E39 BMW 540 LS Swap Completed
 

[UPDATES - Supercharger pics at post 24, dyno results at post 75]

Summary - 1998 540i with a 402 LS2/T-56, did the swap in 14 weeks with 4 weeks of a break in the middle. Everything is done except for the AC (wiring is finished, but I need to make up the lines) and some tweaking. I have plans for forced induction after I drive it for awhile.

Here it is, enjoy :)

I picked up a very clean 1998 BMW 540i:

http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/6953/stock2q.jpg

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6913/stock5.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6048/stockz.jpg



http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5289/stock4i.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2465/stock3t.jpg

Stock weight (with almost no gas in the tank):

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/7551/stockweight.jpg


Exhaust (98 Camaro Manifolds and custom center section with cats):

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/3623/exhausts.jpg

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9334/exhaust2.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9611/exhaust3u.jpg

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/64/exhaust4.jpg

Modified GTO Oil Pan:

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6...iedoilpana.jpg

Finished Engine Bay:

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9554/ontheroadt.jpg





http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/760/ontheroad4.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/5451/ontheroad5.jpg





http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/2115/ontheroad8.jpg


Finished Car:
http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/537/ontheroad2.jpg

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5357/ontheroad3.jpg


http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/108/ontheroad6.jpg



http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7177/ontheroad7.jpg




Finished Weight (this is with a full tanks, s there is about 15-16 gallons difference between the before and after pics, so the car lost a little weight :D ):


http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8...shedweight.jpg

WOW!
What an excellent combination!!!!
BMW's handling and 402 grunt.
I've been considering so many different swap options this last year, and thats one of the best combo's.
Thanks for sharing, now post a build thread so I can copy you when the Ls1 Supra swap's done ;)
Cheers

That's cool man. :thumb:

Sick build, can't even tell from the outside what's lurking under the hood. Get some video clips of that thing!

I'm planning forced induction w/ the e36. Any reason you chose doing the e39 over your e36?

Great job. I say make it an M5 clone. Badassery levels are high.

Thanks for the positive feedback :)

I always build sleepers, so the exterior will pretty much stay the same - the car does have a M5 differential though :)



Mostly so that I could have people offer me 5 cents on the dollar for a pile of BMW parts and LS1 swap parts, and THEN flake out and not buy anything :rotflmao:

The car is a lot larger, the interior is in a whole different league and I like the way it looks.

I have no idea how you will fit forced induction into an e36 with a LS1, but I look forward to seeing the results.

Know how you feel, I sold my last project for MAYBE a quarter of what I put into it in parts.

I've seen a magnacharger on a e36, never saw the hood closed though. But I'm leaning to small twin turbo... just enough for an easy ~500whp on a stock cam. Still haven't even started, the car's been in the front of the house since I got it a few months ago.

Oh, very nice swap!

http://boner.berettaspeed.com/springautofair/wtf.jpg

Saw this down in Charlotte a few years ago - its a shop from NY that has a custom hood on it...

The instrument panel is fixed, the CAN BUS finally gave up its secrets :D

Pardon the video quality:

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/1...7m.mp4.frm.jpg

Awesome! I would love to own one of these conversions. I love that body style for sure.

Can't believe those pigs are 3800lbs. Wow!

Are you going to install a cutout prior to the factory BMW muffler system?

Can you post some pics up of the mods required on the Kmember... or if you simply cut the middle out and totally redid it.

Did the steering rack have to be moved down?

Did you simply call up a junk yard and get the manual pedal assembly?

:chug:

No cutout - you know me, I like my cars to be slow :) (actually I might to a rear mounted turbo so I purposely left the exhaust fairly small)

The K-member is untouched, as is the steering box and all of the steering components.

That is exactly where I bought the clutch and brake pedals; old fashioned, but effective :)

Holy crap! Exactly the swap I have been waiting to see! You WILL be hearing from me in the future. Nice work!!

Can you offer any advice or guidance on the CAN BUS/making the factory gauges work?

