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Thread: DIY 1995 M3 with an S54/Mk60, California Smog Legal!

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    DIY 1995 M3 with an S54/Mk60, California Smog Legal!

    Warning: Lots of large-ish images. 56k will not be happy! Bimmerforums compiled all the posts into one huge one, so please don't quote all of it.

    This write up documents how my friends and I DIY'd a California Legal S54 swap into my 1995 M3, with fully functioning DSC Mk60 from an E46 M3.

    Some of you may have seen this on other forums, but I'm cross posting it for more people to see, since bf.c E36 M3 forum is popular too.

    I've been planning this swap for the better part of 4 years. My S50 had been getting tired after many many track days, and was starting to have issues passing emissions. I also was done with school and could finish de-jankying my car.

    My goal has always been to have a no-compromises engine swap, and once I learned about the various things one can do with the DSC controller and the DME, I had three goals:


    1. Pass California emissions legally, without any shortcuts.
    2. Have fully functional DSC ABS and Traction/Stability Control from a later model E46 M3 (Teves Mk60)
    3. The swap must work and look as if it was factory-built.



    I did not see a good reason to spend a ton of effort swapping the motor if I couldn't drive it on the street, so emissions legality was important. I started the swap assuming I would have to pass emissions, for two main reasons. First, I didn't want to have to redo anything, and secondly, I didn't have much time left on my registration before I would have to emissions test it anyway (~2 months when I started), so it made sense to do it right the first time.

    Luckily, I had lots of help from friends who shared my vision for an emissions-legal, fully factory-functional S54 E36. Huge thanks to Kalim, Garrett, Chris, Miles, and Dmitriy (and the Rat Hack family) for helping me get this project underway and finished beyond our expectations.

    Lastly, it has been my goal all along to fully document this swap so that others can do some/all of it on a DIY basis. I am not aware, as of this writing, of any other truly DIY S54/DSC swaps that have passed California emissions OR OBD2 plug in emissions. If there is, there is no documentation as to how. I have heard of a handful of shops attempting this, possibly successfully, but again there isn't much free sharing of information. There's the UUC swap also, but it doesn't have a ton of information either. My hope is that you all will see what we did, see how we did it, and then go do it!

    I will not share are wiring pinouts, i.e. Pin 30 on DSC goes to Pin 3 on cluster (I made that up). My reason is that E36s and E46s vary wildly on which pin does what and on what plug and where, for no good reason. We did all of the wiring with a multimeter and the factory wiring diagrams (WDS and Bentley), so anyone familiar with those tools can replicate the wiring. I will show our interconnect diagrams and explain as best I can what goes where, but I leave the actual wiring nitty-gritty to the reader.

    So that's the why. The how is much more interesting! I received the engine in April 2015, finished wiring/mechanical work Nov 2015, and was certified through California's BAR (emissions referee for those not familiar) in Dec 2015. I didn't want to provide tiny updates along the way in favor of one or more large triumphant posts at the end.

    I bought a 68k mile S54 from a dismantler on the East Coast, and had it shipped to California, along with a lot of extra parts. It was in pretty decent condition for the mileage, and was most importantly complete, requiring few additional parts to be purchased.



    Not knowing the condition of the internals, I decided to replace the rod bearings and do the full Beisan S54 vanos kit (solenoid pack, oil pump disk, anti-rattle, seals, etc). My rod bearings were....well used, and the vanos tabs were starting to be quite shiny. Vanos hub was OK enough, so I left it alone. I replaced the bolts as well. The vanos and head were also baked in oil, which wasn't a pleasant surprise. I replaced the bearings with new stock ones per the TIS.



    Vanos:


    Vanos Tabs:


    Bottom end:


    Rod Bearings:


    Buttoned back up on motor stand:


    Step 1: Remove the S50

    We needed to pull the S50 if we were going to get anything done, and a lift makes it so much easier.



    Pulled the front of the car off for easier access:


    Out comes the motor!


    Bye bye S50!


