[ucsbwsr]

Progress has been a little bit slow on the E61 as the E39 has been receiving a lot of attention, getting a custom tan on black interior, aftermarket M5/M-Sport bumpers, M5 steering wheel, M5 sway bars, revised exhaust, and more parts collected for the manual trans swap.

About a month ago I picked up a M5 fender, although the wagon is still bumper(cover)less the fender made it look a bit more appropriate for driving around even though it is 100% road legal with the real bumper aka crash bar.


Annie inspecting fender fitment. It isn't perfect since the small bracket which connects the front fender bracket to the headlight bracket was bent and I did my best to straighten it with no success so I have a new bracket ordered.


The wagon has been running around like this for a while now....



Wagon is running great, ethanol has been introduced and I am targeting 22psi, a little lower than before but "enough" for cruising around. 22psi should be putting out ~520whp


Bought the necessary power steering lines for the M5 subframe conversion, lines are actually from a 535i which are the only ones which will connect the M5 steering rack to my 535xi pump.


Last piece of the puzzle. My patience paid off, I was able to find a brand new OEM M5 bumper for $400, roughly half off what they go for online.


Here are a couple pics of the E39 which has been in the spotlight.

[MysticRob]

Damn, that's nice. Have you had the 'awesome' hatch wiring harness issues yet on your E61?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by MysticRob

Damn, that's nice. Have you had the 'awesome' hatch wiring harness issues yet on your E61?

I had the wiring loom replaced under CPO warranty.

[ucsbwsr]

The white wagon keeps getting undercut by these other "project wagons" I spend all my time wrenching on, to make matters worse (first world problems) I had an opportunity to pick up another E61 for a excellent price which will be a short term project for me and hope to have up for sale in a few months.

The grey E61 is an 08' with 127k, tons of maintenance, and some nice mods.
OEM M5 front end, Grigio Telesto paint w/ black roof and black engine bay, Cobb AP, Dinan muffler, and 20" Vossen CV3s. I will be going through it making some necessary repairs, preventative maintenance, and executing some choice mods to further enhance the wagon. If you like my white wagon then there is a lot you will like about "DAS GRAU."
More here: https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?t=1314813



Updates on the white one are minimal but progress is being made. After replacing some damaged brackets I was able to test fit the OEM front bumper and fitment is excellent. I also test fit the OEM M5 engine bay splash shield which is RWD subframe specific and will wait for the subframe swap to go on.

I ordered a used 535i DSC module/pump. Previously I used my 535xi pump with a 528i module (same BMW # as 535i) and haven't been able to resolve my ABS/DSC warning lights even with the tremendous help of Levan who is an advanced BMW coder. Hopefully the pump is the culprit.

The last piece of the puzzle for installing my RWD/M5 subframe is resolving the strut incompatibility. Perhaps KW just released them or US distributors are now offering them for sale in the US even though there are literally <5 E61s in the US that could use them but KW now offers a RWD E61 specific coilover setup and thankfully it uses factory-tuned non adjustable V1 variants. I never use the adjustments on V3s and hate paying twice the price for essentially the same performance (IMO). Once the coilovers arrive I can complete the RWD subframe swap and enjoy the M5 steering rack.

New bracket


Bumper test fit


M5 splash shield will be a nice finishing touch once the subframe is swapped


535i DSC unit


My bumper is unpainted, my fender is the wrong color, and I need to modify a headlight.....
better go recondition that side marker.....



Current pics

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

If towing is a goal then I agree the E61 won't be ideal. I would suggest the E70 xDrive35d. This is the next vehicle I will be acquiring after I sell my E39 Touring, it will be the road trip, towing, comfortable workhorse. The M54 diesel engine is a peach striking a great balance of efficiency and performance. As a bonus most of the reliability issues are tied to all the emissions systems which heat, cool, recirculate exhaust and deleting them not only boosts efficiency and performance but also reliability. "Deleted" M57 motors with a tune will be putting down ~300whp and 500wtq and can fetch 30mpg. The E70s are also good for towing 7,000 lbs I believe.

If you want a more N54-ish motor you can always get the xDrive35i which has the N55 motor but I love the idea of the torqy M54 to hustle the heavy E70 around.

First off Evan great builds, been following your builds for a couple years now. Sorry to resurrect this, but...