Any major fitment issues? Looked like it slipped right in. All F-body accessories? AC work yet?

Can't see the pic, how much weight did it lose?

Thanks!
Jason


PS: You should get some badging that simply says 566i
:devil:

what wiring harness/computer are you using..Gto?

Thanks. for the CAN/BUS you have to be able to code the instrument cluster module.

Fitment issues - just order up E39 swap mount kit from Summit Racing and it bolts right in :rotflmao: The trickiest thing is the exhaust. What you really need is something that keeps everything tight to the block and up at the heads and goes pretty much straight back.

I had the AC working about 6 weeks ago :)

It gained 26 lbs, but that was comparing a full gas tank to an empty one, so it probably lost 40-50 lbs.

No badging for me - in fact I debadged it ;)



01 F-Body harness, computer and accessories.

Pics from last weekend:


http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9...1010231348.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/195...1010231348.jpg

That's a badass swap!

Very nice work! Super clean. But you took out a V8 and swapped in a V8. Don't see the point unless it is just to say you did it and to piss off the purist bimmer guys! Still nice work though!:chug:

They're not exactly powerful, and not the cheapest of engines to maintain.


Also you're saying most of the swaps on this board are pointless... most are v8 to lsx swaps.

Can you elaborate on this? Can a descent BMW tech handle this?

I just sold a VERY nice Dinan prepared 540/6 to friend of mine. It was my daily driver for a couple years. Wonderful car. Fast with class!

I wouldn't mind picking up another one to swap an LS motor into. I would probably start with a 528 sport. Same great car without the premium V8 price tag.

[QUOTE=rotor vs. piston;14051042]They're not exactly powerful, and not the cheapest of engines to maintain.QUOTE]

ah got it. I thought they were already like 350 or 400hp. yea now that you put it that way I can see the point. I was thinking most swaps are replacing a rotory, 4 cyl or 6 cyl engine. I forgot about all the ford V8 to ls and older SBC BBC to ls swaps. My bad! :chug:

Awesome job, Rob! That is a cool conversion. Bob

I love this conversion and would shit my pants if I get the chance to swap an LS1T56 into an e39 WAGON! (touring).
that would be sick.

like the pics, is that the spot you take pics of all of your lsx swap projects? looks familiar...

Now with Forced Induction :D

I ended up changing my plans completely and went with a TVS1900 Supercharger. I had to switch back to cathedral port heads (so I am selling my L92 top end setup). It took a little work, but I am happy with the results. I plan on running 8-10 psi of boost eventually, but for now I have a larger pulley installed which should give around 6 psi of boost. I still have to do the tuning, but at least it is back together and working :nod:

Pics:

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/387/gedc1062.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/2348/gedc1064.jpg

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1887/gedc1063.jpg

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4136/gedc1065.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5880/gedc1067.jpg

I used Radiator black on the top part of the heat exchanger, it was a little too much with the whole thing shiny.

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8574/gedc1071.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/8343/gedc1068.jpg




Pictures with the hood closed:

http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/394/gedc1084.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6449/gedc1085.jpg

sick , awesome job .

Ooooh, this went from my dream conversion to um, a moister version. Great job! Dat mayka me horny!

Very nice work. I hope my wife doesn't see it. I don't know how I would be able to get out of doing a swap on her 335 at some point in the future.

Kerry P

Nice, can't wait to see some numbers!

How are these cars in terms of reliability? I would love to build something like this or an E36 for a daily but I want a low maintenance vehicle, and I havent found any BMWs I would consider low maintenance, or even relatively cheap to maintain.

Looks good though. how much modification did you have to do to the oil pan?

This a speed density tune or is there a cartridge MAF hiding somewhere?

Well done Rob!

Andrew

Thanks :)


The ones that I have had were pretty reliable once you changed the drivetrain ;)

I posted pics of the oil pan at the beginning of this thread - fairly minor.


2 bar speed density tune.

One of my dream cars!

I added some pictures with the hood closed (and some snow!).