    Off the lift, on the jackstands! I left the AC and powersteering in place.


    Step 2: DSC, Brake Booster, 4 Channel Conversion

    First: Huge thanks to Garrett for the DSC and brake line flaring work of the swap!

    Why DSC?

    The DSC Mk60 is vastly more advanced than the 3-channel OBD1 ABS unit. The Mk60 has traction control, stability control, ABS, and brake vectoring to some degree. That's cool and all, but why would I want these on a primarily tracked car?

    Honestly, the ABS is the main reason to do the Mk60 swap. The ABS is way faster acting, better at not locking up wheels, and is much more resistant to going into "Ice Mode" on track.

    The DSC side of things is not as useful on a try track, but can be nice for rain/snow or as a safety net when you don't really feel like putting effort into driving. The main benefit of doing full DSC is A) factory-like integration, and B) you gain access to brake pressure sensors, steering angle, wheel speed, etc for integration into your data logger of choice (with some exceptions). The ABS is a huge upgrade, while the rest of the DSC is a nice to have. Plus, you can wire in a switch to disable all but the ABS.

    For full DSC integration you will need:
    E46 M3/Z3M S54 brake master cylinder (recommend the Z3M booster for E36 chassis)
    E46/Z3 M brake pressure sensors
    ***late production Z3 non-M steering column (for steering angle sensor)
    E46 Mk60 yaw rate/lateral accel sensor
    E46 M3 brake fluid level sensor (integrated into E46 fluid reservoir cap)
    blue connector wheel speed sensors
    wiring for the DSC on/off switch
    wiring for diagnostic port, CANbus, power, ground

    ***the steering angle sensor is required for DSC to function, but not ABS, and also requires working CANbus. Can be skipped without issue for ABS. DSC functions will not work without the SAS.

    I have been told differing things on the yaw rate/lateral sensor, in that the ABS programming can take advantage of the sensor's presence. I don't know one way or the other, but that sensor needs power ground and a dedicated CAN bus +/- line, and should be located near the driver's seat. This CANbus is a separate DSC/Yaw sensor exclusive bus from the Cluster/DSC/SAS/DME CANbus!

    I don't know if the Mk60 needs the brake pressure sensors to work as a standalone ABS, but I would imagine it does, so I would try to source those. A E46 M3 brake booster does not fit on an E36 brake pedal, but the Z3M S54 booster does. You may need to shim the E46/Z3 master cylinder if you don't use the Z3/E46 booster. You will want to use the E46 fluid reservoir most likely with the master cyl. I used the Z3M booster, the E46 M3 master (same as Z3M), and the E36 stock brake pedal.

    Similarly, I don't know if you need the brake fluid level sensor. Probably not, but it was there so I wired it in. The DSC on/off switch is irrelevant if you're just doing ABS.

    For the wheel speed sensors, these are actually really easy just time consuming as hell. Just disconnect your old ABS controller (in glove box) and lengthen the wires for the sensors to reach your Mk60 controller. You also can re-pin and modify the blue connector sensor plugs to fit in the grey sensor housings on the chassis side of the car. Just be very certain which wire is which when you wire it in.

    I highly recommend wiring the Mk60 up to your obd port so that you can get diagnostic data and so that you can use the software tools to bleed the system, check wheel speeds/brake pressure data is correct, etc. If you don't/won't have an OBD port, be sure to keep a diagnostic/communication line available for the software tools. My power bleeder was insufficient and did pretty much nothing when the DSC and master was dry.

    For clarity's sake on part compatibility:
    E46 M3 ~2003+ used Mk60, with the right yaw/lateral accel but incorrect booster and incorrect steering column.
    Z3M S54 used Mk20, very little interchanges aside from booster and master cyls.
    Z3M 3.0i (M54) used Mk60, with steering angle sensor-equipped E36-length steering column, but with divorced yaw and lateral accel sensors.

