E85 Swap to M62B44

[Dansic]

SO, this story begins. Let me start by saying that this venture revolves around my friends car, not mine. He's not big into the car world yet, so I'm doing all the work. This job is planned to go fairly quickly (money allowing). We are both Marines and thus are limited to working hours for this project, and a place to do it (base hobby shop hours are gay AF).

The plan right now is to take his 2004 Z4 Roadster and toss the wimpy M52B25 currently occupying the engine bay, and replace it with a screaming M62B44 from a 1997 540i. This car is going to be his daily driver, so creature comforts like A/C and check engine light functionality are a must. The base car is already a manual car, so annoying time consuming jobs like clutch pedal and master/slave cylinders aren't an issue. My main concern right off the bat is space. The car obviously was never designed to fit the extremely wide M62. The thing is like 7 inches wider than a comparable LS block. Overhead cams and what not. However, I know we can get the job done. I have read about another car with this swap done where the engine was angled to one side to clear the brake booster. We'll see how that goes. My second concern is integrating the M62 accessories with the existing M52 supporting parts (radiator, A/C condenser, ext...). Some custom lines are in our future for sure. Another concern is engine control and security. I know these ECUs tend to be finicky about security and theft. Our initial plan is to make use of the original ECU for the M62 for the time being. This is his only car, and we are on a budget and time table. I feel like it will be a challenge to make the electrical side work in a stand alone setting without any tuning software or a 3rd party ECU like Megasquirt. (which we currently do not have). Hopefully some wisdom can be found on the subject. I have yet to locate a pin out for either ECU (rather frustrating). But as it stands this project has come out of the financial planning stage and into the beginning steps of the swap.

We have already acquired the engine, transmission, wire harness, and ECU/ignition key cylinder. A bundle costing a level $2,000. The man threw in some stainless headers with the deal for an extra $100. The engine is complete from pan to intake, and has all the accessories still attached (even the belt and remote oil filter). I will attempt to attach a photo. Our first step is to assess and rebuild the engine/trans. Attached (hopefully) is a spreadsheet of our planned purchases for the rebuild of the engine. This may change with time after we have cracked open the beast. But for now we are planning a complete rebuild, minus over-boring. A hone and re-ring will be just fine. But everything else is to be replaced. A total expense of just over $3400. I will keep this updated with purchases and costs as we go. Wish us luck and post your advise freely!
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[jalopi]

first and foremost, thank you for your service. it's a job i certainly wouldn't want to have to do, so i do appreciate you guys that rise to the task so that the rest of us don't have to

secondly, IIRC the z4 has a rear sump pan. as far as i know, the only m6X engines that came with rear sump pans were in alpina cars, and those oil pans are damn near impossible to get a hold of. so i'd say fabricating a rear sump pan + pickup will probably be one of your bigger hurdles

there isn't much info, but here's a thread where a dude is prepping a m60 to go in an e36. it really only has oil pump info, but i guess that's better than nothing.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2283973-E36-M60-6-speed-swap

it'll be tough, but best of luck with the swap

PS - if you're so inclined, you should weigh the assembly so that i can add the m60 to my list

[gpeterson]

I see you are in CA - do you plan on making it smog-legal? I have a S54 swapped E36 M3 that should be legal after my next ref visit (already been once). Legal in CA = *everything* stock from intake to cats + all emissions equipment from donor vehicle. Let me know if you need help figuring out if the swap is plausible and what it will take to be legal.

[Dansic]

Yes the idea for now is to make it CA smog legal. I don't have the cats or the intake after the MAF so thats an issue. But if worse comes to worst, we can take the car to WI and register it there. They dont smog check in that state. CA is possibly the worst state for this hobby honestly...

[MrFlam]

Just don't take it to Milwaukee! But also be aware that if the car is staying in California for more than 90 days(IIRC) they will crack down on you for a non-CA legal car. Crazy tree huggers in their Priuses with nothing to do during the day will report people. I don't know the specifics of the story but you live in CA so you probably know more about it.

[Dansic]

Ok update. So far we have only gotten then engine maybe 50% disassembled because of 2 main hurdles. The first is the flywheel bolts. Those sly motherfuckers at BMW apparently thought it would be funny to make the bolts recessed in the flywheel, and make the hole to small to fit the T60 bit in it.... So I ended up shaving a cheap Pittsburgh T60 shank down until it could fit in the tapered BS hole. THAT was fun. The second being the overly tight crank bolt. Ended up using a 1" impact gun and a hefty 27mm socket. But other than that, everything is going smoothly. Finding some broken bits here and there, but the cams look to be in good shape as well as the guides for the timing chain. Nothing overly worn or damaged!










