Blackknight530i’s 530i6 6-speed swap build thread

[auaq]

Don't forget to apply a small dab of RTV at four corners. Two in the front where the timing cover mates with the block and two in the rear where the RMS cover mates up.

Before you go ahead and reinstall the oil pan with the new gasket, you can remove the oil pick up tube and clean that as well. If I'm not mistaken there are just two nuts and maybe one bolt that holds it in place. I think there's also an o-ring inside at the pump. I reused mine.

[Redshift]

We found some black plastic chunks inside. Small broken pieces. Not sure from what.

[auaq]

I can only think of the black intake camshaft cover (is it plastic made?) or the underside bits of the valve cover.

[blackknight530i]

Don't forget to apply a small dab of RTV at four corners. Two in the front where the timing cover mates with the block and two in the rear where the RMS cover mates up.

Before you go ahead and reinstall the oil pan with the new gasket, you can remove the oil pick up tube and clean that as well. If I'm not mistaken there are just two nuts and maybe one bolt that holds it in place. I think there's also an o-ring inside at the pump. I reused mine.

I saw mixed info on the rtv and thought it only applied to when people cut the gasket to install. I'll take a look at the pickup tube as well.

Here are some pics we took after getting the pan out:

[auaq]

BMW actually tells you to apply RTV at those four corners. Those who go for the shortcut method of cutting the old and new gasket they have to apply a small dab of RTV where they made the cut along with those four places.

[Jason5driver]

Use Permatex Hylomar on the oil pan, as was advised by my local bmw master tech.

[blackknight530i]

BMW actually tells you to apply RTV at those four corners. Those who go for the shortcut method of cutting the old and new gasket they have to apply a small dab of RTV where they made the cut along with those four places.

Yeah, no shortcut for us, we're doing it the full-on proper way. Who knows how long the M54 will stay in this car, but even if I do pull it out for something better, I want the new owner to be happy with no leaks, so I'm doing it right. We'll do the RTV. I saw some old RTV at those locations, but we just thought it was from where they mated the covers on the engine, and not necessarily between the oil pan and the engine.

We're also hoping to compare the M54 oil pan while it's off with the S54 pan I brought with me to see what needs to be modified for the S54 to work in the e39. I'll take some more pictures of those two for comparisons. One thing that I did verify (even though I already pretty much knew the answer) is that the same oil pan gasket works on both M54 and S54. The oil dipstick guide tube is definitely different, but might be made to work, unless it's just easier to use the S54 tube (don't have one to test).

As for the other work we're going to try to get done this weekend, we're planning on swapping Brian's M5 axles into his beast wagon so I can use his old axles when I do my 6-speed swap in a couple weeks. We're also going to try to get the new pedal cluster I got from Adam (Clemster) installed, or at least the pedals swapped over (due to the newer design throttle pedal) to my current pedal cluster. We might get the wiring done for the clutch pedal switch to the E-Box and whatever other wiring needs to be done, though we'll have to see. I didn't bring my extra spools of wire with me, so that might have to wait so we can repurpose some auto shifter wires. We'll also get the clutch master cylinder installed and the punch knocked out for the reservoir hose and the grommet, but obviously it won't be hooked up to the reservoir until we do the swap. The main thing is just measuring stuff to make sure everything is going to fit where we want it to before we start pulling the auto transmission. We're also going to be swapping the output flange from my old 540i transmission to the M3 transmission, so I really hope all goes well with that and that BMW didn't make it have a different number of splines or something crazy like that. That will really put a damper on my plans if that's the case. It wouldn't end the project, but it would definitely delay it until I could get my driveshaft either shortened, or the 540i driveshaft modified with a small flange like Stuck did. I really want it to work though, as I see a M5 diff in the future and being able to just put a standard M5 driveshaft in would be very nice. Since I'll be using Brian's old 3.15 open diff for now, it already has 102mm output flanges, which means that the axles will mate right up to a M5 diff in the future. I'm getting tired of doing axle replacement jobs, so the less we can do, the better.

Also, I just ordered the last major part for the swap today, the 6MT bellhousing. A fellow member on bf.c had one in the classifieds where the original deal he had made fell through and as soon as he posted that it wasn't sold, I jumped on it. The last things on order are some butyl cord for the CSB, the 8 bolts for the flywheel to the crank, and 3 M5 bolts and nuts from the giubo to the output flange of the transmission. Brian had 3, but we needed 6, since the M3 transmission had the smaller bolts for the smaller output flange.

