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Thread: Another Crazy E36 M3 S54 Swap AKA My Realistic Dream Swap

  1. #76
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    nice work buddy, very clean approach thus far
    Buy my native installed ISIS ISTA-D/ISTA-P bmw diagnostic laptop. More Info Here!

  2. #77
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    Awesome!

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  3. #78
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    Thanks Guys!

    I need some exhaust advice....
    So I'm still debating what to do for a muffler, part of me wants to go light but that almost always means it's loud and DRONES. The Umnitza Dacorsa special is tempting...https://www.umnitza.com/e36-dacorsa-...t-special.html They also advertise it as having 60mm piping which matches the S54 Section 1 and 2.

    Then I was reading on M3forum where Obioban modified an E36 M3 muffler to connect to an S54 section 2 on his E46 S54 wagon project. He reports it's not overly loud at all but a lot of comments suggest the internal baffling and piping is restrictive, not to mention it's a heavy exhaust.

    The other option is full custom like PIT M3 did but since I don't have access to a welder or the right fab tools this could end up costing quite a bit at a custom fab shop.

    So basically my main goals are for it to be lighter than stock, but not too loud and especially not drone. Maybe a Dinan E36 M3 muffler but those are hard to come by used... Any suggestions?
    Last edited by M52 POWER!; 11-28-2017 at 05:09 PM.

  4. #79
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    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    Then I was reading on M3forum where Obioban modified an E36 M3 muffler to connect to an S54 section 2 on his E46 S54 wagon project.
    That is what I did on my E36. The E36 M3 muffler pipes are about 60mm, they neck down near the midpipe connection.
    S54 swap DME flashing - $100
    S54 swap CAN interface board (for proper A/C & check engine light) - $275
    e36 SAP sim/secondary air pump simulator:
    $75 - standard or $170 - plug & play
    e36 post-cat O2 sims: $115 shipped, plug & play

  5. #80
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    i am using the stock section 1 with custom cats to make a Euro section 1, then using a stock section 2 with the box resonator cut out, matted to my E36 M3 stromung rear section

    edit: i have a pic of the section 2 i cut and re-welded... quite easy to cut it out and welded since the pipes are a perfect D shape on both ends
    Last edited by TH3 Shifty; 11-28-2017 at 10:57 PM.
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  6. #81
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    107EAC98-074D-4BC7-B1DA-AB856F535F5C.jpg
    Looks like this

    - - - Updated - - -

    Box section is like this
    A405F4F5-7A73-46F4-83CB-268824192553.jpg

    - - - Updated - - -

    ill just have to modify the rear of the section 2 to fit the piping to the stromung, not sure how i'll do it yet, probably 2 bolt flanges
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  7. #82
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    Quote Originally Posted by gpeterson View Post
    That is what I did on my E36. The E36 M3 muffler pipes are about 60mm, they neck down near the midpipe connection.
    How does it sound? Any vids? Do you wish it was louder, etc?

    Quote Originally Posted by TH3 Shifty View Post
    ill just have to modify the rear of the section 2 to fit the piping to the stromung, not sure how i'll do it yet, probably 2 bolt flanges
    What diameter piping is the stromung?

  8. #83
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    lol, havent even started the car yet... i get about 1-2 hrs a week to actually work on it... engine is in, wiring harness is mostly on now, its driving me nuts because Andrews harness is like a spaggetti mess.. its way too long in places, and not very coherently put together (some wires criss cross for no apparent reason) makes it difficult to bunch together, then add in the trans harness that needs to be "flipped" in places and modified.. im not very good at wires. I just got my DME back from the Tuner, so at least i have everything ready to go.. just need to put oil in it.. and then double check a bunch of things... still need to work out how i want to do the intake, MAF holder part, might have to copy PITT M3's idea of cutting up the E46 box.
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  9. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    How does it sound? Any vids? Do you wish it was louder, etc?
    Probably the same volume as the S52, but different sound. I have stock headers/cats, section 1 with AR20 resonator, section 2 mostly intact with stock resonator.
    S54 swap DME flashing - $100
    S54 swap CAN interface board (for proper A/C & check engine light) - $275
    e36 SAP sim/secondary air pump simulator:
    $75 - standard or $170 - plug & play
    e36 post-cat O2 sims: $115 shipped, plug & play

  10. #85
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    Minor update. This past weekend I was able to work on wiring for around 7 hours. I received a donor M52 harness from a friend so that I could strip it and use it to construct a custom MZ3/E36 wire harness that fits and looks OEM!

    Here's everything I didn't need from the M52 harness. Seems like such a waste, although some of the random rubber pieces and wires come in handy to be re-used.


    I then de-pinned and removed the 2 post-cat O2 sensor connectors and wires as well as EGT connector and wires since I won't be needing them.
    They were removed in a way that is still reversible if needed. This also cleans up under the valve cover plastic.


    Here's where I'm at running wires/connectors left and right through the M52 plastic holder and rubber pieces.
    This is slow tedious work since a lot of the connectors are larger than the holes they need to go through.
    You spend a lot of time figuring out how to de-pin connectors and writing down their wire colors and pin numbers to put back together!


