Lmst

Endlich ist der Fiat 500 mal wieder im Laden. #GT7 #GranTurismo #EngineSwap

Day 43: I DROVE MY WAGON TODAY!

...A few feet, on my driveway. Then I discovered the latest roadblock.

Anyway, fixing the intake manifold gasket was all it took to get the engine running right. I was able to finish filling the transmission fluid, which required the car to be running. But when I got it back on the ground, I discovered that I have no reverse. The car goes forward in D...and also in R. What did I do wrong in reassembling the transmission? #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #ZF5HP19

Day 41: Good to have a project today. I used a sophisticated tool to depin all of the connectors in the fuel rail wiring harness and replaced the plastic plugs with the ones from the old engine, which were in perfect shape. Half the old plugs were broken, and a couple were missing their metal clips; now they're all good.

New injectors should be arriving in today's mail, assuming the carrier decides to show up, which isn't a given. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

My gloved hand holds up one of the electrical connectors that plugs into the fuel injectors in the M54B30 inline six-cylinder engine in my 2003 BMW 530iT. The plastic on the plug is broken around the edges.

All six fuel injector electrical connectors, freshly replaced with fully intact plastic and metal retaining clips, laid out in their wiring harness box with the top removed, sitting on top of the intake manifold of the engine in my 2003 BMW 530iT.

My gloved hand holds a black metal hairpin, bent into a ninety-degree angle, with the tip of the straight edge slightly bent. This is the "tool" I used to remove the wire pins from the plastic connector plugs.

It's day 36. Whether today is the last day remains to be seen. Been getting a workout pumping fluid into the transmission—almost two gallons so far.

I have started the engine. It starts! It's not running super great just yet, I think largely due to the low transmission fluid, so hopefully a few more cycles of getting the ATF circulating will help smooth things out. Keep a positive thought for me! #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #ZF5HP19 #WrenchEveryDay

A red gallon jug of automatic transmission fluid sits on the ground underneath my 2003 BMW 530iT, which is up on QuickJack lifts. A hose with a hand pump runs from the mouth of the transmission fluid bottle into the fill hole on the side of the ZF 5HP19 automatic transmission.

Exhaust is in! It took a little longer than I expected, but it's not exactly an easy one-person job. The sedan exhaust tip looks real derpy hiding down there; I'll definitely want to swap the wagon tip on at some point.

Oh, and I found the screw I thought I'd lost—I apparently dropped it on the driveway when I was getting out of the car. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #WrenchEveryDay #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #DIY

The complete exhaust removed from my 2003 BMW 530i donor car sits on my driveway, behind the blue 2003 BMW 530iT wagon, raised on QuickJack portable lifts, into which I'll be installing the exhaust.

A view underneath my 2003 BMW 530iT, where I have finished installing the exhaust.

The exhaust cutout at the bottom of the rear bumper of my blue 2003 BMW 530iT wagon. The downturned exhaust tip, a feature of E39 sedans but not wagons, is deeply inset behind the cutout.

Day 35: that there's a fully assembled, fully dressed engine compartment! Fitting the exhaust is my task after lunch—and the last major task before adding fluids and seeing if it'll start! That'll have to wait until next week, though, as we're leaving tomorrow on a business trip.

Today's trip to the dealer was a much more reasonable $13, though somewhere between there and home I lost a screw. Oh, well, I didn't absolutely need it. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

A view into the engine compartment of my blue 2003 BMW 530iT, which is now completely reassembled after installation of the replacement engine and transmission.

A white plastic expanding nut, two silver screws with washers, and two copper nuts sit on my brown granite kitchen counter.

Day 34: This is starting to look suspiciously like a complete car again. I got the cooling system back in, along with the accessory belts, cabin air filter housings, etc. I also got the engine and transmission mounts torqued down after having to replace the transmission mount bracket bolts, so everything is officially in position. All that's left is the exhaust, bolting in the air filter, and some trim, then fluids. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #WrenchEveryDay #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #DIY

A view into the engine compartment of my blue 2003 BMW 530iT wagon, where the freshly installed M54B30 inline six-cylinder engine has been nearly fully dressed with new cooling system components and the air filter housing, though the latter is not yet bolted down.

