JN Garage E39 Touring M5T Conversion

[blackknight530i]

You could also have a wiring harness issue with the auto trans. I had that with my old 530i trans and would get the temp sensor error. The harness is attached to the valve body and can be replaced pretty easily when doing a fluid and filter change.

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[JN Garage]

Get that battery load tested. There is either a drain overnight, or it is no longer any good. AGM or not, if it fails a load test, it has to go. / edit - sorry, did not realize battery was replaced. Check draw after he goes to sleep. - does the trans indicator light turn off after 15 min?

Yes it does go to sleep so the car is not staying awake all night. May have to do a drain test and see how bad it is with the old multimeter.

You could also have a wiring harness issue with the auto trans. I had that with my old 530i trans and would get the temp sensor error. The harness is attached to the valve body and can be replaced pretty easily when doing a fluid and filter change.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

Yeah I have seen that harness as well during my research for the EDS solenoid its on my suspects list.

Its all weird as the previous owner drove the car during 2020 then parked it for a while , Now all these issues start to appear and then I got it working perfectly fine for a day. I guess I am going to chase it code by code.

[JN Garage]

The more I read the more all of this seems to point at the ABS module as now I have got other codes with the solenoid code going away.

Going to swap that out this weekend and chase down another code tied to the aux fan. Hopefully it gets running well so I can enjoy it this fall.

[JN Garage]

Got rid of all of the codes except for a lingering intermittent 49 and 53 code for the TCU

Fluid level is full
Vehicle drove fine for 30 miles last night

Started up this morning to do a Grom audio bluetooth install and the 49/53 codes came back.

I am starting to suspect its a bad TCU DME that is causing this so just to be sure I ordered a replacement for $30 that I will likely have to re code when I install it

[BimmerBreaker]

Skip the S62 and N62 swap it imo, keep the steering rack that way and can run the 6HP trans if you want to

Nice wagon!

[JN Garage]

Skip the S62 and N62 swap it imo, keep the steering rack that way and can run the 6HP trans if you want to

Nice wagon!

Anything is on the menu as long as it can be integrated in an oem manner

Even something as stupid as an S85


going to pull the plugs for the gearbox and give them a good cleaning and if that does not work I have a new TCU DME coming later this week.

If all of that fails then I will most likely be dropping the transmission pan to do a fluid and filter change along with possibly replacing the solenoid that could be the problem child.

But I feel its still 100% an electrical problem due to it working perfectly fine when it wants to and throwing generic 49 and 53 gear codes. If the gearbox baskets were destroyed it would have not let me drive it hard to 6500 over and over last week going into every gear with no issues.

[BimmerBreaker]

Anything is on the menu as long as it can be integrated in an oem manner

Even something as stupid as an S85


going to pull the plugs for the gearbox and give them a good cleaning and if that does not work I have a new TCU DME coming later this week.

If all of that fails then I will most likely be dropping the transmission pan to do a fluid and filter change along with possibly replacing the solenoid that could be the problem child.

But I feel its still 100% an electrical problem due to it working perfectly fine when it wants to and throwing generic 49 and 53 gear codes. If the gearbox baskets were destroyed it would have not let me drive it hard to 6500 over and over last week going into every gear with no issues.

Well I've yet to do it and it's yet to be done by anyone else, but the E60 is similar to the E39 chassis physically and the E53 is almost the same electronically. It is my belief that by using E53 electronics and E60 bits for physical fitment, that the N62 can be retrofitted in an OE manner into the E39. It's next on my list to swap... S85 is a harder swap, due to the way it communicates with other modules in the E60/E63 chassis (modules the E39 never got, whereas the N62 was retrofitted by BMW into the E53, which had the same electronics as the E39)

[JN Garage]

Well I've yet to do it and it's yet to be done by anyone else, but the E60 is similar to the E39 chassis physically and the E53 is almost the same electronically. It is my belief that by using E53 electronics and E60 bits for physical fitment, that the N62 can be retrofitted in an OE manner into the E39. It's next on my list to swap... S85 is a harder swap, due to the way it communicates with other modules in the E60/E63 chassis (modules the E39 never got, whereas the N62 was retrofitted by BMW into the E53, which had the same electronics as the E39)

There is a man on youtube that has done an S85 into a 2001 M5 but yes you would need a complete donor car to make it possible

[BimmerBreaker]

Yes, he also has a build thread on this forum and it's a nice build. The S85 is a good engine, but at least personally, I prefer my torque down low - especially in these heavier cars... N62 makes it's peak torque 490n-m at 3400rpm. S85 takes until 5200rpm to make 520n-m. Different strokes for different folks (to be specific, the N62 has a longer stroke by 13.1mm)

But, that's here nor there. Whatever you do will be cool. Even a more simple 3.0 swap would be a lot of fun

[JN Garage]

Yeah many different options

I finally sorted the car out and it was the TCU DME all along. It apparently died while it sat for almost a year and was causing all the issues.

So top tip if you get TCU codes 49 along with a 51 , 53 or 55 then its very possible that you have a bad TCU for the ZF5hp19. It was plug and play requiring no coding at all which was wonderful. This was for my 2002 with the old style low cluster.

