[oVeRdOsE.]

-Intro-
Reflection

I've had 2 daily in my life to date: 1996 Nissan Maxima SE 5mt and a 2008 Audi Avant 6mt.
Then I decided to buy a T-rex 1200 for fun, but sold it after 2 summers for my house.

Why an old wagon: because I have a family and I do NOT want a minivan. Priorities: manual, fast, space, AWD.

My audi fell into the seciton: project car, but it has to stay a daily. Then, I exaggerated on the mods and being a Canadian model under about 100 in this configuration, I haven't taken it out in winter since 2018.

So I bought a winter beater. Nothing in mind in particular, but I stumbled upon a 3-month-old ad on kijiji:

BMW E91 Tourning 2008, 255k km, sport package, navigation , 6mt , all maintenance up to date , nothing to do, no rust. Asking $5000.

I went to see, and fell in love with it, 3500$ negotiated, it was mine.














So can't decide if I do a Audi or BWM wagon project. Put a excel sheet together and the BMW hands down, way cheaper for the price.

- Engine swap in HP: BMW win. An N54 is 700bhp stock internals, a 2.7TT is 450-500bhp. A 3.0T is out of the question. It's too expensive, too complex, and will hold 550bhp. But there's few on the road.
- BMW can toggle RWD and AWD, and play with the propulsion/traction ratio. Audi AWD all the time 50/50.
- BMW more modern: navi in the dash, keyless comfort, inflatable bolster, possibility of a digital cluster, adaptive cruise, etc.
- BMW more resistant to rust
- BMW MUCH more aftermarket.




BMW project begun

[oVeRdOsE.]

Finding the drivetrain

The list is endless, and very hard to find. Forget salvage yards.
I start looking for auctions.
Nothing under $8000 and I don't even know if the car runs.

Anyway, at this point, I'm going to look for a 2.7TT and do the Audi.

Until that day in the fall of 2022, a guy puts a GEM up for sale;

BMW 2009 335xi 6mt, fully loaded, no winter, 115k km, NO check engine (I swear!) ( m pack retrofit, comfort, sport, leather, navi) with goodies: downpipe, muffler, intake, tune, MHD, JB4 connect, Coil KW V1, shifter performance, anddddddd 8k$ maintenance between 2020 and 2022 at a garage known here.









The guy is fed up:
- sick turbo lag, garage diagnosis: rear turbo almost dead. (ended up it was probably the tune)
- clutch done
- a/c not working.

It's PERFECT for my project! I want to change everything. I leave on my lunch hour, and buy it.

[Torgus]

Sweet! The E91s look cool but they need an engine swap which is exactly what you are doing.

You probably want to keep it with a BMW engine and awd but...I would LS swap that bish.

[jbellk75rt]

Well, now I see how you picked your nom de plume. Congratulations. It looks like quite a project and should keep you off the streets.............till it doesn't. I'll be following along with your progress though my E91 will stay as BMW intended. ��

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Torgus

Sweet! The E91s look cool but they need an engine swap which is exactly what you are doing.

You probably want to keep it with a BMW engine and awd but...I would LS swap that bish.

yep LS was an option for sure, but I like troubles. and the N54 has 115k km and over 8k$ of maintenance since 2020. Car slept since late 2022 in my driveway anyway.



*** Disclaimer : dont be surprised if I post fast, the project is 80% done at this date

[M-technik-3]

You going to swap the N52 into the old 335xi shell and sell it? I'd love the interior for my touring as mine is beige ugly.

[lordnikon]

Reminds me of this:

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

You going to swap the N52 into the old 335xi shell and sell it? I'd love the interior for my touring as mine is beige ugly.

maybe, not sure yet. This will take a lot of time and I want to keep some time with my family.

Since the 335 is fully loaded, Ill swap everything in the wagon.

Originally Posted by lordnikon

Reminds me of this:

yep, was my main motivation.

But my swap was way easier, most stuff from my 2009 fits no coding into my 2008

[jbash87]

Love the project. My dream is to make my E91 into an M3 look-a-like w/ an N54 and AWD.

Very excited that we don't have to wait to follow along since you're almost done!

[oVeRdOsE.]

Part 1 Dismantling the donor

Challenge: 11x20 mini garage and sloped driveway


Front end dismantling





Engine out, in 2 short days. I was impressed by how easy it was to do. I have very few ziplock bags with identifications.



Now it's the rear subframe's turn. It's an upgrade to the 328, with a bigger brake.





OK, time to get the shell out on a fckin sloped driveway.

Buy some dolly wheels, and make myself a 2x8 dolly.

I call a 2500 cummins ( InB4 dont over do it little cummins ) and we take it out. Everything goes well.

[eljay]

There you are, finally!! 😀

Great to see the thread and the updates!

I went from high mileage big turbo A4 Avant to low mileage E91. I don't find E9x interior lacking, but Audi was always a bit ahead in interior in my books.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by eljay

There you are, finally!! ��

Great to see the thread and the updates!