Love this swap 100%. Especially since the Kmember/steering rack is untouched.

Hats off on the supercharger upgrade! Looks like there is potentially enuf room to cobble up a turbo kit as well....

What diff are you running out back? What gearing?

Freeeeaaakin' SCHWEEET!!

looks great! Are you gonna leave the exterior stock?

Thanks.

I was going to do a turbo, even bought a TC76, but decided on the supercharger instead. I have swapped in a 3.15 LSD M5 differential, which should be able to handle the engine - so far it has worked great.

I am not doing a thing to the exterior.

VERY nice, looks amazing.
Must be a blast to drive.

Nice car man! what kind of power/torque does that thing make?

This is ballin on so many levels. A buddy of mine has a Dinan M5 and that thing is awesome. I know you said you weren't touching the exterior but I mean this does look so sick...

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/att...t-ans-side.jpg

http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/wp-...-M5-Driver.jpg

I like the standard body but with the M5 wheels. My favorites are the ones posted above...seks...

I know that myself and MANY others would appreciate a write up of your amazing piece of work. I'm picking up my 540 this weekend I'm so excited. I looked long and hard for this one...

I have had a 96 T/A (blown, cammed etc) and a 04 CTS-V. Being able to swap an LSx in it would be my dream, the best of both worlds - LS motor and rock solid realiability in a good BMW chassis with a classy (before they got bengal butt and idrive) BMW interior and in my opinion one of the cleanest, most timeless exterior designs ever made.

Please, grace us with a writeup on the details, it would be GREATLY appreciated and would inspire confidence into me to do this myself. I have access to mandel bender, TIG welder, CNC mill, etc.

Sorry folks, the exterior is staying as is :)


I rally don't have a write up or a list of parts; its all just basic hot rodding. It is not easy, but it is also not hard, but it can be time consuming. I made the engine mounts and trans mounts out of 3/8" steel and they are much stronger than necessary. from there, you have to figure out the plumbing, wiring, etc.

If you have a mandrel bender, TIG, CNC mill, etc and know how to use them then you have a lot more than I used to do the job.

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Send me a PM or e-mail and if what you need is more than I can write, we can get on the phone.

Seeing this swap makes me miss my '97 540i/6 speed.

Can you elaborate on what has to be done with the CAN Bus in order to get the cluster and A/C and ABS to work? Or maybe point me in the right direction on the interwebby?

I probably missed it, but does your cruise work with the buttons on the steering wheel?

I want to do a '97-'03 wagon with an lsx in it.

1. ABS - nothing needs to be done to the CAN bus :)
2. A/C - this one is a little trickier, the AC switch on the BMW HVAC controls is purely networked - there i s n o analog "on" signal anywhere in the system (there are on certain model years and trim levels, but not mine) so for now I have a separate switch to activate the compressor. This is on llmy list of things to sort out down the raod.
3. Cruise - it depends on if your e39 has DBW or not. On a cable throttle car you can use the BMW controller, but it has to be recoded from an auto to a manual (in my case, which I did not do, since I had no interest in cruise).

What about the gauge cluster?

Depending on the model, you have to recode the tach and the water temp guage.

That's like saying "skying is easy; just go down the hill and when something gets in your way, turn."

I bet you know what movie that is from. :secret2:

Andrew

:funny:

Fantastic project.

I'm a huge E39 M5 buff, but one of mine (black/black 2001 M5) has a blown motor.

It has a ton of great aftermarket parts on it, and is a former Car and Driver feature car....if anyone is looking for an LS swap candidate E39, please contact me!

Doctorv8 at gmail

rao, m5board.com won't let me post for whatever reason so i'm posting here.

can you elaborate more on this? from the little amount of research i've done, it seems that the 6cyl models use an aluminum front subframe with rack/pinion steering while the 8cyl models use a steel stamped front subframe with a steering box. how do these differences affect oil pan clearance, steering column clearance, and exhaust manifold/header clearance? also, do you think triangulating/strengthening the diff mounts on a 6cyl model would be sufficient for handling the ls1?

also, you mentioned that you removed the BMW OBC. so is everything (lights, interior electronics, a/c, etc.) running off of the GM ECU?

thank you.

