1995 540i engine swap into 1993 525i car

[shreyshah1120]

Hey everyone! I’m an e28 guy but....

I just got the opportunity to purchase an e34 540i with a bad body but solid drive train and a 525i with a great body and interior but with a bad engine( it knocks).

I was wondering how hard swapping the v8 into the better car would be? Or if it would be possible swapping the v8 into any other e34?

Since I’ll actually have both cars to get all of the parts from, I figured it would be “plug and play” more or less.
Or should I just pass?

Thanks!

[dannyzabolotny]

It's quite a lot of work to swap a V8 into a straight-6 car. The brake booster is located in a different place on the V8 cars (close to the headlight), all the engine bay brackets for the reservoirs and whatnot are different, the wiring is all different, the ABS module location and brake lines are different, etc.

I pondered the same thing with my 525it, and ultimately decided that it would be easier to get a 530it (small V8) and swap that to a M60B44 than it would be to try to make that work in the 525it.

[moroza]

It's a lot of work, but if you have both cars, can weld (or at least cut/grind, drill, and bolt) and do wiring work, far from impossible.

[ross1]

More work than it is worth in my opinion. By the time you are finished you'll wish you had; A, Just bought a decent 540 to begin with. B, replaced the 525 motor with another 2.5. **
The V-8 brake set-up alone is a nightmare.

** I have a good 525 short block you can buy for $200