About to start on my 2012 750li 5.3 Ls swap. I just can’t get around a few things like if I was to use a 4l80E trans would I be able to use stock gearshifter, and if I wanted to use my zf6hp26 trans with a Ls engine where would I find a adapter kit to mate the two… I only seen ONE person on the entire internet with a “11 750li Ls swap with the 4l60e trans but he doesn’t reply to anyone. Somebody please give me some advice before I start going in this rabbit hole.

 

That car has a ton of CANBUS integration so it would be best to probably use a MaxxEcu which could support that to make other systems in the car still function.
https://www.maxxecu.com/

You could probably have the "appearance" of that factory shifter with a 4L80e but it certainly wouldn't work as stock.

Lots of adapters out there.... its just all about how much do you want to spend:
https://pmcmotorsport-shop.com/eng_m...0-M73-258.html

That will be a big project and if you aren't comfortable with wiring and troubleshooting... it won't be an easy one.

 

Thank You for your feedback! I Didn’t think I’d get any help on here lol. By any chance can you elaborate on how I would be able to have the appearance of an factory shifter with the gm trans? I wouldn’t mind going that route if I knew I’ll be able to keep the entire cockpit of the car looking the same without any major modifications. I honestly don’t mind an aftermarket gauge cluster and other little small modifications. But i would like to keep my stock shifter and all the buttons around it. I only seen the “Push Button Gear Selector” as an option for the Gm trans and my car, due to the bmw shifter cable not being compatible with the 4l80E and probably other reasons..And Question 2, do PMC have the adapter kit for the automatic zf6 trans that’s compatible for the zf6hp26? I spoken with a team member there and he said they don’t make any adapters for the zf6hp26 to Ls engine. I’m wondering if they have any that would still be compatible.

 

By any chance could you direct me to the adapter kit that’s compatible with the 4l80e Or 4l60e. I think I’m going to do the 4.8 engine and 4l60e trans.

 

If I were you I would concentrate on the canbus integration you are going to have problems with. Even if you get an adapter for the zf transmission it won’t shift, as it’s not going to get any information. The shifter and gauges are easy compared to fitting a 4l80e in the trans tunnel.

If you want a fully functional car, the electrical part of this swap will be very time consuming, and challenging, if you just want a running engine and aftermarket gauges with a push button starter button it will be a little easier. It will be a job just getting the 12v starter solenoid trigger to start the ls engine with a canbus that has parts removed.


Not saying it can’t be done, but concentrating on the shifter is the least of your concerns with this endeavor.

 

Appreciate your feedback! If I’m not mistaking do the TCM have to re-programmed if I wanted to use my zf6 trans with an LS engine? I know a group of people who would let me ship my tcm out and re-program it if that’s the case. And if so, what other electrical/programming issues I might face?

 

Not sure how to reply, but I would suggest maybe swapping something a bit older and with less canbus.


Without being too direct, you may be in way over your head with this one. I have done 30 ls swaps in everything from rx7s to 996 Porsches and Mercedes. This 2012 bmw would be daunting for me, as the canbus is a code for that manufacturer and doesn’t transfer to others. Getting it to communicate to other manufacturers parts is above my pay grade, and really requires lots of computer and electrical skills.

Getting this done isn’t impossible, but with the mechanical and electrical/ computer skills needed, I would veer you away from this as a novice project. Reprogramming the TCU will get you nowhere, as the engine pcm and tcu cannot communicate, one will be speaking German, and the other English.

There will be a myriad of hurdles to overcome, mechanically and electronically to get this car functioning as a stock car with I different engine should. You will be on your own for overcoming all of these, and to complete the project they will all need to be overcome.

On a level from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most difficult, I rate this as an 8 mechanically, and an 11 electronically to get this car running as a stock appearing car that functions as the car did when produced. If you are concerned about the stock appearance of the shifter, then I would guess this is the outcome you are expecting.

If this is your first conversion, I would dissuade you from starting, it is going to be lots of work, and lots of money. By the 4.8 comment, I assume that there is a tight budget, and to get the results it’s going to take lots of money as well.

 

I agree than the CANbus issues are going to be an "11" on a 1-10 scale.
Also don't understand why you would want to swap in a 4.8L LS. The factory twin-turbo V8 on the car makes 400 HP/450Ft/Lbs. And tunes easily add another 100 HP.
While the BMW N63 engine is notoriously unreliable due to the heat produced by the turbos in the "V" of the engine and nearby cats, it can be rebuilt with newer parts to improve its reliability. If you can get away with no cats, that would greatly reduce the heat related problems.

 

Thank you for your honest opinion and frankly I 100% agree. The electrical aspect of this swap would be damn there impossible for someone that’s not skilled professionally in that field. And finding somebody to actually do it would be a price. I am honestly on a budget with this build only because Im really not looking for power and speed, but if I come across a quote that fits my budget I’ll look more into it. I’m jus tired of fixing on this n63 every week. I honestly rather just rebuild my engine with more reliable parts vs attempting to Ls swap it but it’s not too many people covering what I’m looking for, mainly just repair tutorials.

