BMW E34 S62 Swap

[Timothy Prewitt]

As for the wiring, there are a number of wiring charts out there for the S54 swap that is becoming increasingly simple to do now days. The wiring information for the e36 S54 and the e34 S62 are very similar. I haven't posted my wiring information on here yet because as of yet I haven't fired up and driven the car. I won't post my findings until I know they are accurate. I actually contemplated not posting this build thread until it was up and running, but I decided to create it as motivation. I've seen a number of these swap threads start out with great promise only to crash and burn as "plans have changed" seems to happen a lot. I have listed everything I have purchased so far for this swap below. There is much more that will need to be added to this list in order to get this car up to the standards of its driveline.


Engine fully dressed: 142,993 miles
Clutch
pressure plate
headers
CAT converters
02 sensors
Evap system
Secondary air system
Transmission: 160,000
Wheel spacers
Oval Delrin shift bushings
Shifter knob
Shifter cup

Shift Rod Joint
Rod Bearings
Rod bearing bolts
Flex disc
Shifter boot and ebrake boot
Drive Shaft Center support
Z3M shifter
Motor mounts
Rear carrier support bushing
Oil tube
3.15 LSD
Kassel ECU
Front Bilsteins
Rear Bilsteins
Front poly bushings
Rear subframe poly bushings
Trailing arm poly bushings
Pitman arms
Diff mount
Clutch release bearing
Transmission mounts
Front polly sway bar bushings
Rear polly sway bar bushings
750i Hydroboost system
Throttle Potentiometer
OBDII port
Power steering filter
Oil filter
Cabin air filter
Air intake filters
Shift lever rubber boot
Trunk shocks
Hood shocks
Glove box catch
Clutch Slave

[RVAE34]

Very nice. I hope it works out for you and that you are able to post all the wiring etc.

[Timothy Prewitt]

Here is a quick update. I had some time this weekend to work on the car. As promised it is moving painfully slow.

I am having a couple problems. The first is that the M5 headers are a very tight fit. They contact the heat shielding under the car once the motor is fully in place. I'm worried not only about heat but vibration as well. Any thoughts? I might have to use the e34 headers. I doubt the BAR would be able to tell the difference.








Another problem I have is that the hydroboost system together with ABS and oil filter canister leaves me with almost no room on the right side of the engine bay. As you can see in the picture it is a jumbled mess.





I decided to relocate the power steering reservoir to the other side of the engine bay. This gave me the space I needed.


The other problem I have is the coolant expansion tank. I'm debating whether I want to try and fit the e39 M5 expansion tank and radiator etc. or if I should just stick with the current e34 set up. The expansion tank has to be relocated regardless. I was thinking of just moving the expansion tank here: (Also shown is the relocation of the power steering reservoir).





I also had to take out an extra vacuum line that originally went to the power brake booster. It was really simple. The line comes off the back of the motor at a 3 prong junction. All you have to do is take out the three prong junction and replace it with a two prong junction as you can see in the picture below:





I think that is it for now. Still need to work in the fuel lines. Long road ahead. I had hoped to get the car running before summer, but probably won't happen. I'm shooting for End of June now. Here is a pic just for kicks and giggles:

[e30polak]

Awesome swap! I've always wanted to put an s62 in a euro e24 chassis. This should be a BLAST to drive when done!

[007008]

Nice!

[Timothy Prewitt]

Currently I'm figuring out what to do with the fuel system. I need to increase the pressure from 3.5 bar to 5 bar. I accomplished this with the M5 fuel filter and pressure regulator. What I am debating now is what to do with the fuel pump. I imagine the stock fuel pump would be able to handle the fuel delivery fine, after all it is the same pump used in the S38B38. The pressure of the system is really dependent on the regulator, so it seems to me that as long as the pump can supply enough volume it shouldn't matter that it originally was designed for a 3.5 bar system. I've never heard of an s38 being fuel starved, and something tells me even with 60 extra hp I doubt it would be, but I could be way off. Any thoughts?

[Kingpin025]

Excellent build! Definitely looking forward to the results.

[Timothy Prewitt]

Excellent build! Definitely looking forward to the results.

Thanks! Me too

[Redfive]

Currently I'm figuring out what to do with the fuel system. I need to increase the pressure from 3.5 bar to 5 bar. I accomplished this with the M5 fuel filter and pressure regulator. What I am debating now is what to do with the fuel pump. I imagine the stock fuel pump would be able to handle the fuel delivery fine, after all it is the same pump used in the S38B38. The pressure of the system is really dependent on the regulator, so it seems to me that as long as the pump can supply enough volume it shouldn't matter that it originally was designed for a 3.5 bar system. I've never heard of an s38 being fuel starved, and something tells me even with 60 extra hp I doubt it would be, but I could be way off. Any thoughts?