I too have been thinking about an m57 e70 but wrote them off due to the alphabet soup emissions problems and being in CA.

Are you saying that deleting the emissions systems, and then coding the errors out will result in a CA Smog pass? What about the visual inspection?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by dakine_surf

First off Evan great builds, been following your builds for a couple years now. Sorry to resurrect this, but...

I too have been thinking about an m57 e70 but wrote them off due to the alphabet soup emissions problems and being in CA.

Are you saying that deleting the emissions systems, and then coding the errors out will result in a CA Smog pass? What about the visual inspection?

No, I am saying delete the emissions stuff and "use the vehicle off road." You can reinstall the emissions stuff to pass smog if needed.

[dakine_surf]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

No, I am saying delete the emissions stuff and "use the vehicle off road." You can reinstall the emissions stuff to pass smog if needed.

Yeah that's what I figured but thought you might have found a work around... Some counties in CA it's possible

[Spyro235]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

No, I am saying delete the emissions stuff and "use the vehicle off road." You can reinstall the emissions stuff to pass smog if needed.

Sidenote: I bought a steal of an '10 e70 X5d right at the beginning of 2019: got it for $4300 with an emissions code and a bad wheel bearing. 204k miles. I knew I'd do the deletes asap regardless, for reliability, so I was super happy to find this killer deal.I'm around 7k into it, and it's a monster when deleted and tuned. Tows my drift car (e46) and my open car hauler with ease. It's pretty basically optioned, but it has the CIC so I was about to get a china box that essentially gives me factory feeling apple carplay. I've put 13k on it in 4 months, and it's been wonderful! Haven't actually had it inspected yet but I'm under the impression it'll pass once I replace my glow plug controller and get the CEL from that off the dash. I do wish I had the HUD, and the super nice comfort seats, but for now the base seats are fine.


How's the white wagon going? Have the rear subframe in yet?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Spyro235

Sidenote: I bought a steal of an '10 e70 X5d right at the beginning of 2019: got it for $4300 with an emissions code and a bad wheel bearing. 204k miles. I knew I'd do the deletes asap regardless, for reliability, so I was super happy to find this killer deal.I'm around 7k into it, and it's a monster when deleted and tuned. Tows my drift car (e46) and my open car hauler with ease. It's pretty basically optioned, but it has the CIC so I was about to get a china box that essentially gives me factory feeling apple carplay. I've put 13k on it in 4 months, and it's been wonderful! Haven't actually had it inspected yet but I'm under the impression it'll pass once I replace my glow plug controller and get the CEL from that off the dash. I do wish I had the HUD, and the super nice comfort seats, but for now the base seats are fine.


How's the white wagon going? Have the rear subframe in yet?

It's IN!

Also, just picked up a 12' X5D

[ucsbwsr]

Back in 2015 I started down the path of a RWD conversion when my front drivetrain was having a hard time handling the ~550awhp at my lowered ride height. For the sake of reliability and simplicity a RWD conversion seemed like a smart move. I loved the grip and poor weather capability of the AWD system but it was a ticking time bomb and I got tired of driving gingerly as to not hard the drivetrain.

The process started with pulling the front driveshaft, axles, disconnecting the TC actuator, and some coding. It was as step in the right direction but not a real solution. A manual swap was always on the radar so I went ahead and collected a RWD manual trans, all the necessary components for the retrofit, and upgraded the drivetrain to M5 everything with an MFactory SMFW, Spec Stage 3 clutch, upgraded trans and diff mounts. This setup necessitated a custom M5 dirveshaft and custom trans support. I also relocated the DSC pump and swapped the module to a unit from a 528i since they were compatible with 535is.

I never found success integrating the DSC pump into the car, there were some issues with the VIN and region since there were never RWD wagons in the US, or so we thought. The wagon was operational but DSC/ABS was in a default and non-functioning state since communication was broken between the systems.

My front subframe was the steel AWD unit and I hacked up my old axles, removed the outer CV cup with the splines, and used it with the 36mm axle nut to hold my spindles together. Not ideal but it worked.

The xi steering rack was a bit slow and I found myself annoyed when I would have to regrip the wheel during fairly standard 90 degree corners, it was obvious the steering wasn't up to par with the rest of the wagon.