    As for how it works...it works really well. ABS seems to engage really easily with my street tires/stoptechs/DTC-60s on track, but that's expected. I only just finished this swap a month ago so I don't have a ton of experience with it in real-world use or on-track yet. The biggest thing is remembering that I now have DSC and should turn it off when wanting to play around!

    Anyway: images of the mechanical install, wiring-related images are later.

    Fill the DD M3/4/5 with Parts!


    Old 3 Channel Brake lines


    4 Channel Brake lines (from an OBD2 junkyard E36)


    Stock E36 Brake booster attachment, note the fork linkage on the brake pedal, the E46 does NOT attach the same way.


    Stock ABS pump and booster assembly removed:


    DSC mounted


    First new brake line! To adapt the Mk60 we needed to run small converter lines from the DSC unit to the existing 4 channel lines. This is the first one finished.


    All conversion lines installed. The Mk60 uses the exact opposite hardware sizes from the OBD2/OBD1 E36s, i.e. you have M10 and M12 bubble flare nuts in place of the M12 and M10 E36 ones. I bought bubble flare couplers and scavanged a lot of M12/M10 nuts to make them all compatible with each other.


    Another view:


    Z3M S54 brake booster, E46 M3 brake master cylinder, and E46 M3 brake fluid reservoir. I do not remember whether I used E46 M3 or Z3 non-M brake lines to go between the master cylinder and the DSC unit, but these also needed bending/forming to fit.


    To get full DSC to work, I needed a steering angle sensor. Thankfully, the late model Z3 non-Ms had steering columns with the SAS (in a terrible position), that are the exact same length and mounting configuration as a stock E36 column. My column came with a broken sensor so I had to replace it, which once you see the column image you'll see how much of a PITA that was. I don't have any images of the install, but it's a simple remove/replace item, so here's a generic ebay photo of the steering column:

    Step 3: Fuel Tank and Evap System

    As I'm writing this, I realize I am missing many images of the as-finished state of this section, which is the part that took me the longest to puzzle my head around. I will update with more images when I'm back near the car, so please forgive the lack.

    To achieve full California legality, I needed to be able to pass the plug in OBD2 readiness monitor checks, one aspect of which is the tank leak detection/evaporative emissions system check. To do that, I needed to install an OBD2 compliant system. Thankfully, I had access to an OBD2 M3 parts car and scrounged a lot of stuff from that, namely the fuel tank, fuel vapor expansion tank, and assorted hoses. I am not 100% convinced you need to swap the fuel tank, but the part numbers for OBD1 and OBD2 are different, it was there, so I did it. The fuel vapor expansion tank I definitely recommend swapping. I had to pull the fuel tank anyway to do the brake line conversion, so these two dovetail nicely.

    Fuel tank ready to go in, with the Bimmerworld dual fuel pump conversion.


    E46 M3 charcoal canister and leak detection pump (DMTL). This component, is what does all Evap testing of the entire fuel system for OBD2 readiness. I mounted it in the trunk, in the spare tire well. It requires wiring directly to the DME, but you can pull local fused power from the battery.


    DMTL itself. There are two versions of this component, a three wire and a four wire (heated) version. Depending on your DME software you will need one or the other. Most cars except early E46s use the four wire.


    Input/Outputs of E46 charcoal canister. The blue hard line goes to the airbox (use all of the OBD2 hardlines for this, even the check valve in the engine bay. It all works and plugs in). The black hard line on top is the atmospheric vent, and does not plug into anything. The black hard line on bottom is the input from the top (!) of the fuel vapor expansion tank.


    Junkyard OBD2 E36 Evap hoses. The larger diameter hose goes to the fuel filler neck (either OBD1 or 2 likely works, I used OBD2). The hard line with a connector on it is what connects to the E46 charcoal canister's blue line output. The rubber hose that is short connects to the bottom of the fuel vapor tank, while the longer one connects to the top of the fuel vapor tank.