The 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder cars have completely different front subframes, steering and suspensions.


V8 - http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/02/31/38 and http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/02/25/99

I6 - http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/01/04/66 and http://tis.spaghetticoder.org/s/view.pl?1/01/54/69

Pics -

V8

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4...0isubframe.jpg

I6 -

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/765...ntsubframe.jpg


The differences affect do oil pan clearance, steering column clearance and exhaust clearance ;) I don't have measurements, but the 8 cylinder subframe requires the use of a front sump oil pan - I used the GTO oil pan and notched it as shown in the pics on the first pate. People have done the LS swap with the 6 cylinder subframe and the 8 cylinder subframe - I preferred the 8.

The BMW DME is gone - it is no longer in the car, all of the other BMW computers are in the car and are working.

ahh thank you for such a quick/detailed reply!! :D

People on bimmerforums seem to rave about the handling of the 6 cylinder version and it seems the LS would be roughly equal the weight of the 6 and comes in under the 8. It seems to me some of the other systems would be a better fit (cooling, etc). Rob, did your preference for the 8cyl platform have more to do with the subframe or suspension? Would you mind elaborating a tiny bit?

People on Bimmerforums (and just about anywhere else online) will rave about almost anything and almost any side of any issue ;)

I know from direct experience that the 6 cylinder BMW engine weighs MORE than the LS engine and the 8 cylinder BMW engine also weighs more than the LS engine. I posted the before and after weights for this car and for the 3 series swaps that I did.

For me, the weight difference is immaterial, meaning you cannot sense a difference in weight, especially not one that cannot be over come with double (or more) the horsepower and torque. Besides, people seem to think the e39 M5 handles pretty well, and it has the same architecture as the other 8 cylinder e39s.

My preference for the 8 cylinder front subframe came from my preference to its construction and the fact that I found a cheap donor car that was a V8 car. If I was looking to build another one, I would prefer the 8 cylinder car for the front subframe, larger rear diff and generally higher content of the interior.

As I said a couple of times, people have done the swap with the 6 cylinder cars ad achieved good results.

If you want to do this swap I wouldn't get hung up on this particular issue, it can work either way.

Im actualy jealous... and I own an e39 M5 :D

That is a beast right there! Would you do a swap for me? $

Thanks :)


I would but it would cost you more then you want to spend ;)

Hello rao. I have some questions about LS swap, and don't wanna open a new topic. I guess you may answer :)

I have a e34 525i, Auto.
I plan to swap that boring engine and gearbox. Actually I was thinking about M62+6speed. But yesterday I was surprised with video on youtube named e36 ls2. I guess its your one)
The problem is I live in Middle Asia, Azerbaijan. Budget plays a great role. I can get a salvage camaro z28 from copart with clean front, i mean engine, gearbox, etc. What should I do besides custom mounting? Can I use everything from z28? harness/wiring, ECU, cooling system, gearbox shifter, etc. What should I get separately from that donor? If you have some time, please.
How much time it takes if i got ready everything for swap?

You want the engine, transmission, wiring harness, computer and as much else as you can reasonable get from the car. The other questions are hard to answer because it depends on how you want to approach it - for example, there may be an BMW or other radiator that will work great or you may need choose to incorporate the GM radiator. bimmerforums.com has an engine conversion forum that can probably help you get answers to your questions.

Many thanks for link.
But I just want to calculate the approximate budget of the project. Some people say that there is a work for 6-7k usd. This is unfortunately more than I consider. But most of that people makes with LS2, which comes after 2005, and probably costs more, i guess.
Fast question - Is it available to use everything from donor car with adding some custom mountings, and wiring which doesn't require ultra-master technical skills? Therefore, we don't have such "genius" who will do that project independently.
p.s. I may worry you, because I rely on your great experience with already 3rd BMW LS project.
Regards

I have no idea how much the costs will be for you given your location. Depending on what you prefer, you can get the engine and transmission for $2k or $20k. You are going to need someone with some technical skills to build the mounts and sort out the wiring - there is no way around that.

