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