I`m want to buy whole M3-1999 [ from auction ] and will transfer everything I`m need from M3 to my 528-1998 also I`m want to put manual trany because right know I`m have auto. and I`m hope this will be not so hard to do.

[BimmerBreaker]

Why do you think so? I`m want to buy whole M3-1999 [ from auction ] and will transfer everything I`m need from M3 to my 528-1998 also I`m want to put manual trany because right know I`m have auto. and I`m hope this will be not so hard to do.

The costs of doing all that could easily buy a newer M3 or even an M5. But if you really want to do it, it can be done, it will just take a lot of time and effort (and money).

[forcemax]

The costs of doing all that could easily buy a newer M3 or even an M5. But if you really want to do it, it can be done, it will just take a lot of time and effort (and money).

Still why do you think so? I`m can buy whole M3-1999 with 70-90 K miles for 2K from auction[ my friend a dealer and he can buy it for me)] and will do almost all job by myself with little help .what do you think how much will it cost me?

[Impryder]

BlackXS,

What if I purchase the s54 DME and wiring harness? I've heard that I would have EWS issues and my key would not start the car. Is there any way I can have the 528i ECU control the chassis fucnctions like speedometer, ACS, etc and just have the s54 dme control the motor?

Nope. Wont be that easy. You need the DME. Should have asked how to get it to work before just throwing the engine in... it simply will not be that simple

__________________
BlackXS,

What if I purchase the s54 DME and wiring harness? I've heard that I would have EWS issues and my key would not start the car. Is there any way I can have the 528i ECU control the chassis fucnctions like speedometer, ACS, etc and just have the s54 dme control the motor?

[BimmerBreaker]

Still why do you think so? I`m can buy whole M3-1999 with 70-90 K miles for 2K from auction[ my friend a dealer and he can buy it for me)] and will do almost all job by myself with little help .what do you think how much will it cost me?

I figured 4-5K for the M3/engine.

You can either spend 2K on the M3 and take out the engine or spend close to 2K getting the S54 to work. And yes I think you will need a new DME/EWS However if it was me, I would run it standalone as per Mark's instructions:

start by googling standalone engine controllers. then contact some manufacturers and see what they have to offer you.

wont get all the functionality but on a cheap dollar it will work (engine will obviously still have all functions, VANOS etc, but thermostats may not read properly, little things like that). Of all the succesful, finsihed, engine swaps I have seen on BMWs, the majority of them are standalone. BMWs are not meant for engine swapping; the cars are practically built around the engine. It can be done, but standalone is almost always an easier way to do it. Cheaper too. Research a little into that and if you still want it integrated, find an S54 DME and I bid you good luck.

[Impryder]

Thanks for the info, I actually bought this motor from a salvage yard for 1.5K knowing it had a bent rod on number 4 later on after i didn the engine rebuild i found number 4 cylinder wall to be cracked. So I bought a good block for $200 and swapped all the internals. It eneded up costing me about 2 grand with new piston rings and new buttom end bearings. I will figure this out, Thanks for eveyones help

[Jason5driver]

I would contact Koala Motorsports in Ohio.
They are experts at engine swaps.
They should be able to steer you in the right direction!

[ganesht]

What if I purchase the s54 DME and wiring harness? I've heard that I would have EWS issues and my key would not start the car. Is there any way I can have the 528i ECU control the chassis fucnctions like speedometer, ACS, etc and just have the s54 dme control the motor?

along with the dme you need the ews that has been matted to that dme, and its keys..

ive looked into running a standalone ems parallel to the stock dme having the dme to communicate with all the other modules as well as run the vanos. in theory it should work although i haven't seen it done yet.. you would need to feed the dme with some fake info to make it think everything is ok.

[mattmartindrift]

wont get all the functionality but on a cheap dollar it will work (engine will obviously still have all functions, VANOS etc, but thermostats may not read properly, little things like that). Of all the succesful, finsihed, engine swaps I have seen on BMWs, the majority of them are standalone. BMWs are not meant for engine swapping; the cars are practically built around the engine. It can be done, but standalone is almost always an easier way to do it. Cheaper too. Research a little into that and if you still want it integrated, find an S54 DME and I bid you good luck.

exactly, while standalones are nice, the resolution on OEM ecus is so much more than you can find on standalones, unless you're buying something like a MoTec M800, or some of the other higher-end ECUS i.e. Pectel, Pi, etc.


Also, I would imagine that in your area there are OBD2 laws that need to be complied with; thus, standalone is not an option.


The right route would have been to get a wrecked car and taken the harness + DME + ignition.

At this point, you'll probably have to buy a harness and DME, and have it coded by someone like Koala, or VAC motorsports.

[jdjg]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1314298

[pbonsalb]

Check http://www.seattlecircuit.com/ I think he has a Vanos controller to put double vanos motor into a single vanos. He has it worked out for an older 413 ECU but thinks it could be added to other ECU.

[Impryder]

exactly, while standalones are nice, the resolution on OEM ecus is so much more than you can find on standalones, unless you're buying something like a MoTec M800, or some of the other higher-end ECUS i.e. Pectel, Pi, etc.


Also, I would imagine that in your area there are OBD2 laws that need to be complied with; thus, standalone is not an option.


The right route would have been to get a wrecked car and taken the harness + DME + ignition.

At this point, you'll probably have to buy a harness and DME, and have it coded by someone like Koala, or VAC motorsports.

Right I am from Houston. unfortunately I have called everyone in the city that does dyno tuning. They all tell me the same thing "uhhh yeaa im sorry we dont do BMW the software is too expensive. We only do ford chevy and dodge" So After market ecu's maybe out of the question.

[Jason5driver]

Right I am from Houston. unfortunately I have called everyone in the city that does dyno tuning. They all tell me the same thing "uhhh yeaa im sorry we dont do BMW the software is too expensive. We only do ford chevy and dodge" So After market ecu's maybe out of the question.

Did you call Koala?

[mattmartindrift]

Right I am from Houston. unfortunately I have called everyone in the city that does dyno tuning. They all tell me the same thing "uhhh yeaa im sorry we dont do BMW the software is too expensive. We only do ford chevy and dodge" So After market ecu's maybe out of the question.

It's a stock engine, why would you need something tuned?

You most likely just need to code DME + peripherals.

[Philboski]

There is evidence of this being done with an S52, and it being very simple.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...wap+528&page=2

S54, not so sure.

[BKphoto]

reading this thread it seems like the OP jumped, then worried about the landing while in the air...

good luck

[Philboski]

A big question is, what year is the 528I in question?

[boosted 528]

If it was my project, I would get a dme from a 2000 e39 ( or whatever yr that has double vanos) Plug it into your stock harness and get a Reflash from Active Autowerkes for the differance in timing and fuel maps. If the dme has ews, then they can unlock it as well.

http://activeautowerke.com/ Speak to karl