    As-assembled on the Byzanz parts car. Note the two blue hard lines? One is connected to the top of the fuel vapor tank, which is the INPUT (black hose) to the E46 M charcoal canister. You will need to do a step-up in hose diameter to make that work. The other blue line is the OUTPUT (blue line) from the E46 M charcoal canister, which connects to the black hard line shown here (and in the Junkyard image), which terminates in a check valve in the engine bay on OBD2 cars, so reuse that entire line without modification.


    Here's the OBD1 system. Note that it lacks the hard line connectors as well as the blue lines leading into the trunk for the charcoal canister; I had to run hoses and cut the sheet metal to make that work as an OBD2. I removed the OBD1 fuel vapor tank and installed the OBD2 in its place, it is a drop in.
    [/url]

    Here are two photos from ECS tuning showing what the OBD2 expansion tank looks like. Of the two outputs, the one mounted on the bigger circle goes to the charcoal canister input, the one mounted on the smaller circle goes to the fuel tank. The white output in the second image also goes to the fuel tank.



    Here's a crude schematic to clarify all of that. Please note that I did NOT include the filler neck hose to the fuel tank in the schematic; the hoses represented here are JUST for the Evap emissions system.


    The S54 is a returnless fuel system, and at a higher pressure than the E36. You need to run the S54's fuel pressure regulator and fuel filter assembly.

    Here it is installed. The hose has been protected from rubbing since this photo was taken, so ignore that. What you see here is fuel feed line entering the filter, and then the fuel return connected to the fuel pressure regulator. The unconnected output from the regulator provides constant 5 Bar of fuel pressure to the engine, with no return. The tiny rubber hose there connects to engine vacuum.


    To run at higher fuel pressure, it's a good idea to run the E46 M3 pump assembly. Unfortunately, the whole assembly doesn't fit an E36 tank, but the pump itself can be swapped into an E36 pump housing, and the original E36 wiring can be reused.


    - - - Updated - - -

    Step 4: Prep Engine for Install

    Now that the DSC and Evap/Fuel systems are installed and ready to go, it was time to finish preparing the engine for installation. I had previously replaced the rod bearings and refreshed the VANOS, but there was still more to do.

    Whatever accident had caused the original car to be parted out had damaged my front crank pulley (and AC pulley), which needed to be replaced.


    The harmonic balancer is a known weak spot on the S54 under long heavy track use, and mine was starting to show material loss, so I replaced that as well. I don't know whether my original one was coming close to failing or if that was a ways off, but it seemed a smart thing to replace while I had it easily accessible.


    New Balancer (pulley not shown):


    In addition, I installed a Z3M S54 driver's side engine mount, as it has a provision to attach and support the airbox. I also swapped the stock US E36 M3 passenger engine mount for a Euro M3 engine mount, because there's a nice heat shield protecting the vanos accumulator and AC compressor. This part isn't necessary at all, it's just a nice-to-have.


    Along with this, I installed the Bimmerworld Vanos line to replace the stock allegedly failure prone unit. Because I wanted to run my E36 AC compressor (which bolts on to the S54 block just fine), I had to relocate my accumulator further back along the block ~ 1-2 inches. The stock line does not give you many options for mounting, while the BW line is flexible and made relocating the accumulator super easy-- note the blue line in the images.


    Engine ready to go:


    Because my cluster options did not have oil temp, and I wanted a reliable water temp gauge, I installed a VAC water temp sensor pipe and Bimmerworld's oil distribution block for oil temp (and future pressure) sensor. I am using Stack Pro-Control gauges but have not finished installing them in the car as of this writing-- I didn't want auxiliary gauges visible at the emissions referee.

    Bimmerworld oil distribution block (water pipe barely visible)
    [/url]

    VAC Water pipe:


    The E46 M3 wiring harness does not extend nicely to the E36's passenger side ECU tray, so I bought and installed a new OEM Z3M engine harness:


    I don't think I have any images of the harness installed on the engine, so that'll have to do.

    Step 5: "Installation is the Reverse of Removal"

    Installing the S54 is mechanically identical to installing any M5x-based engine. There's nothing fancy to it beyond aligning things and making sure it all slides into place. The only trouble spot with the S54 with factory cats is that clearances are super minimal in places, laughably small, but everything fits without needing a clearancing hammer.