The accessory drive belts installed in place on the front of the M54B30 engine in my 2003 BMW 530iT.

Day 33: Lots of little fiddling today; the big task was bolting the driveshaft back up to the transmission. The list of remaining to-dos is getting pretty short: reinstall heat shields and exhaust under the car, and install drive belts, air intake, and cooling system under the hood, then add fluids, hook up the battery, and see what happens! #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30

I guess I was feeling pretty ambitious...

#WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

My blue 2003 BMW 530iT station wagon, its hood open to show off its newly installed M54B30 inline-six cylinder engine. Not visible, but also installed, is a freshly rebuilt ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission. The front bumper is removed, and the cooling system, among many other parts, has not been reinstalled yet.

Day 32: Final pre-installation prep done. Removing the front bumper was a little trickier than on the 530, since the wagon has headlight washers; had to rig up the hose to stop washer fluid pouring out, too. New motor mounts are in place, but not torqued down so they still have a little wiggle.

All this done before lunch...now I have to decide how ambitious I'm feeling this afternoon... #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

The front end of my blue 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, lifted up on QuickJacks, with its hood open and its front bumper removed.

A chain of zip ties run from a headlight mounting tab down the side of the passenger-side headlight to hold up the end of a hose, which connects to the headlight washer hoses in the front bumper, to prevent washer fluid from leaking out.

A view into the engine compartment of my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, where a new left-hand side motor mount is in place, awaiting installation of the engine.

Day 31: Cleaned another batch of plastic stuff today. Just a before picture; the after wasn't too dramatic, but it's nice knowing everything is clean, and it reminded me to order new cabin air filters.

I also replaced the carrier for the AC condenser, transmission cooler, and whatever that power steering line contraption is, since the old one got pretty banged up when the engine was coming out. A somewhat more strenuous job than I was expecting—I'm pooped! #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #E39

Arrayed on my driveway in front of my covered 2003 BMW 5-series wagon are the radiator shroud, fan, air box, two cabin air filter housings, a piece of firewall trim, two air ducts, the cover for the ECU box, and two engine cover trim panels, all awaiting cleaning to get ready for reinstallation once the replacement engine and transmission have been installed.

The old black plastic carrier for the A/C condenser and transmission and power steering coolers, removed from the engine compartment of my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon and leaning against a large cardboard box in front of my open garage door.

A view into the mostly empty engine compartment of my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, where the A/C condenser and transmission and power steering coolers have been installed into a new black plastic carrier just behind the radiator support across the front of the car.

Day 30: Building back up to my next major step, which is installing the engine and transmission into the wagon. Might be ready for that this weekend. In the meantime, I figure I have plenty of time and cleaning is low-impact, so to clean I shall!

Before (mostly, except for the near edge) and after on the under-engine splash panel, which was very grody. I also wrapped a few wires where the original plastic sheaths had crumbled away. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #WrenchEveryDay #BMW #E39 #M54B30

A black plastic under-engine splash panel, removed from my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, sits on a weathered wooden work table in my backyard. The leading edge, nearest the camera, has been wiped clean, but most of the panel is coated with a layer of oily, crumbly grime.

The same under-engine splash shield, removed from my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, its now-clean black plastic surface shining in the sun.

A set of wires leading to a wiring harness along the side of the ZF transmission bound for my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon, more or less neatly wrapped with black electrical tape.

Day 29: Exhaust manifolds went back on no problem. I also replaced the downstream O2 sensors, which will be pretty inaccessible once the engine's back in the car; I should probably just go ahead and replace the fronts, too—according to my records, they're nearly 65,000 miles old. Something to deal with later...tomorrow I have my sinus surgery, so I'll be out of commission for a few days at least. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

A view of the right-hand side of my BMW M54B30 inline-six cylinder engine, hanging from a hoist in my garage, with newly reinstalled exhaust manifolds with new gaskets and heat shields.