 

I’m honestly looking for reliability in this build I can care less about the loss of Hp lol but after a few days of research it’s starting to seem more impossible by the day. I do rather rebuilding the engine with reliable parts like you mentioned. It seems easier and cheaper. If you don’t mind can you give me a list of parts you would suggest that’ll make the n63 reliable? It’s nothing really wrong with mines I fixed almost everything that’s plastic under the hood. I just got to fix all the coolant lines because their leaking.

 

On another note it’s a guy in YouTube with a 2016 M3 and he Ls swapped it with his stock dct transmission and use holley for the wiring. That’s honestly where I got my inspiration due to his bmw being 4 years newer than mines. What’s your thoughts on that?

 

FWIW,, IIRC Some older 7 series came with GM transmissions (I believe a 700r4) , back when there was almost zero market for auto's in Europe in a BMW.
Same unit used in XJ8 and XJ12 jags.. They were integrated as a manual transmission more or less, so very little telemetry.

My theory, and I'm only playing a engineer on tv...
Holley does not have canbus like any other vehicle, its their own thing. The dominator or the Terminator X with the Holley canbus expander can be programmed to interact with a few signals possibly but you'd need to be a BMW and a Holley ninja ECU guy.... You'd have to install all the BMW sensors for the BMW dash on the new motor piggybacking the Holley to fool the BMW ECU to feed the dash good info...
BUt one other option would be to focus on teh BMW body control module functions and put a HolleyPro dash in the BMW.

 

This is really not the place to discuss BMW engine upgrades. I assume you have checked into the BMW forums, like this one, where I occasionally post.
https://www.7post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1076902
I'm sure if you started a new thread on N63 updates, you would get lots of suggestions. Some will include using S63 engine parts. I suggest keeping the heat-soaking plastic engine cover off permanently.
Since you are thinking of swapping engines, you should consider removing your N63 which makes it much easier to work on.

Lets keep BMW engine rebuilds out of here. If you start a thread on a BMW forum, PM me so that I can follow.

 

Not alot of help on this forum lately. Heres a company that id suggest contacting, they specialize in the BMW e90 platform and sell this holley to bmw can box. They seem to have figured out how to get everything to work properly including air conditioning etc. BMW shared alot of components in all their cars and likely used a similar system to the e90’s.

https://lse90.com/products/lse9x-hol...conversion-box

 

I agree.. and I do believe i can get the wiring and ecu/tcm situation down packed with more research. I honestly still have hope in my project because it’s a guy on YouTube with a 2016 m3 Ls swap with his stock trans (same thing I plan on doing) and I’m 100% sure the 2016 M3 has way more electrical stuff going on vs my 2012 750li lol. I’m going to get in contact with a team member at holley and get their point of view. I really do have hope for my project tho. And honestly don’t think it’s going to be as complicated as everyone makes it seems.

 

How is my 2012 750li Ls swap almost “impossible” electrically, when this guy Did his 2016 m3 with his stock trans… and I’m pretty sure his m3 comes with more electrical components vs my 2012 750li

 

It depends on your trans but you can also contact seemslegitgarage and see if they offer support for your trans or one similar. They offer bmw dct ls swaps and the 8hp as well.

 

The 3-video LS3 swap into a 2016 (F80) BMW M3 was very interesting and informative. They used an adapter from seemslegitgarage to connect the LS engine to the BMW DCT (Dual Clutch Automatic). And a transmission controller from HGT for $1400 which required a lot of rewiring of the control board inside the trans. Plus the HGT CAN IO gateway for another $1100. VERY interestingly, by the time the engine started in the 3rd video, it was controlled by a Holley Terminator X.
However they never said how many unresolved codes existed, whether gauges worked, and so on. I suspect it was still far from a daily driver. If I understood one of their comments, they spent about $30K on the swap, including having to buy multiple $1000 headers before one fit correctly.
Still amazing how well that engine fit in the engine compartment with lots of space to spare.

As @Ls1Rx-7 mentioned, seemslegitgarage has adapters for BMW DCT and 8HP, but I don't see any mention of a ZF6.

@Lampley1500 While we all think this would be a really cool swap,we are just trying to caution you on the electrical complexities, especially if you want a fully functional car with no codes, working dash and so on. You definitely would need to keep the factory ECU connected as otherwise few things will work.(Even lights and windows might not work, because the Footwell module coordinates tightly with the ECU.)

BTW - For anyone who wants to know more about the Holley CAN bus (which will not directly connect to any OEM CAN bus), here is an excellent and thorough thread on the topic:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/pcm-diagn...y-can-bus.html

 

You could do a LS swap with a MAXXecu controlling the engine and also either a DCT or 4l80E or 4L60e. With the DCT, they support the native BMW shifter and they have great BMW canbus support. Also with their DCT implementation, the DCT does not require rewiring. The LS to DCT adapter is readily available.

 

Glad you chimed in here as you know a great deal about CAN bus related swapping issues, perhaps more than anyone else on this forum.