THE MESS

[Dansic]

SO an update: Two major hurdles so far. First the flywheel bolts are recessed in tapered off center holes that are to small to fit the T60 bit you need. So i had to shave down the shank on the T60 until it would just barely slide into place. I originally thought it was a T55 and striped a few of those in the process..... Second was the crank bolt.... The big 27mm hoss on the front. I ended up using a 1" impact gun to get that nightmare off. WAY to much trq on there. But other than that everything is going smoothly. The cams look to be in good shape, and just a few things here and there are broken. (remote oil filter adapter on driver side.)

[gpeterson]

Yes the idea for now is to make it CA smog legal. I don't have the cats or the intake after the MAF so thats an issue. But if worse comes to worst, we can take the car to WI and register it there. They dont smog check in that state. CA is possibly the worst state for this hobby honestly...

Will the stock exhaust manifolds fit? If not - you won't be CA legal.

[Dansic]

Those answers will come later once the engine is being placed. For now, we are rebuilding and acquiring parts. From what I've measured, its a good bet that I can use them.

- - - Updated - - -

Engine is completely disassembled now. Going to take the block and crank to the machine shop and have the crank polished and the block cleaned. I'm doing the heads myself to save some cash.

[tptrsn]

Love this thread!! What is your plan for the bores?

[Chase R]

Subscribed! I've always liked the M62 engine. Relatively simple V8 but nice and lightweight. Do you plan on replacing any bearings while you're in there?

[Dansic]

tptrsn: The plan for the bores is being left to the digression of my machinist. Personally, I don't feel the need for more than a hone and re-ring. There is next to no ring groove in the block.

Chase R: Yes, I plan to replace the main and rod bearings, as well as polish the crank.

[tptrsn]

Well, that's exactly why I was wondering, in case you aren't familiar with the very specific nature of the Alusil bores, and what you really can and cannot do with them.

To summarize in just a couple of lines, sometimes just putting the block in the parts washer will clean up the crud from the bores and reveal the silicon globules (that take the place of crosshatch in terms of holding the proper amount of oil) in the cylinder wall surface just perfectly. In that case, the cylinders should have a nice uniform very "very fine grit" roughness feel to them, and probably are best left alone.

Otherwise, the honing process that can be done to them involves special FELT "stones" that Sunnen makes for their honing machines and a special paste Sunnen makes specifically for honing Alusil cylinder bores. It seems that in many cases there is no need for a re-hone of any type with these Alusil cylinder bores, especially if the block went into the parts washer. Just running them through the parts washer with the solvent that those use will clean away the crud in the bores and thereby "reveal" the silicon in the cylinder walls again. Whatever you do, make sure that your machinist is very familiar with Alusil blocks, and if he doesn't have the Sunnen felt honing "stones" and special paste, then maybe think about looking for another machine shop.

So far I haven't found one place that is truly familiar with Alusil that has claimed to be capable of properly boring them. It's a little odd to me, since this is supposed to be basically the same hypereutectic aluminum alloy that was used in the old Vega blocks and was referred to as Reynolds 390 or something like that... Also quite a few Porsche cylinder jugs are Alusil, so that is another possible clue to finding a capable shop.

Good luck and please report on your findings!!

[Dansic]

Well, that's exactly why I was wondering, in case you aren't familiar with the very specific nature of the Alusil bores, and what you really can and cannot do with them.

To summarize in just a couple of lines, sometimes just putting the block in the parts washer will clean up the crud from the bores and reveal the silicon globules (that take the place of crosshatch in terms of holding the proper amount of oil) in the cylinder wall surface just perfectly. In that case, the cylinders should have a nice uniform very "high grit" roughness feel to them, and probably are best left alone.

Thank you for that insight! I noticed upon taking the heads off that the cylinders weren't typical iron sleeves. I have never built a Alusil block engine before, just iron block and aluminum/iron sleeve blocks. When I call the shop I'll clear up exactly what I want done and put across the nature of the Alusil.

[auaq]

Alusil blocks do not require cylinder crosshatch if I recall. Just like what tptprsntrrpt has said they require a special paste and stones to clean them up.

[makenzie71]

Hey what happened with this?