Mitch500’s s54 swap into 97 e36 m3

[mitch500]

So I started my s54 swap that I’ve been gathering parts for. This project came to mind about a year ago and I thought, what the heck.

My automotive mechanic knowledge is quite good. Mostly I’ve done complete suspension rebuilds, brakes, transmissions and various engine related maintenance etc etc...

So I got stated yesterday with removing the front bumper and all the jazz to be able to slide the engine forward and out. Took me about a hour and a bit to get to this point, also making sure to label and bag everything.



Then today I had the day off, so I got the garage at 10am and pulled the engine and trans as 1. I have to say it was a total Pain trying to pull it by myself. I ended up having to remove the steering knuckle so the bump on the oil pan would clear. But I eventually got it.

Today made it to this point:


And the old girl,



And the s54



More to come, going to be replacing my trans detens and well as transferring over my flywheel and clutch to the s54.


Anyone know what starter I use? I’m using my e36 m3 ZF 5 speed and s52 dual mass flywheel/clutch... I think I’d use the s52 starter but want to confirm.





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[TH3 Shifty]

i used the s54

[mitch500]

i used the s54

Well that would be sweet as my s54 starter only has 60k miles on it. The e36 has 156k miles.


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[mitch500]

Also decided to ditch the US catted manifolds for these euros.





I haven’t looked to closely but, if I’m using e36 A/C compressor i need the e36 bracket as well correct?


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[propcar]

awesome, can't imagine how awesome S54 swap is on these cars.

[DocWyte]

Would love to do an S54 swap into my car at some point. Watching your build closely!

[SamGrant951]

Nice! Another one At a recent track event in Indy (Aug 2017) I think there were more S54 swapped cars there than stock. It was nuts!

[M52 POWER!]

Also decided to ditch the US catted manifolds for these euros.





I haven’t looked to closely but, if I’m using e36 A/C compressor i need the e36 bracket as well correct?


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Yes that is correct, E36 comp with E36 comp bracket. Also, when you install the E36 comp bracket there will be no room for the s54 oil accumulator bracket. See my build thread in sig, last page, for how I modified the bracket slightly to get it to fit again!

[propcar]

So how much are these swaps coming out in costs typically? Are most having to do rod bearings and Vanos rebuilds? I'm sure it can vary wildly...

[cohny]

The perpetual OBDII emissions thing is still a problem for me. I don't believe there is a simple solution for passing OBDII emissions or I would start acquiring parts for a swap myself.

[mitch500]

Yes that is correct, E36 comp with E36 comp bracket. Also, when you install the E36 comp bracket there will be no room for the s54 oil accumulator bracket. See my build thread in sig, last page, for how I modified the bracket slightly to get it to fit again!

Perfect thanks!

So how much are these swaps coming out in costs typically? Are most having to do rod bearings and Vanos rebuilds? I'm sure it can vary wildly...

Well all the swap parts and such are almost what I paid for the engine. I’m in Canada too so the swap parts (harness, fuel pump and other things) I paid in USD which with exchange rate and shipping it’s quite a bit more for me which sucks.


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[M52 POWER!]

The perpetual OBDII emissions thing is still a problem for me. I don't believe there is a simple solution for passing OBDII emissions or I would start acquiring parts for a swap myself.

Forum member gpeterson lives in CA and did a full S54 swap and was able to pass CA emissions. See his thread for more.

[TostitoBandito]

So how much are these swaps coming out in costs typically? Are most having to do rod bearings and Vanos rebuilds? I'm sure it can vary wildly...

If you're just talking about parts, probably not a ton in addition to the engine and whatever custom wiring or other accessories are needed. I mean rod bearings or Vanos rebuild parts aren't very expensive. It's the labor that kills you here, and then all the troubleshooting of whatever bugs pop up once it's back together. If you DIY everything you can probably get out of it for under $5-6K including the cost of the engine and all the parts, mostly depending on how much your engine cost. If you paid a mechanic or shop to do it all, I'd guess you'd be looking at around $10K for just labor on the low-end to get it right. But yeah, can vary wildly I'm sure.

If it were me I'd probably strip everything myself and do whatever rebuild work I was comfortable with, and then flatbed it to a pro to do the final assembly and harness work, and to work through any bugs or mistakes I made.

[Bimmerman535i]

The perpetual OBDII emissions thing is still a problem for me. I don't believe there is a simple solution for passing OBDII emissions or I would start acquiring parts for a swap myself.

It's actually super simple to do OBDII emissions on an S54 swap. You need to add all of 4 wires for the emissions systems if you have an OBDII chassis already.

Keep S54 cats
Keep S54 SAP
Install E46 M3 charcoal canister and tank leak diagnostic pump (DMTL, 4 wires, easy).