[JN Garage]

Also shot some good pictures as a baseline for the project

[JN Garage]

Get that battery load tested. There is either a drain overnight, or it is no longer any good. AGM or not, if it fails a load test, it has to go. / edit - sorry, did not realize battery was replaced. Check draw after he goes to sleep. - does the trans indicator light turn off after 15 min?

Yep draw is completely normal now , it goes into sleep mode perfectly fine now its fantastic !

[JN Garage]

I have put around 500 miles on the car visiting friends and running errands its running great still.

I am going to assume the cooling system has been serviced for it to go 190,000 miles but the first indicator of cooling issues it will get a complete overhaul kit.

The only mechanical things that need work are the Aux fan at the moment everything else works fantastic.

The car is in need of a major suspension overhaul next spring as well and I am debating replacing the SLS airbags as preventative service along with bushings / control arms paired with KW V1 shocks that are SLS compatible.

Interior audio overhaul begins this week as I have vacation time coming up and there is a show in Frankenmuth that I plan to attend.

[chuckesteeze]

Glad it's working out well for you. Have you heard much about the KW shocks? I don't remember those coming up much when I was researching options.

Edit: OK so I didn't realize it was a coilover package, and coilovers weren't on my radar. But maybe they should have been...

Are you looking to retain stock ride height?

[JN Garage]

Glad it's working out well for you. Have you heard much about the KW shocks? I don't remember those coming up much when I was researching options.

Edit: OK so I didn't realize it was a coilover package, and coilovers weren't on my radar. But maybe they should have been...

Are you looking to retain stock ride height?

Ideally the end goal is Style 65s with an M5 front bumper and maybe a 10-20mm drop but nothing extreme. I very much value ride quality and $1200 for SLS compatible Coilovers is very appealing as I know how comfortable KWs road valving is from owning them for years with my Subaru.

[JN Garage]

Radio nightmare is finally over , the amp in the factory headunit died so I had to replace it.

First option was a cheaper ***** android headunit which was dead on arrival , Then I ordered a headunit from Alvin and for $440 with the wireless apple carplay module its pretty fantastic.

Now to not be so lazy and get started on the brake job

[mateo8]

Radio nightmare is finally over , the amp in the factory headunit died so I had to replace it.

First option was a cheaper ***** android headunit which was dead on arrival , Then I ordered a headunit from Alvin and for $440 with the wireless apple carplay module its pretty fantastic.

Now to not be so lazy and get started on the brake job

What is the difference in gauge cluster? Mine is an 03/00 without the diagram of the vehicle in the gauge cluster, is that a facelift thing?

[JN Garage]

What is the difference in gauge cluster? Mine is an 03/00 without the diagram of the vehicle in the gauge cluster, is that a facelift thing?

I think its a facelift thing but still having a low tech cluster , So to swap in an M5 cluster I will have to do extra wiring sadly.

[chuckesteeze]

I'm not sure if you censored your own post of the mods did, but either way I'm glad I caught your IG story and know what brand to steer clear of! Glad to hear the Alvin is working out.

[JN Garage]

I'm not sure if you censored your own post of the mods did, but either way I'm glad I caught your IG story and know what brand to steer clear of! Glad to hear the Alvin is working out.

I think it just automatically does that but yes the Alvin is fantastic.

Now I have to sort out the suspension and wheel setup next year while figuring out what engine I want to stuff into it in winter 2022

[JN Garage]

In four months I took a broken car with 18 codes to a running functional vehicle that I drove to work a few times in September putting just over 600 miles on it. I even torture tested the SLS airbags at Costco monthly with no failures there.

Even with very worn out suspension it was very fun to drive and I look forward to making it into more of a summer daily driver for me in the future. I have basically thrown away all ideas of an M5 Touring replica in the short term as its just extremely expensive and time consuming. I will just drive the car until there is a major mechanical issue with the engine or transmission then likely install an M54B30 and ZF8HP70 gearbox.

In the meantime I have a few items for 2022 that are needed to make it a very comfortable summer car.

- Suspension overhaul including new shocks , control arms and bushings from FCP Euro
- Fix rear exhaust
- Style 65 wheels
- E38 Sport Comfort seats , ideally heated too
- Replace worn interior items and leathers
- Respray front bumper , hood and fenders
- Aux fan replacement

That will be an easy $3000-$5000 or so just in parts to get the car back to a nice driving state.

Towed the car down to Ann Arbor today and put it into storage at a friends pole barn while I hibernate for the winter.

[TexasTouring]

Great photos! And glad to hear you’re keeping it closer to stock. If it were me, I’d keep the 2.5, but I like slow cars. Now you just need to move down south where you can drive it all year!

[JN Garage]

Great photos! And glad to hear you’re keeping it closer to stock. If it were me, I’d keep the 2.5, but I like slow cars. Now you just need to move down south where you can drive it all year!

Honestly the M54B25 is a great little engine I have become quite fond of it , I appreciate how refined it is and comfortable compared to my Wrx.

I actually don't mind Michigan as its kind of nice to have a 5 month break from car stuff and to just relax inside.

[JN Garage]

little video summary

[JN Garage]

First BMW parts of the year were acquired

Someone tried to paint these poor style 32 wheels shadow chrome and it went very poorly. They will be stripped and refinished back to the proper oem silver color then matched with some new Michelin tires.