TypeIsCheap

I've absorbed so much great information about the E36 LS1 swap from this forum and bimmerforums that I figured it was time to post my own build thread. Hopefully this will add some updated information to what's already out there, different ways of doing things, maybe even just different camera angles to help future swappers.

I've been posting on Facebook as I go, feel free to check it out at https://facebook.com/e36ls1 or if you are FB allergic (I don't blame you) then just wait for it to show up here!

Primary goals of this project were:
* Reliable daily driver with stock LS1 w/ bolt-on power levels
* Limited time in the garage fabricating things from scratch, use already proven components
* OBD2-compliant according to my state requirements
* Updated suspension with good street manners but also autocross and track day worthy
* No skimping or short-cutting on things that are important to the goals above, i.e. a flexible budget

These goals were specific to this particular project and this particular time in my life. This is a new type of project for me, "buy vs. build" where possible.

Enough of the background, I'll round out this first post with a before picture, right after I got the car and right before I tore it apart.

1997 BMW 328is, 180k miles, one owner, garaged since new...

TypeIsCheap

I bought the car around March and by May I was already done with the stock power plant. Already had issues with the ignition and cooling system, too many miles, too fragile, and too underpowered to deal with. But it sure was clean:



Removing the front end turned out to be a lot more time consuming than I expected but once it was off it was really easy to pull the motor. One person operation right here (a load leveler is critical).



And it's out! Good riddance.

TypeIsCheap

I'm a computer guy so even before I found my LS1 I had already purchased HPTuners and built a bench programming rig. The battery was pulled from my race car after almost 10 years of service and still works great for this purpose (I make sure it's fully charged before programming).



Since there were some issues getting the exact PCM from the LS1 pull that I bought I ended up just getting a stock image from the HPTuners website and modified it for the swap. I am a bit concerned that I may have a crank trigger relearning issue but will cross that bridge when I get there. Here are the settings I modified if someone wants to check my work (notice no OBD2 settings were harmed):

* Set VIN to LS1 donor VIN
* Disable VATS
* Disable CAGS (disable TPS = 0%)
* Set tach for 6-cyl (resolution = 4)
* Set gear ratio
* Disable clutch lockout

Bench programming in action (baby walker in the background, now you can understand the limited time goal!)

Vents

iTrader: (9)

Nice project. I hear the 97 was the last year that the cluster used analog inputs. Should make the swap much easier than recoding and adding the wiring. Contemplating an e60 swap myself if I can figure the can bus system out.


Btw, An el cheapo 12v cell phone charger makes a great power source. Put that battery back in the race car.

I doubt very seriously you'll have crank relearn issues, it's very straightforward.

TipsyMcStagger

iTrader: (1)

Subscribed! Yesterday, I picked up my cream-puff 1998 328iS with 83K miles, also from an original (female) owner...garaged virtually it's entire life. Rust free, Florida car. It's super clean, alpine white with tan leather and the sport package. About two months ago, I picked up an LS2/T56 from a 2006 GTO.

I'll be starting a build thread shortly. I had planned to use the Vorshlag kit but I'm holding out for JTR's kit which utilizes rubber mounts for both the engine and transmission. It will hopefully be available in several weeks.

Tipsy

TypeIsCheap

First step after engine removal was prepping the BMW wiring harness for integration with the LS1 harness. Original BMW harness looks like this:



And I spent a few hours picking apart and labeling all of the components. Lesson learned here, I started from the BMW ECU and labeled each wire as I pulled it from the connector. This was actually a lot more work than I needed to do since most of these wires are deleted. A better plan is to work from the X20 and other BMW connectors instead.

In another effort to limit my time doing custom wiring I purchased the SA1000 harness. This was relatively inexpensive and allowed me to pull together all of the extra relays and fuses without piecing together components myself. I mounted the new relay/fuse box behind the shock tower where the battery is located on non-sport models. I used weather pack connectors to make the install plug and play (hopefully):



I made similar modifications to the LS1 harness to get power from the SA1000. Original breakout of the harness (this engine stand is great for rolling the LS1/T56 around the garage):



And updated to mate with the SA1000:



And of course the final product, fully merged LS1 and BMW harness!



And I can't forget the fuel tank pressure sensor. Search for BRAAP's build thread for all of the details. He doesn't have a good pic of it connected up so here you go. I used a cam position sensor pigtail from EFI Connection for the connector.