    It's not very visible in the pictures, but I am reusing my ZF 310 transmission with the same JB Racing flywheel/clutch from my S50, with a Rogue short shift kit.

    First, we raised the car on the lift, dropped the subframe/brakes/suspension, and then installed the engine on those components:



    We then lowered the car slowly onto the waiting sub assembly:


    If it fits, it sits!



    DSC/Heater core clearance, guess and check worked!


    Reassembling the front of the car (also installed the secondary air pump using E46 bracket):


    Clearance to factory cats:


    Bimmerworld's S54-> 3" exhaust conversion pipe (also, metal fuel filter cover and X-brace clearance)


    Full exhaust and underbody. No clearancing or shimming needed, but everything fits:


    This car is going to be on track a lot, so overbuilt cooling was a priority:


    Front end reassembled! I also laid out all the wiring to see where the OE E46, Z3M, and Andrew conversion harnesses connect to each other and to the DME. More wiring details soon.



    Once the mechanical stuff was finished, we towed the car from the warehouse to Kalim's to commence the wiring wizardry:


    - - - Updated - - -

    Step 6: Wire up S54 and DSC

    Mechanically, an S54 swap is simple. No custom fabrication is needed to get the motor mounted and ready to go. What is not simple is the wiring, nor the coding of the DME to allow the engine to run in anything but a stock E46. This is compounded when you are trying to run full DSC as well as all the OBD-required systems for emissions legality.

    Huge thanks to Kalim for the wiring, for understanding and sharing my vision of a factory-quality swap, and for undertaking this challenge with me; without his help I would not have been able to do this.

    So, a primer as to what is needed for factory-level integration of the S54, DSC, and emissions systems, in block diagram format:


    The most critical component to getting this swap to work the way we intended it to is ironically the Z3M S54 cluster, as it acts as a CAN interpreter box for many of the analog systems on the E36, as well as the network 'hub' for the CAN network between the DSC, Steering Angle Sensor, and DME. The Z3M cluster takes its check engine light diagnostic information from the DME via CAN, as well as coolant temp (which is surprisingly and awesomely unbuffered).

    The block diagram shows all the systems we've integrated to get emissions, cruise control, dsc, OBD2, AC working. The diagram is a bit cluttered but it is actually a massive simplification-- for the DSC wiring loom we had to build and connect ~40 separate individual wires, and that's just for DSC to work as intended. We had to build a complete CANbus network, as well as tie in and upgrade many of the existing E36 systems (brake switch, clutch switch, ASC switch, e-brake, install an OBD2 port, etc).

    To easily read the diagram, note the dashed blue lines-- horizontal represents the firewall, the two vertical lines represent the center console. This should give you an idea of which wires need to pass the bulkhead and where the various wires terminate.

    Here's the diagram for the CANbus network itself:


    I had purchased a wiring conversion harness from Andrew at R3vlimited (Link), which is represented on the block diagram in dashed black lines. His OBD1 E36 conversion harness came with the throttle pedal plug, sport switch, OBD port, as well as all of the necessary connectors and plugs to tie into the DME to run the car. If I hadn't been going for full functionality this harness would have been enough to run the engine and DME in standalone mode, and did so on our first start up before all the integration work started. Andrew's harness worked really well and I happily recommend it and him.

    Andrew's harness, as-received:


    Car works! Nothing is integrated, this is just using Andrew's harness by itself:
    https://youtu.be/3axSsQNsojo

    Wiring is messy until it isn't. Note the Z3M air intake box and elbow, bolts on to E36 mounting locations:


    I reused the OEM CD changer wiring loom to run the DMTL, as my CD changer isn't used with whatever Alpine stereo the car has. I liked this solution way better than running a long wiring loom through the body of the car.


