E34 M30/M50 Engine Swap

Good work. Thanks for the pics

I think you should check all the bearing surfaces of the engine while you have it apart.

That weird grinding noise you described does not sound good.

First unexpected problem: As I was draining the engine oil, a mixture of oil and water came out of ... I stopped there and did not continue any further as it was late at night and this was not some good news to finish the day with . But, this means that the Head Gasket is blown right? Anyways, I will continue this afternoon and post some pictures later tonight...

Originally Posted by E34Addict

First unexpected problem: As I was draining the engine oil, a mixture of oil and water came out of ... I stopped there and did not continue any further as it was late at night and this was not some good news to finish the day with . But, this means that the Head Gasket is blown right? Anyways, I will continue this afternoon and post some pictures later tonight...

Too bad man. Yeah, sounds like a blown HG.

It would not have been THAT bad if it was only the head gasket , the head gasket is in a very good condition. However, the cylinder head itself is broken causing the oil and water to mix together. The first attached photo shows the oil cap where the water residues are clearly visible . Now that's some really sad news. I wish it was the HG only. And to make the day even worse, I was able to shake the crank shaft a little bit to the left and to the right by hand. I don't know what to do now . Anyway, I took some photos as I was making my way through the engine and de-assembling its parts.

Sorry to hear (and see) that. Guess it's time for a new engine. Perhaps you can find a running M30 from a wrecked car. Not sure exactly which years, but I believe they also used the same engine in the 7 series so that broadens your search a little.

Actually, I wanted to go to the car's previous owner and hit him with the cylinders head. I was so pissed off today. I have more than one option to go now and I need your help to decide:

1- I still have the 525 M50 engine aside, so shall I reconsider installing it, with all the mess that it takes? (But it will be no longer a 1989 530i which is something that I don't like anymore)

2- I was able to find, over the phone, another cylinder head from another engine of a wrecked vehicle for 100 dollars from a local seller who buys wrecked cars and sell the pieces, but did not have the time to go have a look at it.

3- Get another M30 engine and put it in...

Taking into consideration money and time, I don't know which is the best option to proceed now.

Originally Posted by E34Addict

Actually, I wanted to go to the car's previous owner and hit him with the cylinders head. I was so pissed off today. I have more than one option to go now and I need your help to decide:

1- I still have the 525 M50 engine aside, so shall I reconsider installing it, with all the mess that it takes? (But it will be no longer a 1989 530i which is something that I don't like anymore)

2- I was able to find, over the phone, another cylinder head from another engine of a wrecked vehicle for 100 dollars from a local seller who buys wrecked cars and sell the pieces, but did not have the time to go have a look at it.

3- Get another M30 engine and put it in...

Taking into consideration money and time, I don't know which is the best option to proceed now.

Just my opinion here since you asked.

Personally, I don't think putting the M50 in is a good option. Just too much stuff involved. I think option 2 could be feasible, however, a) you don't know for sure if the head you would get is straight and not cracked. You could certainly have it checked prior to purchasing and b) you don't know if the bottom end of your engine is good. I would not think that you should be able to induce play in the crankshaft by hand. If you know that the bottom end of your engine was good, I would say just swap the head. So to me, option 3 seems to be the best option. It may be time consuming and I don't know how many cars are available in your area.

You seem to be in a pretty bad spot there. I wish you the best of luck in whatever option you choose.

Thanks man. I really appreciate your help. It is nice to know that some one out there is sharing my problem and trying to help. Thanks a lot. Well, I will check the bottom of the engine and have a look at the bearings. If they are still in a good condition (I doubt), I will get that head and put it in the engine (Of course after checking that there are no cracks and it is still straight). If not, I will go get some another M30 engine. In my area, there are a lot of E34's as people over here appreciate this machine a lot. There are so many 535 and 525 E34's but, I have not seen any other 530i. So, I wish that option 2 works for me as it is the least costly time wise and money wise. I will keep you posted for sure.

I think you are on the right track. Clean and check out the bottom end. I suspect that a whole used engine (M30) would be the least expensive and quickest fix, it would be here anyway. I have seen engines for under $1000. You will spend $400+ to have a used head rebuilt, plus whatever your bottom end needs but it sounds like a trip to the machine shop.