I've posted my wiring details here, this is really just a cleanup of several other spreadsheets that were created by the bimmerforums guys, I'm very thankful for their efforts. I did add the SA1000 integration details but those are pretty straightforward.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9p...it?usp=sharing

Which is a lot easier to follow with the original tabs:

E36LS1Wiring.xlsx

There you have it. I do have a EE degree but I'm still going to cross my fingers when I first connect the battery and turn the key to "ON". Hopefully soon!!!

TipsyMcStagger

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the wiring notes. I'm installing an LS2, so there will be some differences, but this will be a big help.

Are you keeping A/C?

Tipsy

TypeIsCheap

Yes, keeping A/C. I hooked up my A/C wiring according to lovnbmws diagram at the end of this thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...E36-A-C-Wiring

Gravik

Looks good.

Buyt why does everyone do stock LS1 swaps into these cars? I have yet to see a E36 with a H/C/I LS swap. If you're gonna take the time to do the swap, may as well have it make some power

rotor vs. piston

iTrader: (3)

My plan has always been twin turbos in my e36 swap... now that I'm finally settled in the new (to me) house and my old one is sold... the job isn't steady so still running the stock engine but upgrading/fixing things as a rolling project for now. But still thinking about collecting parts, if I could find a kit used and for a really good price I'd move forward. I can do all of my own work, only thing I didn't do for my last LS1 swap was the driveshaft... but if someone has already done the work and you can have it for cheap, why not go that way

There are a few single turbo swaps running around and a few supercharged swaps. Also I think there was one 427ci swap done.


OP, very nice car to start from. Mine, 93 325i sedan, has always been garaged too, but it has tons of parking lot dings and you can tell a kid was raised in it. But otherwise very solid. Can't wait to see yours on the road, always love inspiration.

TypeIsCheap

Personally it was a budget and time decision and I can see budget being the driver for many people. The cost of the swap components is significant and in my case I also wanted to do the suspension. Also, you have to remember that these cars came with <200rwhp stock so even unmodified LS power levels are a huge improvement.

Plus it gives me lots of options to upgrade after the car is running and sorted.

TypeIsCheap

Next up was the tranny tunnel heat shielding. Since this will be a daily driver and this is Texas I wanted to make sure I didn't get any new heat sources in the cabin. This is the DEI floor and tunnel shield, a little bit pricey for my taste but hopefully it will stand up to the heat of the headers.

First thing I realized after unpacking this stuff is that it was a lot heavier/more rigid than I expected. Good for heat but a little tough to work with, not too bad though. Cut very easily with tin snips and we had a little wooden roller to help make the material conform to the tunnel creases.





The DEI material also came with a roll of their "cool tape" so we used this to seal up most of the seams.





I think the final product came out pretty good but will have to see how it holds up the under car abuse. I had one finished picture I found on the web that I working from and it was helpful but it was tough to know where to start at first. Hopefully this series of pictures helps the next person.

TipsyMcStagger

iTrader: (1)

It most definitely will. Thanks.

I assume you've already test fitted the trans into the tunnel to check for clearance issues? How much massaging was necessary?

To make the process a bit easier than swinging the complete engine and tranny in and out several times, I'm hoping I can bolt the trans cross member to the T56 and "install" the trans into the car using a floor jack to support it, while I inspect for any spots where the trans might be in contact with the tunnel.

Tipsy

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I hadn't done any test fitting of the tranny before installing. Vorshlag gave me a jpg of the one spot to clearance near the shifter. Other than that the only really tight spot was where the clutch remote bleeder hose came out of the bellhousing. I did some clearancing there with a pry bar after the engine/tranny were already installed.

TypeIsCheap

I've been autocrossing for over 15 years now and my long term autocross car is a Prepared 1972 Datsun 240z. I've been campaigning the Datsun for about 10 years now and I've always had some kind of fun street car as my daily driver. Well this car needed to be a step above those cars and it's been a long time since I've had a DD with a decent aftermarket suspension, now is the time!

I chose the AST 4150 single adjustable dampers from Vorshlag for a good balance of street vs. track. I went with their street spring rates knowing that I can swap them out later if needed. The shocks and struts appear to be very high quality and everything fit perfectly.



I also got the Vorshlag camber plates for full adjustability.



Since I was running wider wheels and tires up front (more on that later), I opted for 12mm Turner Motorsports spacers to keep the front timres from rubbing ont he struts.



Gotta love new parts! Shiny!