    Wiring integration for cluster in progress:


    Look back at the wiring diagram at the beginning of the post for the simplified version of what goes where...this is what that actually looked like:


    Cluster's in, still more wiring:


    Mk60 wheel speed sensors --blue connectors. I needed to wire these in place of the E36 ones.


    Mk60 DSC yaw sensor needed wired in as well, this takes a special CAN line directly to/from the DSC. It is not connected to the larger CAN bus.


    Cleaning up wiring, using junction boxes for power/ground:


    Wiring cleaned up! Kalim did a great job on cleaning up and making this manageable.


    Done!


    The Z3M cluster was the only thing left at this point.


    I wanted to update the mileage of the Z3M cluster to reflect the actual chassis mileage, which required us to reprogram the coding plug and mileage chip. We built a simple test bench to do this; note the actual cluster mileage is low.


    Now, note the updated and correct mileage:
    [/url]

    Swap is DONE!

    So, what did all that work result in?

    All OBD readiness monitors are fully functional and report as ready. (yes, I need a new phone)


    Here's the finished swap:


    aaaaand here's the car at Thunderhill two weeks after finishing the swap, with a rod bearing break-in as well. The car ran phenomenally well, aside from the battery dying on me, which was easily fixed with a trip to the local walmart. This car is just awesome.


    Lastly, here's the car at the California BAR referee passing the visual, electronic OBD plug-in, and sniffer test. The car did pass, and is 100% California legal.


    This swap has been a massive challenge that I could not have done without Kalim and Garrett's help. Garrett flew out from Colorado to California to help me get the mechanical work done, while Kalim helped me immensely with the wiring and coding. Many others helped get the swap done as well, chiefly Chris, Miles, and Dmitriy, for which I am very grateful.

    This swap took months of dedication backed by years of research to do, but it worked-- it passed CA BAR on its first try, the only teething issues so far have been a dead battery and poor-quality crimp connectors and fuse holders from Amazon that needed redone. Going the deliberate route instead of the expedient route paid off, as all systems communicate together, no errors are thrown, and it just...works, like factory. It hasn't given me any issues after a track weekend nor from daily driving use, and I could not be happier with the end result.

    My hope is that this writeup inspires more people to do this swap, and to provide to the community the knowledge of how to do this, what parts are needed, and what not to do. I'm happy to answer questions on the swap, and once I'm back at the car I'll be able to take more detailed images than what were on my phone, should that be necessary.
    Last edited by Bimmerman535i; 01-04-2016 at 10:11 PM.
    "Fear disturbs your concentration" -Sabine Schmit

    1995 BMW M3/2/5-- S54 + Mk60 DSC, California Smog Legal (Build Thread)
    1998 BMW M3/4/5 Alpine/Modena, Z3 Rack, otherwise stock-- DD without burbles
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    Impressive job and documentation. Bravo.
    BTW, the shaka has the palm/fingers faced away from the intended recipient.
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    Some great work, enjoy the car!
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    I think I commented on m3f but damn this is awesome!!!
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    Great write up, very detailed. I've been thinking of doing an s54 swap and this really helped

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    Very impressive. How much work do you think would be reduced if you had started with an OBDII E36 instead of an OBDI car? Or are the E46 and E36 OBDII systems different enough that the same amount of work would be needed if you started with a later car?
    1998 Titanium/Dove M3/4/5
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    awesome! thank you for sharing! Mods, stickie?

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    Quote Originally Posted by RightYouAreKen View Post
    Very impressive. How much work do you think would be reduced if you had started with an OBDII E36 instead of an OBDI car? Or are the E46 and E36 OBDII systems different enough that the same amount of work would be needed if you started with a later car?
    My first thought as well.

    Incredible job, this is easily one of the best S54 swaps out there.

    Also, would you mind posting links to the other threads? The forum rules do not mention anything about linking to other forums so I'm assuming it would be fine.
    Last edited by cohny; 01-05-2016 at 12:15 PM.

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    Absolutely amazeballs work! Congrats on setting a lofty goal and nailing it - sweet swap indeed!