So if you can do the used engine, it will be quick, inexpensive and very likely successful. In the end though, for quick and cheap you have a car with a used engine. If you fix the original engine, you will spend more, but end up with a new engine original to the car.

I also would not install the M50, I would sell it to fund an M30 fix if possible.

Thanks for your reply snowsled7. I think I will get a new head and keep the original Engine and do what is required to have it back. And paperplane94, I will check all the bearings of the engine that's for sure. I still did not go and have a look at the new head that I am supposed to buy. I will see what I can do today after I finish work. My highest priority is to have the car as original as possible, but I am running extremely late as now it has been 6 months and 16 days since I started this project. I need to finish and get the car running. This engine thing really got on my nerves and made me loose my enthusiasm. Anyway, I will check the head today and get some photos to share it with the guys here.

Hello again. I am wondering when I will be reporting good news to you guys as I have some more bad news to deal with . I saw the new head and it is not in a good condition at all. Further, I checked the bottom engine bearings (The ones that are just above the oil chamber) and they appeared to be reddish in color (There's another guy with some experience in mechanics who is helping me in doing all of this work). Is that a bad sign? And for my surprise, the oil filter is not blocked by residue and dirt. It appeared to be good. So, now I think that I will be going into rebuilding the whole engine. Attached below are the bearings pictures and the oil filter. Do i need to change the bearings or i can still re-use them? On the other side, the good news is that repainting the body of the car below the engine is done and it looks great. I attached some photos of that too.

Looks like youre making great progress. The new paint looks good too!

Its hard to tell from the pictures if the bearings are still good and useable. Have you found the source of the crankshaft play? If funds allow, i would replace the bearings, they're a very very crucial part to smooth running machine and it would be a shame to have the engine fall to pieces over trying to cut that corner. Im not trying to scare you into buying new ones or anything, but if that was my motor and I was worried about keeping the car original and 530s with I6s are rare, then bearings would be replaced.

Its for the betterment of a rare engine.

Just so you know, the transmission that was on that M30 will not bolt to the M50.

I showed the bearings to some expert and he assured me that they need to be replaced. So, I am going to buy the whole set, no matter what it costs. A small credit from the bank will do. I still could not find a decent head yet and that's a problem. I still did not get into checking the crankshaft. My plan now is to go get the bearings, find and get a good head, and get an expert to check the crankshaft and do what is necessary in that regard. But the thing that I still could not answer yet is what made the oil not reach the engine at morning start up given now that the oil filter is not blocked as the photos above show. I don't know which part of the engine is guilty of that. And regarding the transmission, are you sure it won't fit at all?

Your bearings have copper showing, that is the red/orange color. It means that the friction surface of that bearing has worn off and you are now on the copper base material. They are shot.

^that sounds logical. I'm still in agreement for replacing them.

Dear Gentlemen,
I sadly announce that my M30 is history. After discovering that the head and bearings needed replacement, I discovered that the crank is in a really bad state, 3 pistons were in a very bad state too and the rods too. We took the engine to an expert who said that he prefers not to rebuild the whole thing because the crank's material might not hold and might break upon the rebuilding process, but he can still try to do it for 750 dollars on my own responsibility, where he will try to fix the crank, pistons, bearings and install another head too. I could not take the risk especially that I will be putting that kind of money with not a single guarantee that things will work out 100 percent. So I am left with the only option to put the M50 engine in as I already have it (And I know the source of the engine and that the engine is in an excellent state. I directly imported it from Germany since quite some time). I regret a lot that my E34 will not be an original 530 V6 anymore. For my good luck (If i still have any good luck), all the electrical wiring harness, engine mounts, data collector plug, and all external parts (including the AC) is still installed on it. Even the manual transmission is still there. So, I hope it will be just a simple installation and some screwing process. The only risk and the non-certainly-answered question is "Will the automatic transmission that was bolted to the M30 work with the M50?". I will be a little stubborn and forcefully connect the automatic transmission to the engine and let the tests answer this question, unless someone over here confirm that he tried it before and it certainly doesn't work (Keep in mind that my vehicle is the European version not the American one. I am not sure if that makes any difference in that regard). I hope I am not making a mistake here. Thanks again. Below are some photos of the M50. (The engine is a little dirty as it has been in storage for relatively long time)

firstly, your M30 530i is an inline 6 not a V6. assuming thats just a typo ill spend time on you