The last item is the CANbus interpreter board that Gpeterson sells (or, a Z3M S54 gauge cluster). This gets you a functional check engine light.

and bam, you're done!

OP, if you haven't seen it, I detail a lot of this work (and the S54 swap in general) in the thread linked in my sig. Best of luck and let me know if you have questions!

- - - Updated - - -

Yes that is correct, E36 comp with E36 comp bracket. Also, when you install the E36 comp bracket there will be no room for the s54 oil accumulator bracket. See my build thread in sig, last page, for how I modified the bracket slightly to get it to fit again!

What he said.

If you use a vanos accumulator line like the bimmerworld one you can simply move the accumulator bracket a bit and have it all fit without any modifications, with the E36 compressor and bracket. Can't do that with the stock line, it's too short and rigid.

- - - Updated - - -

So how much are these swaps coming out in costs typically? Are most having to do rod bearings and Vanos rebuilds? I'm sure it can vary wildly...

$7k if you do all your own labor and have an immaculate engine, or are lucky.

$10k if you do all your own labor and do rod bearings, vanos, and other while you're in theres. Some experienced shops can get because racecar swaps done at this price point.

$15k if you're paying someone to do all of the work, and you might not have AC or cruise functioning. Less experienced shops probably will end up here.

Now multiply by 1.5, because the car fights back.

[mitch500]

I’m kind of lucky where I live, No emission testing at all.


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[DocWyte]

Yeah, emissions is very dependent on state. Here in Colorado they just want to see the readiness monitors set, 2 cats, 4 O2 sensors and the SAP. So you can get away with headers and stock E36 M3 OBD2 cats.

In fact, I doubt I'd even take it through the referree process. Unlike my previous LSx swapped 944 Turbo, an S54 swapped E36 M3 won't raise any eyebrows here at all. Just run it through as if it still had the S52...

[m3bs]

Now multiply by 1.5, because the car fights back.

Good plan.

If planning for track use, also add for oil cooling, big radiator, exhaust, clutch, flywheel, tune, etc. Easy to bust $15K.

[DocWyte]

In other words, sell your E36 M3 and just buy an E46 M3. If we were just looking at this through a cold, logic, financial stand point...

[m3bs]

I didn’t go the E46 route because my E36 already had cage, seats, brakes, suspension, etc. In hindsight......

[Bimmerman535i]

In other words, sell your E36 M3 and just buy an E46 M3. If we were just looking at this through a cold, logic, financial stand point...

Psh, if any of us were truly smart financially we wouldn't have started racing. No better way to evaporate money.

[DocWyte]

Hey, I put an LSx into my 944 Turbo. That was a money pit! I had the seats, rollbar, etc, etc, etc already in it. In hindsight I do wish I'd just sold it as a rolling shell.

Right now my E36 has all that stuff in it already. If I blew my S52, I'd have to think long and hard about whether I'd be better off just putting another S52 back into it, selling it as a rolling shell, parting it out or doing an S54 swap.

Clearly its not worth financially doing the S54 swap unless you can do most the work yourself. I'm not sure a shop would be willing to take on a partially finished swap, ie do all the wiring etc. If something wasn't working right, they'd get blamed but wouldn't know whether it was their fault or the owners work etc...

[M52 POWER!]

For me it's about combining my favorites, E36 M3 weight and handling with S54 powerband and sound and last great NA I6 from BMW. Also, I really get bored of seeing the same car over and over, having something unique is nice for a change!

Bimmerman is right on with his pricing, I'm near completion and around $11k in the hole but I also did all the vanos improvements, chassis reinforcements, auto to 6spd swap etc etc... I think if you did a quick and dirty swap $6-7k is feasible but "while you're in there" will get your ass every time!

[propcar]

S54 swapping is financially depressing... I think this'll be in the 'not gonna happen' category. I just can't see sinking that much money into it. I'd probably sell and move on to E46 or go with something entirely different.

[cohny]

"while you're in there" will get your ass every time!

Oh my lord don't ask me how, but my power steering rebuild / oil pump nut project has now led to me breaking down and cleaning the inside of my headlights and researching how I can do a DIY clear wrap...

[cohny]

S54 swapping is financially depressing... I think this'll be in the 'not gonna happen' category. I just can't see sinking that much money into it. I'd probably sell and move on to E46 or go with something entirely different.

If you take the time to take good videos and do a compression test you can probably get decent money for an S52, enough that if you hunt for long enough you'd probably only have to spend an extra 1k on an S54. If you plan to rebuild it you don't necessarily have to find the nicest S54 in the world either, and if you keep the stock 5 speed you can save a bunch there too.

I've found with other projects that the more time you have on your side the less money you spend. If you're the collector type and you're willing to take a long time to hunt for the parts you can probably save a lot too. I don't think this swap is even remotely close to being a rational decision, but I think the E36 is just so good it makes perfect sense to me.