M62TUB46 swap into 2001 740i Sport Project

[redgtocruiser]

And so it begins..... Allow me to introduce myself. Technical individual here with 10+ years of basic wrenching experience and ever increasing skills and knowledge. So with that boring information out of the way I will tell you what I am up too. Oh and my "handle" I also have a mint 2004 Pontiac GTO 6spd that is red, purchased new has 40k on it. Garage kept.

I have a very clean 2001 740i Sport with 81k miles. Virginia car well kept. All was perfect! Except... one night last September while driving the heater hose coming off the rear manifold that goes into the heat exchanger for the HVAC system blew. Whether it was the hose that failed or the thermostat that failed in a closed position I am not sure. A diagnosis from BMW confirmed that the T-stat was not opening but this was after the engine overheated. Needless to say I pushed the 4.4 a little too hard during the overheat coolant loss process which has resulted in a head gasket failure. So yes my fault... I should have shut her down and had her towed everything would have been fine. The failure is causing exhaust to go into the coolant system which builds pressure. Not good, can smell the sweet burned gas in the coolant. So I figured great... Here is an opportunity. I like the 4.4 but in my opinion it falls a bit flat up top but I do enjoy its low end grunt. I could take the cheap way out and do the head gaskets, ensure the heads are not warped and the block is true.... but that would be too easy. So lets go find a 4.6 and give this 740i some real power... right?

Here we are the elusive 4.6 is on its way. Its a nice unit from a March 2003 BMW X5 4.6is with 92k on the clock. Plan will be to do the VANOS units (Dr Vanos) new timing chain and guides. Water pump and valley pan. Plus the necessary conversion bits to fit into the 740i (oil pump, pan, OSV, valve covers).

I do not have a schedule for this project and will be taking my time but I will share my progress updates with photos. And of course when I run into issues or have questions I will be reporting back. Inspired by Plattus and the excellent work on his 540i Touring. I will be following his lead in many respects, especially with the DME tuning post install. I too will enjoy the rarity that it will bring to the 740i and the OEM/Stock sleeper that only an extremely trained eye may be able to detect.

I plan to document everything as best as possible so that whoever wants to do this same swap in the future will have a resource. Thanks all stay tuned I look forward to your help and support and encouragement.

Here is the donor vehicle if anybody was interested. Negotiated price on the engine was $4500 as a reference w/ 6 month warranty + free shipping. Its a long block and includes all accessories and complete harness. Shipping weight 576lbs.
http://om.mmauto.com/om/fvn/item.asp?id=DD0548

[XAlt]

The rare 4.6 swap.

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[Kurt C]

Subscribed with well wishes for a successful project.

[dannyzabolotny]

This should be pretty cool, I haven't seen any 4.6 swaps into a 740i. That'll definitely wake up the 740i and make it a heck of a lot sportier.

I've done chain guide jobs on the M62tub44 and M62tub46, so let me know if you need any advice.

For a proper conversion, you'll need to replace both oil pans (lower and upper), the CCV on the rear of the intake manifold, the oil separator behind the timing chain guides, punch out the freeze plug there, run a pipe from that OSV to the 740i CCV, and you'll also need to replace the driver's side valve cover with a 540i/740i one that has the breather hole sealed up. You can pull a lot of these parts from your 4.4 engine, except for the stuff that wears out like the OSV and CCV, those you should buy new.

Good luck!

[Marneus]

Subscribed. I'm liking the sound of this!


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[blackknight530i]

Biggest engine other than an Alpina M62TUB48 you can get in the e38 without going manual (S62). Looking forward to seeing this completed.

[GR330ZHP]

Sounds like a great swap!


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[purplecty]

My friend has a few 4.6is engines for sale with new guides already...

[Chief Jimbo]

A guy on here by the screen name of Bimmerfixr has his set up : E38 6spd, 4.6is, VF Engineering Supercharged, Dinan HFM/TB, 3:64Quaife, VAC Motorsport underdrive pulleys, SuperSprint headers/mufflers, Smile factor.

[purplecty]

Biggest engine other than an Alpina M62TUB48 you can get in the e38 without going manual (S62). Looking forward to seeing this completed.

Good luck finding a b48 that would be from a Z8 only correct?