The auto will not bolt up to the M50 engine. The M30 and M10 generation engines are cross compatable but thats it. This means that yes an S38 will even bolt up if needed. youll be looking at a new gearbox and all the associated harware and wiring. If i was in your position i would be getting an M30B35 engine from an E34 and putting that in there, or just parting the car out and buying a different E34

(DONT get one from a 635CSi, E28 535i etc, MUST be from the right car as the M30 engine is one of the few BMW engines that kept the engine code despite being different mounting etc etc)

Sorry to hear of the bad engine. Good luck with your project.

Ethrty, you can call it just a "typo" . You know I am so happy for determining that my rare 530 engine is THAT wrecked. . I agree that it is better to get the M30B35 engine rather than the M50 but it will cost me around 600~700 with all the needed accessories and I already have the M50 at hand. The guys told me the same earlier in this thread regarding the Auto transmission.
"95 E34" was the first one to mention the tranny thing in this thread. And thanks again Steve (BMR_LVR). I would keep you posted if you are still interested to know where would this whole thing ends as I am starting to loose my enthusiasm after all what I tried and the time and money I invested.

I don't think the M50 is just going to bolt right up to anything on your car. I don't think you are being honest with yourself regarding the costs that will come with the swap. The least expensive is still a used M30, have you checked the salvage yards? They may trade you for that M50 even????

I still reccomend, along with others, that you find a suitable used M30 to install. Sell that M50 to someone who can use it. Or, scrap the whole car and start over, like Ethrty suggested.

Good Luck

snowsled7 and Ethrty, you are right with respect to the auto transmission with the M50. It did not bolt. Forgive me being stubborn and wanting to try it myself. As for the M50 engine that I have, it is still bolted to its MANUAL transmission along with the drive shaft and the differential too, in addition to everything else as I said above (Steering pump, Air flow meter, Air filter, Radiator, data collector plug, engine mounts, AC compressor, even all the hoses are still there, complete wiring harness, Computers,etc...). Actually, as for the swap price, all what I had to pay for was some additional stuff for the manual transmission thing (costed me around 70 dollars). I am already half way in there. I would definitely have loved to have the original M30 there, but this means more time and money. As for the car, I am not even close to think about parting it, because as I said earlier in this thread, I have been working on this car for almost 7 months now, and I am in no position to give up now, given the time and money I have invested on the vehicle. Thanks anyways for all your help. I will list all the required changes that I passed and will pass by to swap an M50 engine in place of an M30. This would be of some help I suppose...

Originally Posted by E34Addict

snowsled7 and Ethrty, you are right with respect to the auto transmission with the M50. It did not bolt. Forgive me being stubborn and wanting to try it myself. As for the M50 engine that I have, it is still bolted to its MANUAL transmission along with the drive shaft and the differential too, in addition to everything else as I said above (Steering pump, Air flow meter, Air filter, Radiator, data collector plug, engine mounts, AC compressor, even all the hoses are still there, complete wiring harness, Computers,etc...). Actually, as for the swap price, all what I had to pay for was some additional stuff for the manual transmission thing (costed me around 70 dollars). I am already half way in there. I would definitely have loved to have the original M30 there, but this means more time and money. As for the car, I am not even close to think about parting it, because as I said earlier in this thread, I have been working on this car for almost 7 months now, and I am in no position to give up now, given the time and money I have invested on the vehicle. Thanks anyways for all your help. I will list all the required changes that I passed and will pass by to swap an M50 engine in place of an M30. This would be of some help I suppose...

So the verdict is to swap the M50 and keep the manual on it, yes? that will go much more smoothly than trying to hook up mismatched trannies. We're here to help, keep us posted as you so thoroughly have...

Yes"95 E34", that's exactly the verdict. I will sure keep you posted. Despite the disappointments I had in this project, I am really enjoying this site. I run every night to open my laptop and inform you of my progress through out the day, given the real help and positive feedback I am receiving from you guys. It is always nice and such a pleasure to share such things with people who are eager to know and help. Thanks for lifting my morals up and I will sure keep you posted about it.