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Thread: M54B30 to ZHP mod??

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    M54B30 to ZHP mod??

    So my 530i has given up the ghost. The head gasket is blown. I purchased the car about 6 months ago and it ran great but the cooling system always needed bleeding for some reason. Performed the block chemical test and sure enough, fumes in the coolant tank. Seems the PO overheated it and sold it to get rid of it.

    Its a beautiful car, tan interior in awesome shape, and LeMans Blue paint in excellent condition, ordered as a BMW Individual, Euro delivery.

    Tested the head bolts and they wont completely torque. I do the 40NM + 90 + 90 and on the second 90, I start losing resistance about 3/4 of the way into the pull. The block threads are gone on a couple bolts. The engine needs replacing.

    Plenty of good M54B30 engine available locally in good shape and low miles. But what I saw that peaked my interest is the M54B30 with the ZHP cams. Its the same engine, just with performance cams. I'm sure I'd need the ZHP DME with the engine. Would that work on a standard 530i car with a standard trans or is this just can of worms and should I do just a straight swap?

    Mostly thinking out loud at this point, but it does sound like an interesting project. The ZHP is only 10hp more and barely a few more ft-lbs of torque, but still interesting.

    Last edited by kouks; 12-03-2021 at 08:56 PM.

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    The ZHP tune is nothing special, your stock DME is more than capable of beating it with a custom tune.

    Take the ZHP engine, transfer your necessary E39 parts to it (I think the oil pan and some accessories might be different), drop it back in the car and have a reputable tuner flash your stock DME. Profit. It'll be a little bit peppier + you can get rid of BMW's awful first-gen DBW lag/rev hang.

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    Being in CA, it may not be worth it given the SMOG requirements now.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dking078 View Post
    Being in CA, it may not be worth it given the SMOG requirements now.
    Ah yes, good point. Damn Communists.

    The other item I think about is that the ZHP motors were in the 330i car, mostly driven by kids, mostly who drive like maniacs out here. The standard M54B30 may be a lower risk swap.
    Last edited by kouks; 12-03-2021 at 09:40 PM.

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    Those 330 ZHP’s also came with an LSD diff IIRC.
    Only 10HP more will hardly make a difference.
    Go for the gusto, drop in an LS3, 430HP.

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    HA! Might as well get an M5 then!

    This is for my youngest girl. She's currently driving my other e39 540i and doesn't like the UMPH of the V8, nor the gas costs.

    BTW...Nice clean shop, mine is like a mine field. Are you actually dropping that into an e39??
    Last edited by kouks; 12-04-2021 at 01:48 PM.

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    I have a zhp on the stand, freshening up seals, gaskets, and ready to swap the pan to go into my touring. The G37bz 6 speed will be part of the swap. The zhp has a little hotter cams, with the intake side being near ideal for superchargers. I'm still looking for an affordable 256 exhaust cam.
    The block in your car can be Time-Serted to be saved, and I've seen this done with the block still in the car. Just another option.
    -Donny

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    Quote Originally Posted by KeysCoupe View Post
    I have a zhp on the stand, freshening up seals, gaskets, and ready to swap the pan to go into my touring. The G37bz 6 speed will be part of the swap. The zhp has a little hotter cams, with the intake side being near ideal for superchargers. I'm still looking for an affordable 256 exhaust cam.
    The block in your car can be Time-Serted to be saved, and I've seen this done with the block still in the car. Just another option.
    -Donny
    I've read that fixing the threads or time-certing is not a long term fix. I'd like the car to hold up for another 50-75k, it only has 96K on it now. I have leads on two 100k engines nearby, just need to compression and leak down check them first. One came out of a really nice e39 530i that got rear ended, so I'm thinking the owner took good care of the car. I'll see what the test show.

    My e34 525 with the M50 motor went for 246K miles before the HG blew, but that has an iron block.

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    Kouks, the LS3 is already in the Factory Five 33 hotrod that I’m building.
    It’s about 90% done, just have to finish painting it and tie up a few loose ends.