Enter the M5 steering rack retrofit. Of course the xi subframe has a completely different architecture to accommodate the axles so to swap the AWD steering rack to an M5 unit required swapping the subframe and nearly all components which was everything minus the passenger side engine mount. lol

Here is a list of components I collected for the subframe swap
- Aluminum RWD Subframe
- M5 Steering Rack
- M6 Convertible Sway bar (thicker than M5 and M6 Coupe)
- KW V1 (RWD E61 Fitment, special order from Germany)
- 535i Power Steering Lines
- Engine Supports R/L
- Driverside Engine Mount
- RWD Spindles
- RWD Hubs
- M5 Control Arms
- End Links and brackets
- RWD steering shaft and firewall grommet

...that's it!


The main benefit of this conversion is the M5 steering rack but a nice bonus is the increased amount of room the RWD subframe offers, if you wrench a lot like I do that it's a significant improvement. For those of you who have never worked on AWD N54 cars consider yourself lucky, they are a pain.

The other bonus is the weight savings. Comparing the assembled AWD subframe to the aluminum RWD subframe, ~55lbs is saved.

AWD Subframe = 43 lbs
RWD Subframe = 20 lbs

AWD Spindles = 38 lbs
RWD Spindles = 12 lbs

-26 lbs of unsprung weight is a nice!

Adding this weight savings to what I have already saved with the AT-MT swap and deleting the other front drivetrain means the wagon has shaved 200+ lbs with the conversions although was added back with the beefier M5 components.

On to the photos, the first few are a recap of other RWD related parts which were installed.


M5 drivetrain


RWD manual trans vs AWD auto trans


Stock xi open diff vs M5 diff, M5 heatsink needed to be modded to fit wagon.


AWD oil pan up top vs RWD oil pan bottom


RWD configured motor going in


Motor in



Now onto the subframe conversion...

RWD subframe pulled from a 530i, it was 100F this day, not fun.


Steel AWD subframe for reference


RWD subframe cleaned up nicely after a power wash and some sanding


Started to collect parts



Removed my AWD KW V3 to test fit into the RWD spindle


No go


535i PS lines


535i pump/module


Fresh from Germany, KW V1 in RWD E61 fitment


With all parts on hand, time to go in


AWD subframe out



This pic shows how I used my outer CV cups to hols the spindles together


So much room for activities!


AWD engine mounts top, RWD mounts bottom. Although there is a subtle difference I believe the passenger AWD mount could have been reused.


Driver side bracket was from a 530i and not 535i, they are identical minus a small concave section to clear the PS pump bracket, this was a quick fix with a Dremel, ugly but functional.


Assembling RWD subframe


Removing steering shaft



AWD left, RWD right


Ready for install




Not sure if Annie approves


Installed



Since I didn't swap my PS pump from 535xi to 535i I ran into an issue with hose fitment


Here is the 535i pump, it's identical to 535xi minus the dual threaded bolt the banjo fitting bolts to. The 535i bolt is much taller allowing the line to clear the pump


Ground down a chamfered to get the bolt out and further inspect.


Closer look at bolt assembly, I contacted LUK about individual parts and they said no dice, complete pumps only.


As opposed to spending time and money to sway the pump I decided to make it work and busted out the Dremel.


I FINALLY can run an M5 belly pan with the RWD subframe so my M5 bumper, fender liners, and belly pan all bolt up. Belly pan modified to clear intercooler. I love these OEM details.



Filling PS fluid


Swapping ABS/DSC pump. I previously relocated my pump from the engine bay to the OEM M5 location directly under the master cylinder, not sure why it wasn't this way from the factory.


New front pads and low mileage rears and new rear pad wear sensor.



Bleeding brakes, coding software on the garage TV FTW.




After some help from the coding wizard Levan, THANKS LEVAN!!!! my DSC pump was integrated and fully functional, no dash lights! Time for some celebratory revs and video proof of no lights!
[youtube]5cJIiNadG0[/youtube]

I tried to take a WOT 2nd gear rip to show traction control kicking in but the wagon just hooked! lol M5 LSD and modest 285/35 Hankook V12s working well together
[youtube]WdgryuH0x2k[/youtube]

After the conversion was done I threw it on a scale, full interior, street spec with 1/2 tank of gas, happy to report I am sub 4,000 lbs. For fun I looked up the curb weight of an E61 M5 and as per the BMW's specs it's 4,310. For fun I made this comparison to highlight power to weight ratio, it's also a visual explanation as to why I chuckle when people ask if I am going to S85 swap it. Spend money to add weight and go much slower? No thanks! This gets the M boys all hot and bothered but that's ok, they need to learn to not be so defensive.

