S54 Swap

I knew it was something like that.
I live in West Point. My son is out at Tech majoring in beer and minoring in procrastination!

Car is not going to be street legal but the noise for the track is a concern, We went down to the new track in the ATL and they damn near stuck a probe up your arse as well to make sure it wasn't too loud. I HATE FUN POLICE!

Picked up the Rogue cover but coming from the other side of the states so it won't be here 'til next weekend. Strangely enough the Euros are coming from.....Europe

Well a little bump in the road. I found and paid for a Rogue diff cover only to be informed last night that it has long since been sold. So cash back but no cover. The good news is that it pissed me off enough to see about doing this myself. Math check, diff cover and shipping $500 plus. That's if you get a good deal.
And you have no idea how well it really works regardless of what they claim.
So electric gear pump $160, small cooler $50 (ebay) Hoses and fittings less than $150. Over all savings @$200. Plus more parts laying around the house driving the wife nuts. Hell you have the cover tapped already.


Answers sitting right in front of me. No wonder I did not see it. DUH!

Bahhhh you were waiting on that for a while too....oh well I guess stuff falls through a a lot. On the plus side you saved a decent pile of cash so .

Originally Posted by JayMac

So electric gear pump $160, small cooler $50 (ebay) Hoses and fittings less than $150. Over all savings @$200. Plus more parts laying around the house driving the wife nuts. Hell you have the cover tapped already. Answers sitting right in front of me. No wonder I did not see it. DUH!

Yeah, I was going to suggest that you just make your own diff cooler. Sorry about the Rogue seller flaking out, though. Don't really know why people do that... In any regard, they probably do work fairly well, since BMW essentially used the same design on all ///M cars beginning with the E46 onward. I doubt they would've gone through the trouble of making that part if their engineers didn't see a significant drop in temp. Your home-brewed setup should be even better.

Originally Posted by JayMac

I knew it was something like that.
I live in West Point. My son is out at Tech majoring in beer and minoring in procrastination!

Car is not going to be street legal but the noise for the track is a concern, We went down to the new track in the ATL and they damn near stuck a probe up your arse as well to make sure it wasn't too loud. I HATE FUN POLICE!

Picked up the Rogue cover but coming from the other side of the states so it won't be here 'til next weekend. Strangely enough the Euros are coming from.....Europe

I used to live about an hour north of West Point. How do you deal with the paper smell? Everytime I went through there it made my nose bleed. I guess you get used to it...


VT, located in Blacksburg, VA, is a Drinking College with a Football Problem! Go Hokies! Class of 2008 here. Drinking coffee out of my VT mug, too. Miss that school. Keep up the good work! Maybe next summer I'll come visit the area.

I started my 2004 S54 engine into 1999 E36 swap. Added MSS54 plug and play bench flashing to my MS41 bench flasher

:yum

When it comes to that stuff I have no idea on any of it can you explain either in pm or post here. You can email me direct at fstlnj29@yahoo.com. DId you do your valves? Real easy to do out of the car.

Okay slow weekend 'cause my wife is home and I have adult supervision. Waiting on the headers and going to attack to oil temp gauge issue. Since the car will only be on the track from here on oil real gauges would be nice. I looked at different methods of getting a mechanical gauge hookup up and liked the Truner set up that goes in the pan. Part of the fun of any project is seeing what you can come up with yourself. Had the gauge for @$40. Picked up the block off plate from the dealer for $15.


Here is the issue. You need to get this probe to the oil so we are drilling through the cover. I thought tapping it but you have no way to secure the probe. Normally it would be in some sort of block and the flare seals like a AN fitting.


So digging through my pile of stare crap I found an adapter that allows you to use the probe on a larger threaded opening. This is what I need.


So drill the cover just large enough to allow the threads on the blue piece to fit through the hole. Secure it from the back with the adapter using it like a lock nut and you get this.




One issue left. The thickness of the cover is slightly large enough to prevent you from getting a full seal on the sensor. Very close but off by just a touch. So you have to bring the bottom of the adapter(red) to the threads(blue). You sand down the back side of the cover or the top side of the adapter and you get a tight seal. When finally installed you use a little rtv on the flanges and good to go. Turner piece is $80 plus shipping. Save about $60 and have the satisfaction of doing something myself......and probably displaces less oil the the original sensor. Testing the gauge prior to installation will give you an idea of how accurate your gauge is. You know what temp water boils at so have at it. Gauge checked out fine.


As for the diff, no issues on the cover, one guy did not know it had been gone. So I saw a kit on ebay and then thought why can't I do this. The threads on your diff cover are M22X1.5. I thought where am I going to find that crap? No worries, it is the exact same pitch as most oil coolers so you have tones of choices for what to run for lines. I will run 6 or 8 an.


Now that that issue is settled I will try to swap the dif next weekend. I can always cap the fittings if I don't have the rest of the plumbing. It should be fun to see what the dif feels like with the current engine. Scheduling the bearings for three weeks from today. S54 power for Christmas!

I want to use stock cat. header setup. Do you think if they will clear the E36 chassis?

Are you asking if I know? No I do not. But if we do a search of those that have done the swap we should find some info. I know that Bimmerworld sells a pipe that ties the two exhausts together so I am going to assume that they will fit. You have both exhausts there in front of you. If you have a square you can take some measurements and check. I have to believe it fits. What do you plan if it won't?

I did measurments and it looks like it will fit but very tight fit. Where will you get your mss54 ecu flashed for a swap?

Originally Posted by JayMac

...On the intake side I found two valves that need work, both had too large of a gap...

...Here is the 13 feeler "fitting" between the rocker and lobe, it should not...

Hey so I'm to understand that there is wear on the camshaft and rockerarms. And that the shims will eliminate the worn camshaft and rocker arms? Does this effect the valve clearance?

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Bimmer App

BMW318i, no. Check the video on youtube. The cam does not wear neither does the rocker, or at least it should not.
ABout 50 seconds in to the first vid you get your answer.

Haken, I have not gotten the flash yet but Bimmerworld. I am going to buy their harness and flash and a few other odds and ends. New mounts etc.

Originally Posted by JayMac

BMW318i, no. Check the video on youtube. The cam does not wear neither does the rocker, or at least it should not.
ABout 50 seconds in to the first vid you get your answer.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Bimmer App

awesome progress as usual man

DING DONG




YEAH BABY!

Nice!

Bimmerworld prices are way too steep,

this is going to be such a beast

Haken, feel free to throw out some other options. I only have allegiance to the dead presidents in my wallet and don't mind making them do as much work as possible. I did give them a shot at the headers and a fined dif cover. They passed so I spent my money elsewhere and saved about $300. It's all business. What are your thoughts on a flash?

Originally Posted by JayMac

Haken, feel free to throw out some other options. I only have allegiance to the dead presidents in my wallet and don't mind making them do as much work as possible. I did give them a shot at the headers and a fined dif cover. They passed so I spent my money elsewhere and saved about $300. It's all business. What are your thoughts on a flash?

Where did you buy your catless headers? I may need a set, don't know yet, will try stock first. As for the flash, I plan making my own to work properly in E36. I should be done by the end of the month, I can flash your ecu for cheap

Ehhh.... Not so sure a homebrew ECU flash is safe.

Originally Posted by ZeGerman

Ehhh.... Not so sure a homebrew ECU flash is safe.

Safe, probably. Perfect, probably not.