[TxDarth]

I thought the new X5's have a 4.8 also.....

[blackknight530i]

I thought the new X5's have a 4.8 also.....

N62b48

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[XAlt]

I wonder how hard an N62 swap would be.

Great engine, mind the bottom mounted oil filter and inherent VSS issues.

[blackknight530i]

I wonder how hard an N62 swap would be.

Theoretically doable. Most of the e53 modules are the same for M62tu and N62, so should be possible. Probably better to use one out of the e60 or e65 and use the N62 transmission with a hybrid driveshaft. Wiring shouldn't be too complicated, though easier in a facelift e39 than an e38.

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[redgtocruiser]

I will say have been looking for 4.6 motors since October. They aren't impossible to find there are a handful available right now on ebay. Some are short blocks and some are long. I wanted a long block with everything on it for a lot of reasons. They are anywhere from $4-5k in price typically. They don't seem to sell too quickly. I called Bavarian Auto Recyclers a few times they had one with 79k a few months back they sold it and haven't had a 4.6 since. They dyno test the motors before they ship and such which is a nice service. Now finding a M62B48 that's a different story. http://www.rondaautoparts.com/ This place has one from a Z8 for $10k. Super low miles. No idea if they still have it or not. The M62B48 was also used in the Alpina E39 B10 V8S from I think around 2002 - 2003.

Doing an N63 swap seems quite a bit more challenging to me. Not something I would wan't to undertake. In my research I have not seen this swap into an E38/E39. I am pretty sure they use a different DME than the Bosch Motronic 7.2 that runs the 4.4/4.6/4.8 M62 variants.

Thats why I am a big fan of this swap. Its almost a 100% direct bolt in. Send my DME out to DUDMD for a rflash to the 4.6 engine mapping and should be good to go. With the 740i sports higher stall converter and 3.15 gears in the rear end I think this will be super nice on the highway.

[Nrphlly1]

An e38 4.6/4.8 naturally aspirated, with no turbo and a Factory look will be a fantastic build. 4.6 denoted on the trunk will be really special. I have 4.4 and 5.4. 4.4 just sits now. I'm interested in your 4.6 build. A low modification installation makes this very attractive. Can I retain the Automatic transmission? Not interested in the stick shift swap.

[redgtocruiser]

Yes the 5HP24 bolts right up to the 4.6 its the same automatic that is used in the X5 4.6is. No fuss no muss here. I already have a 6pd car so I have no desire to make the 740i a gear rower. I enjoy the automatic to be quite honest.

An e38 4.6/4.8 naturally aspirated, with no turbo and a Factory look will be a fantastic build. 4.6 denoted on the trunk will be really special. I have 4.4 and 5.4. 4.4 just sits now. I'm interested in your 4.6 build. A low modification installation makes this very attractive. Can I retain the Automatic transmission? Not interested in the stick shift swap.

[aazevedo]

This makes me want to run out and buy an old X5 4.6 and gut it, solely for the purpose of putting it's heart in my '01 sport short. Yes, I love my car that much.

All kidding, but I'll follow this thread with interest.

AA

[dannyzabolotny]

This makes me want to run out and buy an old X5 4.6 and gut it, solely for the purpose of putting it's heart in my '01 sport short. Yes, I love my car that much.

All kidding, but I'll follow this thread with interest.

AA

Your best bet for getting a cheap 4.6 is to find an X5 4.6 that either has a dead transmission or has had the chain guides go bad. I got my 2003 X5 4.6 with bad chain guides for only $3500! That's less than the engine usually costs on its own, plus you can part out the rest of the X5 to essentially make the engine free. I chose to fix my 4.6 though, because there are barely any left out there at this point.

[mattgtp]

Anybody know if the 4.6 used in the rovers is the same?

[purplecty]

They're different

[redgtocruiser]

Anybody know if the 4.6 used in the rovers is the same?

Pretty sure the range rover 4.6 is from around the paleolithic era.

[dannyzabolotny]

Anybody know if the 4.6 used in the rovers is the same?

The Range Rover never used the M62tu 46. It only used the regular 4.4. The 4.6 used up until 2002 was an entirely different design, completely unrelated to BMW.

[kulgan]

Looking forward to seeing this happen. Subscribed.

[Hueristic]

Subbed.