I refer to my wagon as an N54 powered M5, since that is the most accurate way of describing it since it has M5 everything minus the motor. There are a lot of people who think there is some magic wand BMW waves over M cars as they leave the factory and the reality is it is just some bolt on components that make the M cars M cars. You swap the components, you can make an M car, simple. "Yea, but the vin doesn't say M." Well, M cars are built to offer high performance and a dynamic driving experience, that is what matters to me, if you care more about the VIN number and M badges then you should reflect on your motives for buying an M car. Further more, if M cars can only be factory built with corresponding VINs and 100% original factory specs then that means any modification or upgrade you make your M car is no longer factory spec and therefore no longer an M car. You can't have it both ways lol.

S85 is a "special" race derived motor and offers a unique audible experience so I totally get why people love it and why they think it's an integral part of the "M" experience. But I like performance so the N54 was the choice for me. I know people will not agree with me and that's fine, keep enjoying your M5 (or buy one since they are dirt cheap) and I will continue to enjoy my wagon. Same team guys, same team!!

[Ozzie335i]

Annie approves, but does she get to ride along with you?

[Spyro235]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

It's IN!

Also, just picked up a 12' X5D

I dream of a '12 with the multi-contour cooled seats. What spec is yours? Pics! Plans to delete? It picks up a ton of power, and efficiency.

Also: dude, the M5 wagon build is done. I totally forgot you put upgraded turbos on it, and you're making 620+... that's wild. The thing hauls! what a family hauler!! Weird question, but when you put some miles on it, I'm very curious what kind of MPG's it'll pull on the highway.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by Ozzie335i

Annie approves, but does she get to ride along with you?

Yessir.

Originally Posted by Spyro235

I dream of a '12 with the multi-contour cooled seats. What spec is yours? Pics! Plans to delete? It picks up a ton of power, and efficiency.

Also: dude, the M5 wagon build is done. I totally forgot you put upgraded turbos on it, and you're making 620+... that's wild. The thing hauls! what a family hauler!! Weird question, but when you put some miles on it, I'm very curious what kind of MPG's it'll pull on the highway.

550whp, I used crank HP since it was easier to compare to the advertisex "500hp" of the E60 M5. I probably get 20mpg on the highway. 16 combined, something like that. Running ethanol really hurts the mileage but totally worth it!

For the diesel you can follow along here: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show...0#post24668920

Its a really nice spec. It will be deleted, have X5M brakes, M5 steering wheel, upgraded lighting, and some other touches. Should be a (reliable) beast.

[ucsbwsr]

Not too much to report on the white wagon. She is still an ugly duckling from the outside which was compounded by me cracking my own windshield while trying to remove the top weather stripping. Insurance should cover it even though I am a dumb dumb.

I am still running a single 450 LPFP so my power is fuel limited, eventually that will be upgraded to dual 450s but as an interim solution I turned down the boost to a level where I can run full ethanol. I don't care to blend all the time and with CA gas prices being stupid high E85> 91 (duh).

I did have some misfires popping up and some of them were terminal, meaning clearing the codes didn't resolve the misfire. It turns out my (upgraded) Delphi coils were dying and some completely ate the bed. Thankfully I have a box of used OEM injectors and coils on hand. A few weeks ago one Delphi coil died, I replaced it with a used OEM coil and all good! This week I have another misfire, again replaced cyl 6 with a used OEM coil, then the next day two more Delphi coils died, at least their lifespan is consistent! lol. Planning for the inevitable I replaced the removed the last 2 Delphis and intorduced them to the trash can. I am now back on all used OEM coils. There are either the coils I originally had on my wagon before "upgrading" to the Delphis OR they are used coils from my buddies RB Turbo E90 that were removed prior to a single turbo conversion. I plan to run these until they die because, why not!?

Aside from the coils dropping like flys the wagon has been a sweetheart in terms of function and reliability so I will give myself a big pat on the back knowing I did something right! lol

I have some other projects which are stealing the spot light from the white wagon but I am looking forward to getting the white wagon's aesthetics back up to par with it's mechanical performance. Until then I will continue to live by my function>form motto.