Wow that is one nice swap. I'm curious tho on how you Recoded the instument cluster.
Is a scan tool all that is needed? Or did you change some of the chipsets? Perhaps this is a propeitary secret of yours? Would you be willing to shed some light?
or would you do this for a fee?

It needs to be re-coded.

do you mean like..
1. Press and hold trip reset button.

2. Still holding that button, insert the key.

3. When the display shows ' 01._ _ ', let go of the button.

4. Without waiting, quickly tap the button one time, ' 02._ _ KI TEST ' should appear.

4.1. But if you were too slow, it will display ' 01.00 ' instead. Don't worry, just hold the button until it shows as in 3.

5. When the display shows as in 4., hold the button for 1 second and then release, you'll see ' 02.00 '.

6. Tap it one time.

7. ???

? found this on the net to reset it

Sorry what you mean is i have to find out what protocol the cluster uses? ie
k-line, iso, or the such and convert it to run on the signal the ecm puts out?
sorry can't wrap my head around how i would go accomplishing this.

let me ask the question that hasn't been asked yet. since you bought a 98, and you are in illinois, what are you doing about emissions?

My guess is it's like other OBDII inspections - plug in and pass or fail. It does have cats, factory exhaust, and no bling at all, so it's really not going to raise any suspicions...

they read the vin of the car so he'd have to have that too then? i didn't know you can assign a different manufacturer to a LS PCM.

I'm not certain they read or pay attention to the VIN on inspection, at least within the computer, only that it passes all the tests. When I was in the biz, when in doubt, the VIN was verified on the windshield not within the machine. I DO know HPTuners can easily change VINs and my guess is it wouldn't care what manufacturer the VIN was assigned to, only that it has the proper number of digits. Now I'm really curious...

The car is OBDII compliant and legal. It has passed its required emission test.

It's spring time.... has IL thawed out yet... so that you can take this car to the strip to see some times?

Wondering if it is faster than the current V10 M5 :usa:

The summer tires are going on this weekend :)

My guess is that it will run mid 15's at around 85 mph ;)

Dyno results - still some work to be done on the tune, but all in all not bad :)



http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9...0dynopull1.jpg

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/7...0100544917.jpg

For the video hounds (no the guy in the car is not me) the car is very quiet until you open it up ;) - YouTube - 2011-04-20 - At the Dyno

Rob,

Let me know when you are ready to sell this car. Ill be ready for a new daily driver in about 18 months :-)

Andrew

holy crap that is NUTSO!

awesome power in that lux-o-cruiser, how does it hook up and can you make it get all squirely easy enough or too easy?

wow man what a creation, I love it!
I wish I had the cashola to do this to a touring model (wagon) so I could haul the kids around and still dorifto at will.
but the IS300 is looking like a less-costly platform to maintain and maybe I can find a sportcross wagon if I'm lucky.

rock on rao!

awesome! Love this swap. I did the e39 body style.... but not the price tag the M5's command.

This is just the ticket. 575rwtq at 2500rpm.... wow.

Why not rev it to 6500rpm+? It looked like the HP was still climbing steadily.

It actually hooks up pretty well on the street, but you need to be sure you now where you are headed when you floor it ;)

I have driven it in most weather conditions (I have a set of snow tires for it :eek:) and it is pretty predictable.



The rev limiter is set at 6500, the shop that did the dyno was being conservative which is fine with me. I suppose I could add another 50 hp or so and run it out to 6500 on the dyno, but I am not all that concerned with the absolute numbers. In the real world, shifting at 6000 is works out just fine :)

very nice!! rob

those numbers are amazing! what a sleeper. excellent swap.