Regarding the plastic chunks in the oil pan, I'm betting they are probably valve cover pieces, since I've done the valve cover gaskets 3 times over the life of this engine and put the same plastic valve cover back on each time, it's bound to have had a few pieces break off. When I did it last at 180k miles, (23k miles ago), the tensioners still looked fantastic and showed no signs of degradation, so I'm betting it's probably the valve cover. I've got no leaks on the valve cover, so I'm not really worried. Also, the chunks did look more black like the valve cover, than red/brown like the tensioners.

- - - Updated - - -

Use Permatex Hylomar on the oil pan, as was advised by my local bmw master tech.

When we did Redshift's valve cover gaskets on his S62 before swapping it in, I believe our BMW tech buddy just said to use RTV, so we'll likely use the same stuff we did last time. I don't remember exactly what kind it is, but we've used it with success in the past. Is the hylomar something that can be found locally on a Saturday? I mean if the BMW techs are using RTV, then I don't see why we would use anything else.

[auaq]

Just use the RTV and you'll be fine with it. I've used it on mine during the vcg and oil pan gasket. VCG was done back in 2011-12 at around 130k miles I believe. No leaks at current 208k mi. Similarly, no leaks from my oil pan too.

[TerraPhantm]

You should loctite or safety wire the oil pump nut while you've got the oil pan out

[philly98540]

Use a torque wrench if you tighten the oil pump nut. Overtighten can break the shaft. Use lock tight or safety wire like Terra said.

[JimLev]

I doubt you'll find Hylomar anywhere locally. If I had known I could have brought some with me.
I've used the black oil resistance RTV many times before I got Hylomar, it worked fine.
See you guys tomorrow.

[Aryana]

Some municipal airport supply shops carry Hylomar.

[blackknight530i]

So, today we finished up the oil pan gasket installation and it went very smoothly. We did clean the oil pickup tube and applied RTV to the seams as suggested and pretty much everything went together without issue. There were 2 bolts that weren't threading in easily like all the others, so we used a die set to clean the threads and that seemed to fix the issue. After getting the oil pan gasket done, we went ahead and changed the power steering reservoir to a new one as well as the associated hoses, since those were leaking (again) and I'd never changed the reservoir before. That went easy enough and once we got the subframe reattached and got the car down, we took care of the fluids. I'm leaving the old oil filter in until I get the car back to Charlotte tomorrow so I can make sure anything that was dislodged during the oil pan gasket replacement will be picked up by the old nasty filter and I'll put a fresh new one in when I get home.

After getting all the fluids topped up and bled, we decided to take some measurements on the transmission and make sure that the crossmember was going to work as we were hoping in preparation for the swap in 2 weeks. After a slight scare when Brian told me that the crossmember was going to be about 4" off based on his measurements, we discovered that we were using the wrong bolt holes for the crossmember on the car. There are two sets of holes that fit several different crossmembers (I6 Auto, I6 5-speed manual, V8 Auto, V8 Manual) and the ones we needed to measure to were actually a combination of 2 different positions. Once we mocked that up, it looked like it would fit perfectly. Phew!

Next it was time to remove the SMG ancillaries from the transmission and clean them up, along with the transmission, to be sold. The SMG pump and actuators should fetch me a fair bit of cash to hopefully recuperate some money spent on the 6MT bellhousing and the transmission itself. Since both were working and only had 95k miles on them, I'm hoping they sell quick, so if anyone sees this and knows someone with a e46 M3 SMG and needs these, let me know.

Well, that's it for today. We spent a total of about 5 and a half hours doing the oil pan gasket replacement, which I'm told is pretty good time, so we feel pretty good about that.

[blackknight530i]

We also removed and applied high strength loctite to the oil pump sprocket nut. It wasn't loose, but we figured it couldn't hurt to ensure that it wouldn't back itself off. It was left hand threaded, so I'm not quite sure how it would back itself out, but I have heard of it happening on S54s, so we did the fix.

[TerraPhantm]

We also removed and applied high strength loctite to the oil pump sprocket nut. It wasn't loose, but we figured it couldn't hurt to ensure that it wouldn't back itself off. It was left hand threaded, so I'm not quite sure how it would back itself out, but I have heard of it happening on S54s, so we did the fix.

I've actually never seen it happen on the S54, but it is known to happen on the M54 and S52. Something about the crankshaft harmonics.

[blackknight530i]

I've actually never seen it happen on the S54, but it is known to happen on the M54 and S52. Something about the crankshaft harmonics.

Hmm, interesting. Well, as I said, mine at 202,500 miles wasn't even remotely loose. Maybe since mine is a 5/03 build, they had come up with a fix for it by then.