To round out the front suspension I also replaced the front control arms and replaced the control arm and sway bar bushings with poly.

Kaane

iTrader: (2)

Did you test the transmission before you installed all the insulation? It is pretty tight in there, it might rub in a few places.

TypeIsCheap

I did not but it would have been a good idea when I had it disconnected from the engine. The insulation is relatively thin but yeah it does make a difference when it is that tight in there.

TypeIsCheap

Well the rear suspension started out as a relatively straightforward reliability and performance update but of course quickly increased in scope for a bunch of "while I'm in there" upgrades.

Summary of (planned) updates:
* AST 4150 shocks and threaded spring perches
* 3.91 LSD off of eBay (didn't touch the internals)
* AKG Motorsports sway bar mount reinforcements
* AKG Motorsports diff mount bushings
* Powerflex subframe bushings
* New RTABs and RTAB limiters from Vorshlag
* Braided brake lines
* BMW chassis reinforcements
* New AutoZone axles

That last one was the killer and led to the (originally) unplanned updates:
* New trailing arms with new upper and lower outer ball joints
* New inner control arm bushings
* Turner Motorsports adjustable camber arms
* New rear bearings and hubs

You see, one of the original axles was stuck in the hub and no persuasion was effective at removing it, not even the huge press at the transmission shop. I wasted a lot of time on that axle so to make some back I decided to buy new rear trailing arms for the car ($$$). And since everything was going to be apart anyway, well you know how it goes.

Even though it delayed my project quite a bit I'm glad that I got to refresh the entire rear suspension. Again, coming from the autocross world, this stuff really matters. And now some pictures...

Old stuff, yuck!



After I took paint off the subframe to weld in the AKG reinforcements I got the whole thing powdercoated to hold up to the rigors of daily driving. Looks nice too. eBay diff was clean when I got it but yet to find out if it works or is crap, bearings turned nice an smooth at least.



Chassis reinforcements were fun. I thought I did a pretty good job of strip and prep of the chassis but still got a couple of bad welds. I think I was burning through to the undercoating inside the frame. If I ever do this again I will find someone with a lift and bribe them to let me use it, welding on your back sucks and quality suffers. It'll hold though.





Lifting the new stuff into the chassis. LS1 on the stand in the background is the reason for all of this.



I just like pictures of new clean parts. They will never look like this again.



Almost there...good to have new ball joints since the old ones had 180k on the clock. Plus I got to replace the lower bushing with a ball joint (a la M3).



Old hub was still stuck to the old trailing arm so, more new parts!



All back together...



Oh yeah, I mildly rolled the fenders too. The 245/40-17 tires on BMW style 68 (E46 sport package) wheels fill out the fender nicely (no pic yet). I'm running a square setup so 17x8.5 on all four corners.

TypeIsCheap

The LS1/T56 I bought came out of a 2002 Camaro Z28 with 70k miles. Feels like at this stage that's relatively low miles for fourth-gen F-body. The reason I didn't go with an LS2/LS3 or something newer came down to my original goals, I didn't want to spend too much time figuring out the wiring, getting the right oil pan and accessories, and risking having stuff that just didn't work. Plus the newer engines were just too expensive. After going through most of the swap, and in hindsight, the LS1 vs. LS2/LS3 differences are not really that big of a deal, but the cost is still a barrier.

Since the engine was on a stand anyway it was a no-brainer to change/update the clutch and flywheel. I went the LS7 route since it seemed like a good balance of cost vs. performance. I also purchased the TOB from Vorshlag with the remote bleeder and BMW master cylinder connections.

Old clutch didn't look too bad, a little evidence of some heat on the flywheel and pressure plate surfaces.







After a new pilot bearing and new rear main seal the LS7 flywheel and clutch went on easily. Torqued the ARP flywheel bolts down with the proper lube according to the instructions in the bolt package.







Old vs. new:



All ready to mate back up to the transmission. Getting the input shaft to poke into the new pilot bearing ended up being a lot tougher than I expected. This was partly because the rolling stand didn't offer much leverage when pushed against and partly because it was difficult to level out the transmission balancing on a floor jack. A small transmission scissor jack would have made this a lot easier I think.



And the new TOB:

TipsyMcStagger

iTrader: (1)

Did you use the factory LS7 flywheel or go with aluminum?

My LS2 has 71K miles and I'm going to use an LS7 clutch setup as well.

Tipsy