Engine swop

D

Dannysautos

Member
Hi there I am new to the forum. I have a customer who has a 2007 z4 2.0 N46 Which the timing chain guide has broken up and the chain has jumped. He went on eBay and bought another engine when it arrived with me he’s has bought the 6 cylinder m54 complete engine with loom and ecu. Has anyone done this conversion and can highlight any problems that I mite run into ?
I know easy opinion is to get the right engine but with the world on lock down it’s not as easy as it and just ordering one.
Thanks for any info Danny
 
Without a donor car you'll really struggle. So many ancillary parts required that sourcing them all separately will cost a fortune and take ages.
 
Real oem and the vin number from the 2 different models and 2 computer screens to compare the differences would be a good starting point making a shopping list for the required parts and listing the non required parts you will have left over to sell.

Loads of home work will save you time and money
 
Dannysautos said:
Ok maybe I need to be more clear. Has any one fitted one of these engines ????
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You're gonna struggle to find anyone who's done this. General consensus is it's just not worth the trouble
 
Interested in following this.

In theory you could swap all internal components from a Zed m54 (which is pre facelift) into a Zed with a N46 engine (which is facelift). But not sure if you’d need “everything” with most of the make up of the car staying the same. That being said there are a few mechanical differences between the engines, the water pump being a good example.

Not sure it’s really been done here, not in the depth you’re looking for. I’ve certainly not seen any threads.

Out of interest what is the donor car? Is that a Z4 as well? Or did it come from a 3 Series or something?

Maybe try looking on the 3 series e46 sites? The Z4 e85/e86 share a lot. There’s bound to be an e46 out there that went from a Nxx engine to a M54
 
I'd be surprised if anyone has to be honest.

My first thought is that the 2007 car is a facelift model, and the M54 engine was only ever fitted to pre-facelift Z4s which could mean there may be components that won't be compatible - including possibly even the loom.

As someone already said it would be worth spending some time on "realOEM" seeing which part numbers they share!
 
kis said:
Interested in following this.

In theory you could swap all internal components from a Zed m54 (which is pre facelift) into a Zed with a N46 engine (which is facelift). But not sure if you’d need “everything” with most of the make up of the car staying the same. That being said there are a few mechanical differences between the engines, the water pump being a good example.

Not sure it’s really been done here, not in the depth you’re looking for. I’ve certainly not seen any threads.

Out of interest what is the donor car? Is that a Z4 as well? Or did it come from a 3 Series or something?

Maybe try looking on the 3 series e46 sites? The Z4 e85/e86 share a lot. There’s bound to be an e46 out there that went from a Nxx engine to a M54
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I think there’s more than a “few mechanical differences” between the engines, they’re totally different and I’d be surprised if there’s any shared components whatsoever! Not to mention the gearbox/clutch/prop shaft/diff/braking system etc etc.
Op, forget this & fit another 2litre engine :oops:
Rob
 
I reckon it will be quicker and cheaper to just scrap the car and buy a six cylinder car, than spend the time tracking down the differences and changing so many parts over.
 
Agree with the last two posts above - different gearbox, prop, diff, the list would be seriously long. 6 cyl engines are typically cheaper for a reason - they're not sought after as much as they don't go wrong like the 2.0 does. Given current lockdown it may be difficult to get another 2.0, but how easy will it be to get all the bits needed to fit the six? When you've actually got your shopping list...
Get another 2.0 or break the car.
 
6 cylinder engines are heavier so I suspect the suspension maybe be different as would the brakes.

I did notice that someone did a v8 conversion from a 2.0 z4 and had to replace the fuel pump (in the fuel tank) as it was different from the 6 cylinder engined cars.

So there are many things that would be different. No idea about electronic units either (engine management etc.)
 
Brilliant thanks guys I am not a BMW guy I have done many conversion and hot rod builds over the years. I will be contacting the customer and saying it’s not a viable option. Best to get the right engine and sell this one on.
 
Dannysautos said:
Brilliant thanks guys I am not a BMW guy I have done many conversion and hot rod builds over the years. I will be contacting the customer and saying it’s not a viable option. Best to get the right engine and sell this one on.
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Great that this forum could help, save the customer money and you a lot of grief.
 
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