    What you see:
    Quote Originally Posted by Bimmerman535i View Post
    ...this is what that actually looked like:

    What I see:
    Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.

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    What was the final cost of this Swap?

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    Awesome!! Thanks for the detailed post and pictures.

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    I don't have an s54 swap in my future, but this was still a fun read. Awesome write-up and definitely a super clean swap!

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    Wow, this is very inspiring. Thanks for taking the time to share!
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    Quote Originally Posted by MauiM3Mania View Post
    Impressive job and documentation. Bravo.
    BTW, the shaka has the palm/fingers faced away from the intended recipient.
    Thanks!! I didn't know that, I'll rib my buddy for that next chance I get.

    Quote Originally Posted by propcar View Post
    Some great work, enjoy the car!
    Quote Originally Posted by CblockM3 View Post
    I think I commented on m3f but damn this is awesome!!!
    Quote Originally Posted by scooper View Post
    awesome! thank you for sharing! Mods, stickie?
    Quote Originally Posted by M3BLACK View Post
    Great write up, very detailed. I've been thinking of doing an s54 swap and this really helped
    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by RightYouAreKen View Post
    Very impressive. How much work do you think would be reduced if you had started with an OBDII E36 instead of an OBDI car? Or are the E46 and E36 OBDII systems different enough that the same amount of work would be needed if you started with a later car?
    Quote Originally Posted by cohny View Post
    My first thought as well.

    Incredible job, this is easily one of the best S54 swaps out there.

    Also, would you mind posting links to the other threads? The forum rules do not mention anything about linking to other forums so I'm assuming it would be fine.
    Thanks! It would definitely be a bit easier, as you would only have to adapt the E46 charcoal canister in place of the E36 one (and wire it in), rather than cut holes to run the hoses and source the OBD2 evap parts (fuel filler, evap tank, hoses, grommets, lines, possibly fuel tank). Aside from that, you would still have to splice into the OBD port and come up with a solution to the check engine light. Andrew makes a harness for OBD2 E36 S54 swappers so that simplifies things as well. I know it doesn't look it from the diagram, but if you aren't concerned with adding DSC or cruise or AC (or need a functional CEL/OBD2 emissions), all you need is Andrew's harness. If there's interest I can make some diagrams without DSC and the accessories that simplify the wiring side.

    other link, which is more of a journal of what I've done with the car since buying it in 2009: www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=541944

    Quote Originally Posted by JEC928 View Post
    Absolutely amazeballs work! Congrats on setting a lofty goal and nailing it - sweet swap indeed!

    What you see: <snip>


    What I see: <snip>
    Thanks!! It has been a very rewarding journey with this car, and I'm really amazed it actually came together.

    Quote Originally Posted by bigmansM View Post
    What was the final cost of this Swap?
    $many. I stopped keeping track, but it was a lot. However, I bought a lot of parts brand new (Z3M airbox, booster, etc) because I couldn't find good used ones or didn't have the time to source them. I also bought a lot of parts new/used that I didn't end up needing, or that I thought would work but ended up not. If I were to do this swap again (which I might in the DD), I'd feel fairly confident budgeting around the $10k mark for engine, preventative maintenance on the engine, needed Z3M parts (airbox, elbow, dipstick, harness, booster if doing DSC), and needed aftermarket parts (Andrew's harness). Some other bits too but those were the big ones.

    Quote Originally Posted by aeronaut View Post
    Awesome!! Thanks for the detailed post and pictures.
    Quote Originally Posted by ChuckDizzle View Post
    I don't have an s54 swap in my future, but this was still a fun read. Awesome write-up and definitely a super clean swap!
    Thanks guys!
    Last edited by Bimmerman535i; 01-05-2016 at 11:30 PM.
    "Fear disturbs your concentration" -Sabine Schmit

    1995 BMW M3/2/5-- S54 + Mk60 DSC, California Smog Legal (Build Thread)
    1998 BMW M3/4/5 Alpine/Modena, Z3 Rack, otherwise stock-- DD without burbles
    2017 Chevy SS, Orange Blast Metallic, 6MT -- DD with burbles

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Diagrams with no DSC would be neat, I could file them in my future projects doc.

