Lmst

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 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.

I also finally figured out the coding I'll need to do to re-flash the engine and transmission computers once the swap is done. It looks like it'll be a simpler process than I was anticipating, so it's a relief to have a sense of what to do. Now I'm itching to get back to work, but I probably won't realistically be able to before next week, maybe even the week after, since the next steps on my list are super physical (installing the engine and transmission). #WrenchEveryDay

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 26: Swapped out the rear main seal. The old one didn't look terrible, but it's one of those jobs that'll take 15 minutes now, but many horrible hours if I have to do it later when everything's back together, so I might as well.

Puttered around on a few other little odds and ends, but I'm now really at a stop until I get the new flywheel bolts so I can reinstall it for real. Definitely looking like that'll be after my surgery. #WeirdCarMastodon #DIY #BMW #E39 #M54B30 #WrenchEveryDay

The back end of my BMW M54B30 inline-six cylinder engine, hanging from a hoist in my garage, showing off its shiny new rear main seal around the crankshaft output shaft.

The old rear main seal assembly and gasket, removed from my BMW M54B30 inline-six cylinder engine and sitting oily-side-up on my garage floor. The mating surface between the plate around the seal is mostly clean, with some evidence of a minor possible oil leak along the bottom where the plate meets the oil pan.

The back of my BMW M54B30 inline-six cylinder engine, hanging on a hoist in my garage, with the flywheel and flex plate roughly held in place with two loosely threaded bolts, awaiting a complete set of eight new bolts to be properly installed.

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

A view of my blue 2003 BMW 5-series wagon from the rear, up on QuickJack lifts on my driveway. The exhaust, freshly removed from the car, sits on the driveway behind it.

Day 19: I got the wagon up in the air for the first time! And discovered the difference between a lifetime California car (the 530i) and one that's spent good chunks of its life in places like Massachusetts and Seattle (the wagon).

Was planning to remove the exhaust, but couldn't even get started; the four nuts that attach the exhaust to the manifold studs are super rusty. One broke off, which is fine, but the others wouldn't budge. #WeirdCarMastodon #WrenchEveryDay #DIY #BMW #EngineSwap #E39

My blue 2003 BMW 525iT wagon is raised on QuickJack portable lifts on my driveway in anticipation of removing its exhaust to begin removing its engine and transmission, which will be replaced by refurbished items removed from my former 2003 530i sedan.

A very rusty nut and stud sit on a blue shop towel on my driveway, the only one of the four fasteners I was able to remove between the exhaust and the downpipe.

Day 18: I have a rebuilt, reassembled ZF5HP19 transmission! (Second ZF I've had my nose in this week—does that qualify me for some kind of certification?)

I did use the tool my dad and I made, but not the way I expected to; I used them to support all of the stacked assemblies while I lifted the transmission case up and over them. Hey, it was kind of dumb, but it worked! Next up: prepping the wagon for engine/trans removal. #WeirdCarMastodon #WrenchEveryDay #DIY #BMW #ZF #TransmissionRebuild

On top of the green metal patio table in my backyard, the ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission from my 2003 BMW 530i stands upright, its bell housing end supported a few inches above the table by two stacks of black rubber blocks. The oil pan and valve body are removed, making it possible to see that all of the clutch packs and gear sets have been installed into the case.

The two stacks of black rubber blocks I used to support the transmission for reassembly on my backyard patio table. On top of each stack of blocks is one of the wooden pieces I had made, intending to clamp them to the input shaft of the last clutch pack assemblies. Instead, I inverted the assemblies and rested the outer rim of the oil pump on the pieces of wood.

The fully reassembled transmission sits on a transmission jack, its newly cleaned and reinstalled oil pan facing up.

Wrenching today turned into a good news/bad news situation. Good news: I'm getting my money's worth out of my QuickJacks. Better news: I fixed my transmission! Replaced the solenoids, filter, and fluid, plus the plastic bits circled in the photo, which are a common failure point. These were almost certainly original, meaning 16 years and 226K miles old. Yikes!

Bad news: the water pump crapped the bed half a mile into my test drive. Sigh.
#WeirdCarMastodon #WrenchEveryDay #BMW #E90 #DIY

My gray 2009 BMW 335i sedan, raised on a QuickJack portable lift on my driveway, with a plastic tarp on the ground underneath to catch any runoff as I drain the transmission fluid.

A view up into the ZF 6HP21 six-speed automatic transmission of my 2009 BMW 335i, with the oil pan and Mechatronic (valve body) unit removed. Towards the left, in about the middle of the transmission, four black plastic tubes are coming down through the housing, and to the right, at the front of the transmission, is a rectangular black plastic piece with two smaller rectangular oil passages. These common wear items that I replaced are circled in red.

Day 17: I may be on vacation, but I still did a little something to make transmission reassembly happen more easily when I get home—my dad helped me make this little "tool" to clamp to the oil pump/A/B/E/C clutch assemblies to get them into proper position, as seen in the YouTube screengrabs. #WeirdCarMastodon #TransmissionRebuild #DIY #ZF #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay

Two small pieces of wood which, when clamped together, form an approximate square with a hole of 22 millimeter diameter in the middle. The two pieces are split across the center of this hole.

A screenshot from a YouTube video showing the large, heavy assembly of clutch packs and transmission oil pump that need to be installed to complete reassembly of the internals of my ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission.

Screenshot from a YouTube video showing how the two pieces of wood clamp onto the central spline of the clutch pack and oil pump assembly, allowing the clamp to be used as a handle to lower the parts into the transmission case standing on its end.

Day 16: no photos today, but I finished replacing O-rings and friction discs and started reassembly, which is a pain in the rear. Got stuck on trying to get the last few assemblies in (they're supposed to go in as a unit) and ran out of daylight, so I'll have to re-strategize and come back to it. Silver lining: I have zero unaccounted-for parts. #WeirdCarMastodon #TransmissionRebuild #DIY #ZF #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay

Clutch packs and ring gears and oil pumps, oh my! #WeirdCarMastodon #TransmissionRebuild #EngineSwap #ZF #BMW #E39 #DIY #WrenchEveryDay

All of the clutch drums and ring gears and other moving parts have been removed from the ZF 5HP19 five-speed automatic transmission for my 2003 BMW 530i, and are arrayed on a small table covered with a plastic drop cloth. In all, there are 11 assemblies.

Day 14: dismantling the transmission has begun. So far, I've removed the oil pan and the valve body. This is going to be a messy job; I run into more undrained ATF at every turn. I've also already unbolted the transmission oil pump, so unseating and removing that will be job one after lunch. #WeirdCarMastodon #TransmissionRebuild #EngineSwap #BMW #E39 #WrenchEveryDay

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