You should look at what the turbo M30 guys are using for a fuel pump. The most common solution is a Walbro pump. I'm running a pump I got years ago from ATI Procharger in my tank, after some modifications. The stock fuel system has no problem handling the extra fuel flow and since I'm running a rising rate FPR, my fuel pressures get pretty high when i'm boosting 15psi. No issues.

Did you come up with a solution to the headers? Any change the aftermarket headers fit better? Since you have to custom build the rest of the exhaust, why not just heat up and bend those pipes down some.

As for your cooling solution, the 525i run a tank mounted expansion tank. You could try that or swap in a GM based radiator that fits between the frame rails. That's what I did with my supercharger setup and it worked great. Although in that case, I kept the firewall tank and eliminated the radiator mounted fill.

Keep up the good work.

[Timothy Prewitt]

You should look at what the turbo M30 guys are using for a fuel pump. The most common solution is a Walbro pump. I'm running a pump I got years ago from ATI Procharger in my tank, after some modifications. The stock fuel system has no problem handling the extra fuel flow and since I'm running a rising rate FPR, my fuel pressures get pretty high when i'm boosting 15psi. No issues. Did you come up with a solution to the headers? Any change the aftermarket headers fit better? Since you have to custom build the rest of the exhaust, why not just heat up and bend those pipes down some. As for your cooling solution, the 525i run a tank mounted expansion tank. You could try that or swap in a GM based radiator that fits between the frame rails. That's what I did with my supercharger setup and it worked great. Although in that case, I kept the firewall tank and eliminated the radiator mounted fill. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the advice! What I decided to do is purchase an HFP-340 fuel pump. I know I might get some smack for purchasing an off brand such as that but they had great reviews and have a great warranty. I didn't see any reviews on the forums here so I thought I'd give it a try and see how it holds up. I am going to be using the stock e39 M5 fuel pressure regulator.

I haven't had an opportunity to work on the headers as of yet. I have to use headers originally intended for the S62 per California regulations. The headers also have to be California legal, which gets expensive. I was really hoping for a bolt on solution to make the legal process easier. Bending the headers slightly is a good idea though. The BAR wouldn't be able to tell anything had been done and the headers would be stock. They almost fit, it wouldn't take much work to get them away from the body of the car. I also plan to use the mid-pipe and catalytic converters from the M5, I haven't test fitted it together yet so I'm unsure it will fit, but physically the exhaust systems look very similar. I hate California... Once I pass the bar I can pretty much do whatever I want so long as the bi-yearly smog inspection can't detect any modifications, but for now I have to play ball.

[aseanaero]

What I ended up doing is taking the hydroboost from the e32 750il.

I completed an M60B40 swap into my E34 530i late last year and the RHD Indonesian assembled 530s (no 540s here) use hydroboost as stock

[Timothy Prewitt]

I completed an M60B40 swap into my E34 530i late last year and the RHD Indonesian assembled 530s (no 540s here) use hydroboost as stock

Interesting enough, I actually got the idea from reading a swap thread of a guy who was swapping an M60B40 into his touring (can't remember which country he was from). The donor 540i he was using had hydroboost, so I got curious and started doing some research. The system is also used in the e31 850i and CSI among many others. BMW switched away from using the system because it was too complicated supposedly.

[aseanaero]

I like the hydroboost system, it has good feel

Watch the seal between the booster and the brake master cylinder , if you get a chance during the swap put a new seal in

When checking the hydraulic fluid level pump the brakes 20 times with the engine off otherwise you will overfill (thanks Chris P for this tip)

[Sam Son]

Very cool swap!

[Timothy Prewitt]

I like the hydroboost system, it has good feel

Watch the seal between the booster and the brake master cylinder , if you get a chance during the swap put a new seal in

When checking the hydraulic fluid level pump the brakes 20 times with the engine off otherwise you will overfill (thanks Chris P for this tip)

Thank you very much for the tip!

[gixxerboy63]

Wow!
If I still had my old e34 540i/6 Msport...
Looking forward to the progress!

[Timothy Prewitt]

So, summer break from dental school is here and I'm ready to do some work. Firstly I gave the garage a good cleaning. Then I introduced the e34 to its baby sister that I picked up last week. Will be posting over the next couple weeks as I progress.

[Timothy Prewitt]

So after working all day yesterday I'm a bit frustrated. This hydroboost system is a pain. I basically have it all hooked up now but it looks terrible in my opinion. I need to have a few of these hoses custom made at a hydraulic shop. What I originally intended with this swap is to do it using parts you could easily find off other BMWs and simply bolt them in. I now see why no one does this. It's possible, but may be more work than it's worth.