  16. #16
    Join Date
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    If I'm understanding this right, to get everything except DSC you'll need all of the parts you mentioned except the steering column from the m54 Z3 with integrated steering angle sensor and possibly the yaw sensor. If the DSC and ABS are controlled by DSC mk60 (correct?) how exactly could the abs work with no issue if DSC is not functioning. Would special programming be required?

    A diagram with no DSC would be great.

    Thanks a lot for the information, this is what makes forums so resourceful.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
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    Nice to read. I recently got my S54 E36 on the road and am planning on getting it CA legal as well. I already have a DMTL pump & carbon canister on order.

    A few questions:

    -You deleted EWS, correct? I was worried about any DME changes causing the ODB2 calibration ID to change, but maybe the ref station doesn't check or care?

    -Which ref station did you go to? Any tips on being prepared?

    -Does your SAP valve fit well? Looks like you still have A/C lines in place.

    -Did you just swap your higher-mileage coding plug to the MZ3 cluster or did you actually figure out how to change the mileage otherwise? I've heard this is possible but never read specifics on it.
    Last edited by gpeterson; 01-06-2016 at 10:45 AM.

  18. #18
    Join Date
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    wow!! Awesome job.
    BMW CCA Illini Chapter Vice President
    1995 M3
    - My Favorite DIY's and FAQ's



  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
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    Temecula, CA
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    1999 M3 Coupe
    This is pretty much my dream swap, thanks for posting.

    Getting it BAR'd and smogged legitimately is the holy grail for us CA residents, well done sir!

  20. #20
    Join Date
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    Very well done. I would love to do the e46 m3 abs system swap, but I don't care about the traction control function. The abs system on the e46 m3 ia wayyyyy better then the e36 abs system. If you could pm me whats needed for just the abs swap that would be awesome.
    Last edited by GG///M3; 01-06-2016 at 05:20 PM.
    “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
    ― George Orwell

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    1995 M3 Coupe, 2010 335d
    Beemerman5351,
    Thank you so much for this thread. I have been looking at the Teves Mk60 as a solution for when the ABS pump goes. (its $1200 new...) I like this approach, though does the cpu for the ABS sill fit in the glove box area? Also, when you plugged in the pump and added the cpu, were you able to source the connectors from BMW or another location?

    Nice job!

  22. #22
    Join Date
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    Great swap, thank you for sharing with us.
    AW|Byzanz



  23. #23
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    98 M3/4/6, 16 M3/6
    Really nice work there. Car must feel great!

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    Orlando, FL
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    1995 DV M3
    This is the perfect amount of photo documentation and not too much to leave the reader in the dust. Great thread thanks for sharing! Can't wait for time to pass so I can get to this swap one day.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    Quote Originally Posted by GG///M3 View Post
    Very well done. I would love to do the e46 m3 abs system swap, but I don't care about the traction control function. The abs system on the e46 m3 ia wayyyyy better then the e36 abs system. If you could pm me whats needed for just the abs swap that would be awesome.
    Honestly it looks like a lot of the sensors are required. There's quite a bit of overlap between ABS, ASC and DSC. There's a corner braking function in the ABS logic that looks at lateral forces of the vehicle.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-q...p4ZzBScTA/edit

    Check out that doc, goes in pretty deep detail. Page 40 gives you a break down of what functions are held under ABS, ASC and DSC.

    If you ommit the CANBUS network going through the cluster, you lose warning lights.

    The yaw sensor with its own dedicated CANBUS looks important to the corner braking for ABS.

    The level sensors seem to be important for warning light purposes and to turn off DSC/ASC, but does not control the ABS. So I suppose that could be eliminated, but then you lose the warning light.

    The brake pressure sensors seem to be required for the electronic brake force distribution, which is in the ABS control loop.

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