    26F906CA-F243-4597-BCCE-6751ACBAAC42.jpeg

    A00A3C0E-76A7-4406-A351-618D7A3572B7.jpg
    Last edited by JimLev; 12-05-2021 at 12:50 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Kouks, the LS3 is already in the Factory Five 33 hotrod that I’m building.
    It’s about 90% done, just have to finish painting it and tie up a few loose ends.
    Now that looks like fun! Nice work!

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Kouks, the LS3 is already in the Factory Five 33 hotrod that I’m building.
    It’s about 90% done, just have to finish painting it and tie up a few loose ends.

    26F906CA-F243-4597-BCCE-6751ACBAAC42.jpeg

    A00A3C0E-76A7-4406-A351-618D7A3572B7.jpg
    That is so cool.

    Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

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    +1 on don't bother with ZHP engine...10 extra horses in an E39 is not worth it. And I owned a 6-speed ZHP until recently

    I have done a in-car head gasket on an E39 6 cyl and it really wasn't that bad..you have pretty good access.. I have also done one on an E53 and several on engine stands. If you want to, pulling the engine will make it easier to change oil pan gasket and other things you might want to do. You could also change piston rings and eliminate oil consumption if you are up for some mission creep.

    Other observations:

    -The engine you know is better than the one you don't know.

    -Properly-installed time-serts ARE a lifetime repair. I always do this when I pull a head... I also rent out Time-sert kit 1090 (with jig) to forum members.
    -In my experience, about 70% of the time, an overheated alum cyl head is warped less than 12 thousandths and can be saved.
    -Engine blocks are almost always fine (90% of time) with no significant warping following an overheat.
    -always use the the thicker, 1.00mm head gasket from a good brand
    -replace coolant pipes while you're in there...and a few other things too.
    -pull/reinstall the cylinder head and exhaust manifold together with an engine hoist.
    Last edited by effduration; 12-05-2021 at 08:56 AM.

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    That's a nice looking car. No worries about a well done TimeSert job. Remove and check head before spending as it could be cracked or distorted beyond machining limits.

    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

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    IMO, just toss another M54B30 in there and call it good. A well-running M54 that hasn't been overheated and has been maintained will be no headache
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    Well, this is getting discouraging.

    5 engines locally, pretty good prices, from $500-$1000. Two I discovered were nearly 200k so passed on them. One the JY guy was actually honest and told me it did not pass compression. The other two were at 135k and 115k. Both failed the cylinder leak down test. Now I know a cold engine that's been sitting may have bad numbers due to no oil around the rings, but this just wasn't bad, it was like greater than 50% leak down bad. One had a blown valve, I think it was like 80% bad.

    There are a few more motors nearby, about 30 miles away or so (In LA that can be a 1 hour drive). If they also don't stack up, may do the head rebuild and TimeSert trick. Just wanted to rip it out and plop one back in, but may not happen, we'll see.

    02 e39 540i Sport (Son), 01 DINAN 7 (Me), 12 e70 X5 x35i (Mrs), 95 e34 525i (Daughter 2), 01 e46 325Ci vert (Daughter 1)

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    Quote Originally Posted by kouks View Post
    ......
    Tested the head bolts and they wont completely torque. I do the 40NM + 90 + 90 and on the second 90, I start losing resistance about 3/4 of the way into the pull. The block threads are gone on a couple bolts. The engine needs replacing.

    I have done 7 or 8 M54 head gaskets and I almost always feel the (new) head bolt "yield" or stretch during the second 90 degree pull. After all, that's supposed to happen on a torque to yield fastener..

    So, since you are doing this test with used head bolts, maybe this is not unusual.

    As for a replacement engine, I would have no qualms putting in a 200k mile M54 3.0 if it passed your leakdown tests, assuming it was priced right. My daily driver '03 530i has 414k miles on its original engine.

    lot of freeway driving in California.

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    Quote Originally Posted by effduration View Post
    I have done 7 or 8 M54 head gaskets and I almost always feel the (new) head bolt "yield" or stretch during the second 90 degree pull. After all, that's supposed to happen on a torque to yield fastener..
    Good to know, but...