Further more the stock air box is right in the way of the oil filter housing, I may have to use a dinan cold air system which isn't cheap. It's an expensive part for very little performance gain and basically just bought to make space...

[MrFlam]

What color is that M3? Very nice work btw.

You could also look on eBay for CAI systems. If you want to pay less buy a copycat of the Dinan intakes or go with the non carbon version.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Timothy Prewitt]

What color is that M3? Very nice work btw. You could also look on eBay for CAI systems. If you want to pay less buy a copycat of the Dinan intakes or go with the non carbon version. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! It is Imola red. The problem with eBay CAIs is that they are not CARB legal, so I can't use them in Cali. California really does make this swap 10 times harder than it otherwise would be.

[Timothy Prewitt]

I got the fuel system half way done today. I still have to figure out how I am going to do the charcoal canister and leak diagnostics, but the car should technically be able to run now with the fuel tank purge valve venting to the atmosphere. I did a start test to see if the starter was getting power, it is not. Trying to figure out why that is. It might be grounding out somehow. Everyday brings me that much closer. Once the car is up and running I will post the wiring information for those who are foolish enough to follow in my footsteps.

Below you can see the M5 fuel filter and pressure regulator. I used the e34 fuel return line and simply cut it to where I needed it. For the front feed line I bought the stock e39 feed line from BMW and then cut it to where I needed it. The reason I bought the stock line is because I wanted the stock connector next to the motor.



Here you see the lines coming down through the drivers front tire well.



Here you see why I bought the stock front fuel feed line for the S62. I didn't want to have to cut off the connector on the motor side. Maybe a little too particular of me...



Shout out to Kassel Performance. They have been very helpful. If I need anything else programmed out or into the ECU I can send it back to them and they will do it free of charge. They are a great company. They will also build you a custom wiring harness which would make this swap that much easier. The harness is a reasonable price, but I'm foolish and wanted to save money, so I did the wiring myself.

[Timothy Prewitt]

Worked on my starter Issue all day today. The issue was that the ignition wiring running from the ignition to the starter was not receiving power. I could not figure out why until I realized that EWS-1 runs the ignition wire through an immobilization relay. So for the next hour after discovering this I worked on trying to find out where in the world the relay was located. In case you happen to be looking for this relay, known as X55 in the BMW wiring diagrams, it is located in the drivers side foot well, tucked away in the A pillar above the kick panel speaker. It is bolted in with two 8mm bolts.





So once I located the relay I checked the voltage in and out. I was getting 12 volt input when the key was engaged but no voltage out. So I decided to simply bypass the relay all together. The relay basically receives inputs from the DME, transmission, OBC, ignition, and door locks, if all the signals are accurate it engages the starter. It obviously wasn't receiving the correct signal, probably from the transmission and DME.

So once I bridged the signal I was finally receiving voltage at the engine harness, but to my dismay the wire began to heat up very quickly and the starter still refused to turn over. After going over all of my wiring and trying to figure out what I had done wrong, and after consulting with several different people, I decided I must have a short someplace. I eventually decided to take off all the connections to the starter just to see and I discovered that the heat shielding had bent and was contacting the solenoid terminal. At this point I was tired so I called it quits for the night, but I'm pretty confident this was causing my problem.

I'm a noob with wiring else this fiasco would have taken me minutes to solve rather than hours, but I did get a lot of stuff done. When going through all the wiring under the dash I discovered a previous owner had done a hack job at installing an aftermarket alarm system. I removed the system and spliced all the wires back where they were supposed to go and tidied all the wires up under the dash. It looks so much more neat and organized than it did before. Another thing I was able to accomplish while trying to solve my little starter issue was the wiring for the X6011 12 pin connector on the S62 wiring harness. Previously I didn't know what to do with this connector, now I do, so that's a big plus. As stated before, I'll wait to release wiring info till the car is running and I know it is all accurate.

[Timothy Prewitt]

Motor turns over now and primes. Discovered I need to wire in a fuel control module (EKP) I wasn't getting fuel to the fuel rail and I discovered my pump wasn't getting power. Will be working in that tomorrow. Hooked up the OBD-2 port and am getting a response back from the ecu, which is a very good sign. At least I know I've done something right so far. I tell you, at first I thought the wiring bit would be the easy part, but so much can go wrong in wiring that it has become one of the most frustrating parts of this swap.

3.15 LSD arrived today after months of waiting. Looking forward to instilling that. I also got my fenders rolled a bit with the help of a friend. I really hope tomorrow is the day.

[bimerok]

Excellent progress! You're getting closer and closer!

[Timothy Prewitt]

It's running! I won't be able to work on it for the next week, but I hope that by the beginning of July she will be in the road and ready to go to the BAR for a carb sticker. Fingers crossed on that one.