Two new oxygen sensors emerge from the exhaust manifolds of my BMW M54B30 inline six-cylinder engine, just below the catalytic converters.

Day 28: The engine and transmission have been rejoined! Big pain in the patoot—I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if the engine was already in the car.

I have one more work day before my surgery, and one more day of work to get the engine and transmission ready for installation. Just need to put on the exhaust downpipes with new gaskets and hardware, plus new post-cat O2 sensors. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #DIY #WrenchEveryDay

The M54B30 inline six-cylinder engine and ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission that will be going into my 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon hang together from an engine hoist in my garage, with a transmission jack supporting the transmission oil pan.

Day 27: My flywheel/flex plate bolts got here a few days sooner than expected, so I'm getting a little more done this week than I thought I would. Had to wait until Johnny got home to torque them down, so that he could counter-hold the front crankshaft bolt, but the flywheel is on!

Tomorrow I can install the torque converter and reattach the transmission to the engine. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #DIY #WrenchEveryDay

A clear plastic bag containing dull bronze-colored bolts sits on my brown granite kitchen countertop. A label on the bag identifies the contents as "Auto Trans Flexplate Mounting Bolts."

Day 24: Godspeed, 22-year-old tire! I aired it up in late January, and it held up pretty well, but today is new tire day, and that includes the spare. The plan is to replace the anti-roll bars (and end links) with the Sport package pieces from the 530 while the wheels are off the wagon. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay

A close-up of the date stamp on the former spare tire removed from my engine donor 2003 BMW 530i, showing that the tire was manufactured in March 2003.

The five wheels and tires, including the full-size spare, removed from my 2003 BMW 5-series wagon (and donated by my former 2003 BMW 530i sedan) are stacked on my driveway, ready for the tires to be replaced. All of the tires except for the spare show significant tread wear.

Day 23: the engine and transmission are out of the wagon! Having the car on the ground, instead of up on the lift, made the job a little easier, but not removing the bumper was a mistake I won't repeat at installation time. Still, big step! #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #M54B25 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

The M54B25 inline six-cylinder engine and ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission hang from a hoist in front of the vacant engine compartment of my blue 2003 BMW 5-series station wagon.

Day 22: the power steering pump and A/C compressor are hanging loose, the wiring harnesses are unplugged, the fuel line is disconnected, and the engine mounts are unbolted—the engine and transmission are ready to come out of the wagon! First I have to tidy the garage a bit to make some more space, but it's definitely close.

If you thought BMWs were untouched by the Prince Of Darkness, though, bad news...
#WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay #LucasElectronics

The front of the M54B25 inline six-cylinder engine in my 2003 BMW 525iT wagon, with the cooling system and accessory belts removed. The air conditioning compressor, on the left, and power steering pump, on the right, both hang suspended by zip ties from the inner fenders, and the plugs of the engine wiring harnesses lay loose atop the engine in preparation for removal and replacement of the engine and transmission.

The brake booster and fluid reservoir under the hood of my 2003 BMW 525iT, both of which bear the maker's mark of Lucas Industries, England's notorious supplier of questionable automotive electronic components.

Day 21: I am halfway through my checklist! (Which, admittedly, starts *after* I had already removed the engine from the 530i. Nevertheless!)

Kind of a short workday today, but I drained the coolant and removed the cooling system from the wagon, and removed a few more odds and ends to get ever closer to being ready to yoink the engine and transmission. Probably one more day of prep should do it. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #DIY #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay #M54B30

Day 20: no more false starts—the exhaust is off! I ended up being able to get one of the four nuts connecting the exhaust to the downpipe off, and broke the others. Whatever works!

Afterward, I ran through a list of small jobs under the car to get it ready for engine/transmission removal: disconnecting the shifter cable and driveshaft from the transmission, removing the engine battery cable and ground strap, and removing heat and splash shields. #WeirdCarMastodon #EngineSwap #WrenchEveryDay

#EngineSwap

Client Info