Evan

[E60stwiin]

Can you make a ac line for me?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by E60stwiin

Can you make a ac line for me?

I had a second AC line made and I rent it out to people who are interested in having one made. This has worked pretty well where people A) talk to their local fabricator/AC specialist and discuss the project B) I will ship you the AC line C) you decharge and remove your AC line, bring it to your fabricator to have them whip a replica of the rental line.

I charge $100 for the rental which includes outbound shipping. Shoot me a message if interested!

[N54Twin]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

I had a second AC line made and I rent it out to people who are interested in having one made. This has worked pretty well where people A) talk to their local fabricator/AC specialist and discuss the project B) I will ship you the AC line C) you decharge and remove your AC line, bring it to your fabricator to have them whip a replica of the rental line.

I charge $100 for the rental which includes outbound shipping. Shoot me a message if interested!

Ok how do i send you $100?

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by N54Twin

Ok how do i send you $100?

Sent you a PM

[E60stwiin]

Originally Posted by ucsbwsr

I had a second AC line made and I rent it out to people who are interested in having one made. This has worked pretty well where people A) talk to their local fabricator/AC specialist and discuss the project B) I will ship you the AC line C) you decharge and remove your AC line, bring it to your fabricator to have them whip a replica of the rental line.

I charge $100 for the rental which includes outbound shipping. Shoot me a message if interested!

Understand

[ucsbwsr]

We have ourselves a nice little update right here....

Although the E61 has been mechanically flawless for the past year, it has been running around San Diego as a bit of an ugly duckling with a blue M5 fender and an primed OEM front bumper. I am happy to report the wagon has received some much needed aesthetic love.
.....but wait there's more!

In this installment:
- OEM M5 Front bumper had PDC holes and washers deleted + paint
- OEM M5 fender had vent deleted + paint
- Cracked windshield replaced with new OEM glass
- New OEM cowl
- New OEM windshield surround
- New pano roof surround
- EHC sensor replaced
- Dinan rear sway bar installed
- Cluster received M5 bezels and pre-LCI needles
- OEM Brushed Aluminum Door Trim (dash and console OTW)


"Clean" is always the goal and I am a big believer in less is more. Continuing the there of deleting the (non-functional) M% fender vents I decided the have the PDC sensors and headlight washers shaved. The washer system is super annoying and functionally the system has been deleted for quite some time so it was a no brainer to delete the tilting covers. As for PDC, I know how to park and have good depth perception.

Here is a photoshop I did earlier which convinced to be do the deleting, it's subtle but .....clean!


With the bumper and fender off at paint I decided to also get my cracked windshield replaced.


I also replaced the weather stripping for the pano roof







Broken load leveling sensor replaced


Bumper and fender installed!



Bought a used M5 cluster to steal some parts from, the circular gauge bezels which are part of the front plastic and main bezel. It was a little scratched up so I polished the plastic a bit.


Before/After with M5 bezels, subtle


I also pulled some pre-LCI needles from the junkyard. The pre-LCI needles have the same design as the M5 but are white instead of red. I prefer the design of these needles to the LCI ones my wagon came with, in comparison the LCI needles look a bit bloated and not as sharp.

IMO the red M5 needles look "cool" (I run them on my X5D cluster) but are much harder to see during the day and therefore inferior to the white.

Here are the final pics:



New OEM windshield going in,



Fresh


Since I converted to RWD the RD Sport sways I had would no longer fit, since they are NLA and arguably the most desireable sway bars for the E61 I sold them as a set. My front sway bar is from a convertible M6 which is the largest OEM bar available for the E6X, for the rear I went with a Dinan unit which surprisingly, carries a reasonable price tag considering it has also the usually-overpriced Dinan badge.




Finally found some OEM brushed aluminum trim at a reasonable price, center console and dash trim is on the way as well.

The old trim was OEM wood wrapped in 3M "brushed aluminum" I much prefer the real deal!



Before


After



Looking good!

[CanadianTSi]

Alot of the pics now seem broken, which is a shame.

[ucsbwsr]

Originally Posted by CanadianTSi

Alot of the pics now seem broken, which is a shame.

It's weird, I have always used Google and not had issues but some forums as of recent have been fubbing up.

Try https://www.n54tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36899
or https://bmw.***********.com/threads/...build-log.559/