    Here's my plan for wiring the MAP and IAT sensors



    Questions: I've been studying EWD's like crazy but am still trying to figure these out...

    There's 2 connectors that I'm not 100% on what they are.
    1. The first is in this picture on the right. I know the connector on the left is for the MAF (which later will be re-purposed for IAT for the CSL tune), but the 2 pin connector on the right is a mystery.
      I think it might be for the evap purge valve from the gas tank??
      I pulled the boot back and the wire colors are brown and the other red with a white stripe and yellow dashes so I believe it's just switched 12V with ground but for what?

    2. The 2nd connector I forgot to get a picture of but I've outlined its location in RED in the following Z3M harness pic.
      This is another 2 pin connector that I believe connects to another air valve solenoid at the brake booster. I'm not sure what its purpose is or if it's really needed since vacuum comes from the air rail. Maybe during WOT it switches on?

    3. Does anyone know if the MSS54 actually needs to receive the clutch switch signal? Since I'm also converting the car from auto to manual I currently do not have a clutch switch and was planning to not have one.
    4. Another thing concerning the manual swap, when people convert E36's to manual they simply extend the auto shift selector REVERSE wires to the trans reverse light switch. I've already done this.
      I now see that my S54 trans harness has 2 connectors on it, 1 for reverse light switch, the other for gear position. Do I need to use the S54 trans harness connectors instead of the simpler wiring of E36 style?

  11. #86
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    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    1. The first is in this picture on the right. I know the connector on the left is for the MAF (which later will be re-purposed for IAT for the CSL tune), but the 2 pin connector on the right is a mystery.
      I think it might be for the evap purge valve from the gas tank??
      I pulled the boot back and the wire colors are brown and the other red with a white stripe and yellow dashes so I believe it's just switched 12V with ground but for what?
    Alternator?

    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    The 2nd connector I forgot to get a picture of but I've outlined its location in RED in the following Z3M harness pic.

    1. This is another 2 pin connector that I believe connects to another air valve solenoid at the brake booster. I'm not sure what its purpose is or if it's really needed since vacuum comes from the air rail. Maybe during WOT it switches on?
    Sucking jet pump?

    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    Does anyone know if the MSS54 actually needs to receive the clutch switch signal? Since I'm also converting the car from auto to manual I currently do not have a clutch switch and was planning to not have one.
    I don't think so, unless you want cruise to work. Probably needs to be coded out if not connected.

    Quote Originally Posted by M52 POWER! View Post
    Another thing concerning the manual swap, when people convert E36's to manual they simply extend the auto shift selector REVERSE wires to the trans reverse light switch. I've already done this.

    1. I now see that my S54 trans harness has 2 connectors on it, 1 for reverse light switch, the other for gear position. Do I need to use the S54 trans harness connectors instead of the simpler wiring of E36 style?
    Reverse - keep your old wiring. The S54 harness has the reverse wiring but it isn't connected to the DME, just passes through to chassis connectors.

    Gear position - same deal as clutch (they are actually wired in series).
    S54 swap DME flashing - $100
    S54 swap CAN interface board (for proper A/C & check engine light) - $275
    e36 SAP sim/secondary air pump simulator:
    $75 - standard or $170 - plug & play
    e36 post-cat O2 sims: $115 shipped, plug & play

  12. #87
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    The connector in the first pic goes to your evap purge valve.



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  13. #88
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    You should keep the diagnostic plug in the “everything not needed pic” otherwise you won’t be able to communicate with body side modules e.g SRS / cluster / ihka etc

    2. Is def sucking jet pump. It’s needed, mine actuates at idle, often.

    i have my airbox out right now, text me if you need a pic of anything
    Last edited by PITT M3 RR; 12-05-2017 at 07:27 PM.

  14. #89
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    So for the picture of the trans harness you posted. Do we still use one of those connectors for the reverse switch in the trans? I'm using my ZF 5 speed and was looking at those connectors today. Also what about the other connector, what happens with that one....

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  15. #90
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    Quote Originally Posted by mitch500 View Post
    So for the picture of the trans harness you posted. Do we still use one of those connectors for the reverse switch in the trans? I'm using my ZF 5 speed and was looking at those connectors today. Also what about the other connector, what happens with that one....

    Sent from my SM-N950W using Tapatalk
    So I actually just spent some time testing those circuits to figure out what's going on.

    On my 420G 6spd trans it has 2x 2pin male connectors sticking out of it, 1 white and 1 black. The black is "gear identification" (closed circuit whenever you're in any gear aka R123456) but open in neutral. The white connector is the reverse switch (closed circuit when in reverse gear only).

    I still don't know why the DME would need to know if I'm in a gear or not? Seems like a SMG feature to confirm a gear shift is complete to me? But my donor car was a 6spd...

    If you're using Andrews adapter harness you will need to use 1 of those 2 connectors connected to your trans reverse switch, the one with the thicker gauge wires as that is the reverse circuit.

    For my project I already adapted the reverse harness wires because of the auto to manual swap so I can actually remove it from the my trans harness entirely.