    I've done many engines and heads over the years, but no M5X or torque to yield. Now I'm not doubting you, and it does make sense, but if I was torquing a head and felt it start to give I'd get this feeling in my stomach. Not a good feeling.

    But I'll put your note in my memory banks for when that time comes.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike WW View Post
    Good to know, but...

    I've done many engines and heads over the years, but no M5X or torque to yield. Now I'm not doubting you, and it does make sense, but if I was torquing a head and felt it start to give I'd get this feeling in my stomach. Not a good feeling.
    I should have mentioned that I think failed M54 threads would "give" well BEFORE "3/4 of the way thru the second 90 degree pull" There is a ton of torque at that point, almost the max torque for installation.

    I happen to believe that thread test was developed for/by dealers as a way to sell a customer a new engine. Dealers did very few cylinder head or head gasket jobs on M54’s and they weren’t using time-serts…They simply replaced engines.

    I just plan on time-serting every block when I take the cylinder head off. And I don’t take a cylinder head off unless there is a reason to. Bad compression, coolant in cylinders, bent or burnt valves, burnt pistons, etc. etc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kouks View Post
    Well, this is getting discouraging.

    5 engines locally, pretty good prices, from $500-$1000. Two I discovered were nearly 200k so passed on them. One the JY guy was actually honest and told me it did not pass compression. The other two were at 135k and 115k. Both failed the cylinder leak down test. Now I know a cold engine that's been sitting may have bad numbers due to no oil around the rings, but this just wasn't bad, it was like greater than 50% leak down bad. One had a blown valve, I think it was like 80% bad.

    There are a few more motors nearby, about 30 miles away or so (In LA that can be a 1 hour drive). If they also don't stack up, may do the head rebuild and TimeSert trick. Just wanted to rip it out and plop one back in, but may not happen, we'll see.
    I have been looking for a good M54 3.0L for quite a while . There just isn't anything around here unfortunately ...

    Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …

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    The M54B30 is probably the "best"/newest BMW I6 that still fits in things like the E30 without too much modification, so yeah, they're good. Wish I still had my 530i5.
    Last edited by computiNATEor; 12-10-2021 at 08:22 PM.
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    @ effduration and I are talking off line. Looks like may just do a TimeSert job on the head. Since I can't find a better M54B30 at a decent price so far, I might as well fix mine and do it right.

    Still trying to test for exact cause of the possible coolant problem, or if its anything else. Leakdown check on my own engine saw #3 and 4 at 50%, 5 at 25% and the others at less than 10%. However, the hissing noise was in the crank case, not bubbling in the radiator. So running more tests to see what is really going on.

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    I'm in the same position. I bought a really clean 530i from California last March; it had overheated and has milkshake sludge in the cooling system. Oil is totally clean. It may be a cracked head, with oil pushing into the coolant channels. Not totally sure.

    ZHP not worth it, IMO. I'm also pondering different swaps. Electric would be cool, but maybe too much time and money. Could turn into a several year project for me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rbelton View Post
    I'm in the same position. I bought a really clean 530i from California last March; it had overheated and has milkshake sludge in the cooling system. Oil is totally clean. It may be a cracked head, with oil pushing into the coolant channels. Not totally sure.
    I would repair the warped head /failed head gasket...If you have room to work, I would suggest you pull the engine and do it outside of the car...That way you you can easily replace oil pan gasket, clean engine bay, check steering rack, etc. You could also just do an in-car head gasket.

    If you want to swap engines, I have two M54B30's with fresh heads, new piston rings, conn-rod bearings, new gaskets, etc. I would sell you one...

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    And so it begins...

    Engine by effduration.

    Last edited by kouks; 02-05-2022 at 10:20 PM.

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  25. #25
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    Wow, shipped an engine from MA to CA. That couldn’t have been cheap.
    At least you’ll have a bunch of spare parts now kouks.
    Nice looking 530.

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