[TerraPhantm]

Hmm, interesting. Well, as I said, mine at 202,500 miles wasn't even remotely loose. Maybe since mine is a 5/03 build, they had come up with a fix for it by then.

They did change the harmonic balancer in 2003, which I believe did reduce the frequency of failures. Still happens in later cars, but it's only really an issue that shows up when the engine is being consistently in high revs. Since your car was an auto, I'm not too surprised it was still fine. But since you're switching to a manual and will naturally spin it out a bit more, might as well play it safe.

[blackknight530i]

They did change the harmonic balancer in 2003, which I believe did reduce the frequency of failures. Still happens in later cars, but it's only really an issue that shows up when the engine is being consistently in high revs. Since your car was an auto, I'm not too surprised it was still fine. But since you're switching to a manual and will naturally spin it out a bit more, might as well play it safe.

Good to know and now I'm really glad I addressed it.

[nyc951]

Looking forward to this as I also have an auto e39. Do you still have the Vavona wood trim? Interested in selling it?

[blackknight530i]

Looking forward to this as I also have an auto e39. Do you still have the Vavona wood trim? Interested in selling it?

I do still have all the auto vavona trim, including the mid cover. Yes, I would sell it once the swap is done. There are a couple barely noticeable cracks on the passenger dash piece.

[Jason5driver]

When we did Redshift's valve cover gaskets on his S62 before swapping it in,
I believe our BMW tech buddy just said to use RTV, so we'll likely use the same stuff we did last time.
I don't remember exactly what kind it is, but we've used it with success in the past.
Is the hylomar something that can be found locally on a Saturday? I mean if the BMW techs are using RTV, then I don't see why we would use anything else.

I bought mine from O'reilly's, however, I had to order it, and it came in the next day.
I think the Hylomar is recommended because it can take extreme heat and it stays pliable, and I think is the factory sealant.
At least, the technician I know that works at the BMW dealer says that is what they use.

[blackknight530i]

I bought mine from O'reilly's, however, I had to order it, and it came in the next day.
I think the Hylomar is recommended because it can take extreme heat and it stays pliable, and I think is the factory sealant.
At least, the technician I know that works at the BMW dealer says that is what they use.

Well, it's too late now, so I hope the RTV (can handle up to 400 degrees) will work fine. I can tell you one thing though, the stuff that was on there when we took the old gasket out was definitely not pliable anymore. It also looked like it was clear originally.

Another note about the project that has happened since Sunday was that when we were trying to take Brian's old axles out of his touring, in order for him to upgrade to M5 axles and for me to use his old ones, we destroyed the threads on the driver side axle and apparently it is still stuck in the hub even today, so I went ahead and purchased some new m5 axles from Adam (Clemster), so that will be a step up. I considered asking him for a M5 diff and M5 driveshaft at the same time, but with the price of the axles, I figured it just wasn't the right time to do that, so it'll wait for another day. At least everything will be prepped for the M5 diff and driveshaft, so swapping them out will be as simple as removing unbolting the diff, axles and driveshaft and swapping them out, which takes about 1 hour or so for us on the lift.

I'm also still working on the parts list in the meantime, but I'm not going to post it officially until after I know we're done and everything works, in case there are either parts additions or unneeded parts left over.

[TerraPhantm]

Well, it's too late now, so I hope the RTV (can handle up to 400 degrees) will work fine. I can tell you one thing though, the stuff that was on there when we took the old gasket out was definitely not pliable anymore. It also looked like it was clear originally.

Another note about the project that has happened since Sunday was that when we were trying to take Brian's old axles out of his touring, in order for him to upgrade to M5 axles and for me to use his old ones, we destroyed the threads on the driver side axle and apparently it is still stuck in the hub even today, so I went ahead and purchased some new m5 axles from Adam (Clemster), so that will be a step up. I considered asking him for a M5 diff and M5 driveshaft at the same time, but with the price of the axles, I figured it just wasn't the right time to do that, so it'll wait for another day. At least everything will be prepped for the M5 diff and driveshaft, so swapping them out will be as simple as removing unbolting the diff, axles and driveshaft and swapping them out, which takes about 1 hour or so for us on the lift.

I'm also still working on the parts list in the meantime, but I'm not going to post it officially until after I know we're done and everything works, in case there are either parts additions or unneeded parts left over.

RTV should be fine. If your oil pan is going beyond 400º, you have other problems.

[blackknight530i]

RTV should be fine. If your oil pan is going beyond 400º, you have other problems.

That's what I figured as well.

[dk500]

RTV = Quick fix god