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I'm starting my E39 swap. I have a 2002 325i, using Josh (JF) mounts, 5.3L engine and T56.
I've been looking at a bunch of swaps on here but have a couple questions about accessory clearances.
I'm going to swap to an LS1 manifold for clearance which means getting rid of the truck accessories which already don't clear.
Where I'd like some guidance is I plan to use the truck exhaust manifolds as the turbo manifolds (flipped down). I want to keep A/C which is where it looks like it gets tricky. From what I can gather the flipped manifolds won't clear AC with stock flanges. I was planning to weld on Vbands as is so that's ok. Will I be able to clear the A/C after welding though?
Also I plan to use lsxinnovation accessory mounts or similar. I have the ability to reroute the accessories just the A/C high mount gets expensive. I dont see
moving to corvette/fbody depths that important, I gets me an inch between the radiator at most I believe.
Curious to hear what people doing similar swaps have run into as a best route. I'm willing to spend more to make it work better but would like the feedback first.
Last edited by Lantz; 02-23-2020 at 10:14 PM.
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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Excited to see the progress. You going twins or single?
Single with a goal around 500 hp. I’m going to do my best to keep things simple. So completely stock engine (besides injectors).
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2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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I did an LS4 manifold on the passenger side. It does not allow the stock LS compressor to fit. Went with an R4 compressor on the top of passenger side.
If I had to do it over again, would probably go with the Hooker LS swap turbo manifolds. I have them for my new build and really like how much cleaner it makes the turbo kit. I put the turbo on the drivers side on my e39 and the Hooker manifolds dump on the passenger side. A T4 based turbo should work fine this way in an E39. It will be tight though. If you can get away with a 3” down-pipe, it will be much easier to fit past the engine mounts.
I looked at those and a couple others but that was a long time ago. Maybe I’ll just go that route too with a high mount ac.
Do you have any pictures?
Also meant to post these for reference for anyone in the future looking at clearances.
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2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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Editing post to note that the hooker manifolds require cutting Josh's, JesusFreaks, mounts to fit. I didn't notice initially. You will need to cut about a 1" x 1" section out of the very top. They are beefy mounts so its not hurting anything.
Everything fits
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Last edited by Lantz; 05-01-2019 at 08:56 PM.
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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The hooker stuff looks great! Looks like a stock low mount A/C compressor is a no-go which is a bummer for sure. I wonder if the crossover tube would clear my sway bar....
Lantz, looking forward to seeing your build progress!
S.F.
The AC is no big deal but its good to start getting things mocked up to see what the limitations are. I wasn't planning on making this a build thread but I do plan to compile all my notes for a sticky. There is good info, just all over the place.
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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Very eeeeenteresting. I wonder if any of the Tial v-band housings match the Hooker v-band. Anyone with a good eye think those will fit in an e46 chassis?
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I’m in the planning stages for a very similar swap now. Do you follow Matt Happel’s stuff at Sloppy Mechanics? I think I’m going to use his basic turbo formula (78/75 VS Racing turbo, walbro 450, PAC 1218 springs and the SS2 cam) and I’m going to try and use a CD009 transmission with an adapter and shifter relocation. Good find on those headers. What injectors are you planning on getting?
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2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
Follow me on Instagram at @LantzFab
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Nice. The motor I buy might make the decision. If I find a reasonably priced 6.0 I’ll probably go NA, but if I get a steal on a 4.8 or 5.3 I’ll go the Denmah route.
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subscribed, looks good with those headers
The ict billet high mount ac kit fits! The back top of the bracket is barley touching the hood lining.
I also stumbled on a fitting backer from March performance if I can’t get the lines to fit.
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2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
Follow me on Instagram at @LantzFab
Link to LantzFab.com
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Link to my build page
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
Follow me on Instagram at @LantzFab
Link to LantzFab.com
Link to my Facebook page
Link to my build page
That’s why mine ended up where it did. It seems like there is a lot of room until you put the accessories on. I saw an install on a Fox Mustang that Holley did with those manifolds and the turbo was on the drivers side. They ran a single pipe from the vband over to the drivers side. Should work just fine. What turbo are you going to use?
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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It’s significantly smaller. You will thank yourself for that as it will be much less trouble to install. I’m excited to see how you set it up!
hey, how are u going to run the throttle cable, brand new from the pedal? oh and if u were the one with blue coil-overs what brand are they.
Last edited by mrallande5020; 04-29-2019 at 02:32 PM.
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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Well changed my mind again for now. This makes the lower radiator hose a pain. I rerouted the precharge pump and accessories are already purchased so the driver side didn’t work with the stock radiator. Going to see how this route works.
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2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
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Update on progress with some notes for future people. It may be hard to see but the turbo inlet is really close to the wheel well. I'll have to notch it or I thought of doing a custom airbox out of sheet metal with a flat filter. So it fits but like others swaps has it compromises. The pipe going underneath Josh's (jesus freaks) mounts has a bunch of bends to make it fit. When you put on the crossover tube for the hooker headers and the starter in there is very little room. As you can see on the turbine side, there is also lot of bends to make it fit. I had to notch the engine mounts at the top to fit the hooker headers, didn't notice initially since everything was loose fitted but it needed about an inch triangle taken out. Won't hurt the structure of the mounts, they are really beefy. Custom mounts that are slimmer would really help this setup. The lower radiator hose is really tight. I'm going to get a older style radiator from a 540i that has the smooth, not clip, fittings. The thermostat outlet is a straight fitting that will go through the turbine inlet and downpipe. I'm pretty set that I will need a scavenge pump for the turbo oil return. I'm going to see if I can tap the pan in another spot but its not looking good.
Although there looks like a lot of room on the driver side, between the frame rail and the alternator/radiator inlet there is actually very little room. When I place the turbo there during mock ups it hit. I would need to go to corvette style alternator brackets and spacing. I would have also needed to get a custom radiator with inlet on the other side. I was also concerned that the piping would still be tricky since the hooker outlet is high and the downpipe needs to go lower.
So pick your poison, I wasn't confident that the drivers side would be any easier, or even fit, and I would have needed all new accessories.
Josh's mounts work with the T56 magnum. The shifter is about 7" too far forward. I am using a sikky shifter that sets it back but I needed to remove the center console and cut a giant rectangle out so the shifter linkage doesn't hit the tunnel. I'll need to make a sheet metal cover that is about an inch raised up.
The ICT billet high mount does hit the hood lining. I may need to notch the hood structure slightly at the high spots but the pulley has tons of room. I got the compressor for 100 bucks and the bracket was 125 I believe so not too bad for AC.
Also kinda wish I bought a standalone harness. It has been time consuming to modify the stock truck harness to work with the T56 magnum and EV6 injectors.
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Last edited by Lantz; 05-04-2019 at 08:32 PM.
2002 BMW 525i - 6.6L LS Turbo Swap
Follow me on Instagram at @LantzFab
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Wow, great progress. It all looks good.
Thanks for the tip on March Performance for AC stuff.
Diving in at the shallow end!
Looks surprisingly crowded. Great work. I think I might try for a log manifold from Fahler Performance or Trick or something like that. Hopefully it’ll sit higher and avoid AC. I like having the crossover (and all the associated heat) behind the engine.
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