Did some logging today (this is the first real time the temps have been hot since I installed the supercharger setup) . Ambient temps of 95+ with high humidity (not that it matters to the car), cruising intake air temps were in the 120s and coolant temps stable in the 200-210 range (which is under where the fans come on), so the intercooler is adequate and all in all it is good news. All of this was with the AC on :)

that is impressive, especially in today's nasty heat

Will you elaborate on how you got the A/C system to work? Did you end up using the bmw a/c compressor or GM unit in the stock location?

F-Body compressor in the stock location run by the GM computer.

wow!!! i want someone to do this to my BMW!!! minus the S/C
just the swap would be cool!!!

I'd like to know more about how you have got the tacho & coolant guages to work, I know you have said a few times the cluster needs to be recoded but how?
Does the PCM you are using have can bus or have you managed to conect conventional outputs to the cluster??

I'm outting an 04 LS1 into an E46 325ci & would really like to sort the guages

Blair

could you pm what wires you used to connect the coolant rpm and MPH :)
going to start an e31 bmw ls build soon

Excellent swap...I am about to start an e28 swap.

Hey rao
Nice build :drool:
I am thinking of doing the same swap (starting a family and I don't want the standard baby hauler.)

Anyway I was wondering if you have any pictures of the engine and tranny mounts in and out of the car.

Thanks

I'm sorry if I missed this in the thread but have you taken it out to the track yet? Any 1/4 mile times to share?

The car keeps rolling along with some maintenance but nothing major.

I took it to LS Fest in Bowling Green and received this nice surprise in the mail today:

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2199/...9171105477.jpg

Having done a unique swap myself, I know how important it can be to have someone recognize the engineering as well as the blood and sweat that goes into a swap like this. Congradulations!

I changed my intake set-up. I went to a 102 mm throttle body and a 4" intake tube, up from a 90mm and a 3.25" or so intake tube (the original Magnacharger plastic tube gets pretty narrow). People told me it was too restrictive for a 402 setup running 11 psi of boost and I have to say they are correct :) The change in throttle response is pretty material. I still have to finish cleaning up the tune, but all in all it was a great move. It was worth the time and effort.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6449/...2161325902.jpg


http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1...3131142449.jpg

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4...3133333678.jpg


http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/7649/...3133306258.jpg

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/3...1163245706.jpg

Beautiful project Rob, it's appropriate that you were awarded for your efforts with this!

Have you given any thought to whether the truck intake and accessories would fit under the stock 540i hood?

Do you think the A/C control might be easier to tackle on a '97? I've heard that up through June, '97 (or somewhere around there) they have less reliance on the CAN bus......?

Also, regarding your aborted plans for a turbo setup, did you give any thought to a front mount system that would allow for gravity drain, or was it apparent that it would be really difficult to fit all of the plumbing?

Thanks in advance for anything you can comment on!

I am not sure if a truck intake would fit. The problem is going to be at the throttle body, there is plenty of space at the firewall end.

It turns out that the model year will make no difference for the AC or instrument cluster.

You could fit the plumbing for a top mount turbo, I decided I didn't want to go that route.

Thanks Rob!

I take it then that if the throttle body would clear the hood that you would expect the other accessories to also fit okay? I guess in addition to the alternator sitting up high the accessories all sit out another inch or so to the front.

I kind of like the idea of having the alternator up there where you probably wouldn't run turbo setup plumbing, so if it all fit under the hood that might be a nice deal. Do you think the reduced clearance to the front would cause any big problems?

I'm not familiar enough with the truck accessories to know for sure.

wow. amazing. BMW + LS power. So perfect. My dream for my E90.

A little update since it has been a while.

Well my plan has worked. I figured that having three full sets of wheels with snow tires would keep the snow away and it has worked :) We have had plenty of cold temps but not a lot of snow.

This is the most snow we have seen this season so far:

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/714...0203105615.jpg

I also installed a set of 60 lb injectors, my new air intake system took me past the limits of my ls9 inectectors :)

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4...winjectors.jpg