    Edit:
    Finally found the purpose of this gear identification sensor, seems it's simply related to cruise control. See here: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=548047
    Last edited by M52 POWER!; 12-06-2017 at 12:46 AM.

  16. #91
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    I sent my injectors out to be cleaned and flow tested and just got them back:
    I read online that the injectors should be 29lbs/hr rate or 305 CC. Will the higher 320cc flow rate affect my tune?


    I merged these 2 connectors


    Together using delphi weatherpack 2 position connectors


    And my crimp heatshrink connectors just came in so I can finish a few things on the harness!
    Last edited by M52 POWER!; 12-07-2017 at 12:50 PM.

  17. #92
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    yeah the higher flow of the 320 will mess with the injector settings and flow in the tune, you will need to address that issue with your tuner
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  18. #93
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    Quote Originally Posted by TH3 Shifty View Post
    yeah the higher flow of the 320 will mess with the injector settings and flow in the tune, you will need to address that issue with your tuner
    I just asked Frank at TTFS and he said 320cc is perfect since that's what they're supposed to be from the factory!

  19. #94
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    well there ya go
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  20. #95
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    Big update but it's soo worth it! A lot has happened this weekend!

    • Injectors, fuel rail, air rail installed.
    • Re-crimped all new pin contacts for the fuel pump relay and 3 fuse holders (I had to cut the wires to relocate them in the harness).


    • Started converting the wiring from MAF sensor to MAP sensor for the CSL tune. I determined I could easily re-use all but the +12V red/white wire from the MAF connector to support the new MAP and IAT sensors.
    • This is when I just happened to notice that the TTFS wire harness for the MAP sensor had the polarity + and - backwards!

      Here it is rewired correctly with OEM gauge wires, sleeving, etc. Mucho better

      Here's both the MAP and IAT split apart and wired up.

      Final MAP and IAT pinout. Note that MAP and IAT share a ground since they are very low current signals to begin with.


    • Connected ALL the connectors to DME. Established ground and +12V points to appropriate connections. Still a giant mess but it should at least work now...
    • Connected the battery and tested that DBW pedal and throttle bodies moved together! Very cool to see finally.
    • Pulled the spark plugs, coils and fuel pump relay so that I could turn the motor over by the starter to prime the oil pressure without compression in cylinders. My starter wasn't working, the solenoid engages but the electric motor doesn't spin at all. A HUGE thank you to PIT M3 RR who helped me along the way to diagnose the cause. We spent hours going through everything and our theory was that internally the starter solenoid was bad (high resistance connection).

      I called around locally and nobody had one in stock plus prices were much higher than online. I said screw it and removed the starter and disassembled it. Using my DMM in resistance mode I determined that the contacts were worn as I was only getting kilohm readings, but with a shim in the right spot it actuated the contacts further (past where they were worn down to) which gave me a solid .1 ohm.

      In the center of the solenoid "plunger" I installed a 0.5mm round shim which actuated the main contacts further.
      I re-assembled the starter, installed it and bingo it spins over perfectly now! This is more a temp fix while I wait for a new solenoid in the mail.
      So back to priming the oil pump... I double checked everything and spun the motor over for 20 seconds 3 times with breaks in-between. It wasn't until the third time that audibly I could hear the starter have more load on it and the oil light went off. See videos of this:

    • Re-installed the plugs, coils and fuel pump relay.
    • Installed the section 1 and 2 E46 mid-pipes. Installed dipstick tube.
    • QUADRUPLE checked everything and attempted the first start... The car starts right up and then immediately stalls. I try this like 10 times in a row and it's the same thing. I remember reading this happening to PIT M3 RR too and it turned out his EWS was still enabled. So I send an email out to Frank @ TTFS to check my tune for EWS disable, not expecting a reply for at least a day and he responds within the hour! I pull my DME file and send it over, he sends a new one back and I flash it...

      IT STARTS RIGHT UP AND SOUNDS GREAT! VIDEOS:

      Couple more revs


    This thing sounds soo mean I can't get over it. When you're standing in front of the ITB's there's a slight noticeable pressure difference for the revs that is intoxicating

    Wow so I'm super excited to be at this point. So what's next? Probably organizing the wires in their final places, buttoning everything else up, finishing cooling system, and then just putting the rest of the car back together!

    Can't wait to post the next update

  21. #96
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    kick ass man... im so nervous to do my own... i have anxiety about it
    98 Estoril ///M3 4/6
    S54 swap CSL

  22. #97
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    Awesome job so far, and congrats on the first fire!!!
    "Fear disturbs your concentration" -Sabine Schmit

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  23. #98
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    Wow, nice job! Now back to work on my comparative POS.

  24. #99
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    What are you doing for the oil cooler and lines?
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  25. #100
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    Thanks for the comments guys!

    Quote Originally Posted by mitch500 View Post
    What are you doing for the oil cooler and lines?
    I have a Setrab oil cooler I am going to mount similar to how Pitt did. Lines are -10AN black, -10AN black fittings, and then the AN adapter for the oil filter housing from Garagistic.

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