I went from high mileage big turbo A4 Avant to low mileage E91. I don't find E9x interior lacking, but Audi was always a bit ahead in interior in my books.

maybe with your B8, but same era, E90 wins over B7 for sure.

My B7 is a 'real' s-line with alu trims and rs4 pedals from factory. Ive added S4 B7 seats.
But E90 is way more comfy, inflatable bolster is insane. CIC look wayyy more modern than a doubledin. Steering wheel sport pack E90 loos more modern, feels better too. Shifter better on E90, cluster too.
The left arm position on the door while doing long road trip is way more comfy on the E90.
E90 offers comfort access too, not the B7.
Overall, this is subjective, but I like more the E90.

Only cons : cup holders and fckin turn signal lever !

[oVeRdOsE.]

Part 2: Working on the drivetrain

This is where the project goes off the rails.

The famous "while we're at it". I could very well have left the 335 as it was, in perfect condition, or almost. I could have put clutch stock and turbo rebuilt.

Part list while I'm at it:

- Clutch DKM Twin Disk 740lb/ft
- Poly bushing rear sub frame
- Poly diff
- suspension
- seals: mainly rear main and transmission

annnndddddddddddddddddddd

- Single turbo kit Pulsar 6262 a/r 0.85 : 630bhp pump, 900hp e85.



clutch, ouf wear out. No wonder, 115k km, on a FBO, +/- 420 bhp.





Turbo time, big job, even the engine out !!!! Took me 1.5h each!


Impressive, mini turbo, some people get 500bhp out of these stock turbos!



Turbos gone



suspension, bushing, tmap 3.5 bar, rear main, exhaust manifold seals, filters, etc



Challenges in subsequent stages.

- E91 rust
- Different wiring (re-wiring)
- Coding
- Understanding how to install a single turbo
- exhaust (single exit for that L6 sound)
- paint (while I'm at it, I'll put it on LCI parts)
- Back pain
- Garage space.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

maybe with your B8, but same era, E90 wins over B7 for sure.

My B7 is a 'real' s-line with alu trims and rs4 pedals from factory. Ive added S4 B7 seats.
But E90 is way more comfy, inflatable bolster is insane. CIC look wayyy more modern than a doubledin. Steering wheel sport pack E90 loos more modern, feels better too. Shifter better on E90, cluster too.
The left arm position on the door while doing long road trip is way more comfy on the E90.
E90 offers comfort access too, not the B7.
Overall, this is subjective, but I like more the E90.

Only cons : cup holders and fckin turn signal lever !

Yes, good points. The tech is better on E90 and it definitely beats Audi for sporty feel.
I still think Audi (B6) felt more solid when shutting doors and with interior switches etc.
And you just reminded me that I have to add lumbar support to my swapped Sport seats as oddly, they didn't include that option.

[Onizukachan]

Looking forward to the next chapters.

[tlow98]

Love this project. I just built an e46 sedan M3. It’s was a lot of work, but in the end I’m quite happy.

Keep it up, I know it’s a struggle sometimes but it’ll be worth it!

[TyroneShoelaces]

Dang that's a nice 335 to use as a donor! Probably still some value to claw back in parts from it. Glad to see you're finally starting your project.
That car wasn't making 420 hp on those inlets. Pressure plate definitely has some hot spots but that clutch disc isn't smoked.

Don't be like me. Do the driveshaft center support bearing now. When I did my swap I didn't bother looking at it and now my wagon is in the garage with the exhaust out again because of my bluetooth bearing.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by TyroneShoelaces

Dang that's a nice 335 to use as a donor! Probably still some value to claw back in parts from it. Glad to see you're finally starting your project.
That car wasn't making 420 hp on those inlets. Pressure plate definitely has some hot spots but that clutch disc isn't smoked.

Don't be like me. Do the driveshaft center support bearing now. When I did my swap I didn't bother looking at it and now my wagon is in the garage with the exhaust out again because of my bluetooth bearing.

this slowed down the project, didn't want to tear down a such good donor.

BUT, salvage yards or even part outs was almost the same price. And those were often pre-lci and base model, and overall high mileage.

Now , got a cheap 335, low mileage, loaded and no winter. Can't pass on that, still I dont get it, those are going around 13-15k$ cad normally.


Well , for the bhp, very hard to tell, I agree this a bit overestimated, but the car had full exhaust with a real PE muffler, momentum intake with a back end flash and custom boost map, which was set @ 20psi max on high rpm. Low rpm around 12psi. Butt dyno said it was faster than my n55 stage 1+ which should be around 340-360bhp.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Rear mean seal (had to do it twice, had a 8 bolt seal, they are similar, but the 8 bolts is thicker .

Also good news, the oil on the top was from an untighten valve cover (cover was new from the previous owner) ! from all the bolt 6 of them were loose, I can remove them by hand !!



carbon need to be done. Go the poor way : soak in brake cleaner, brass brush and ending with a sand blaster gun with soda in it.

Catch can and water/meth on the way to keep this cleaner.



Also painted and change the rear subframe and diff bushing

[StradaRedlands]

This is so great!!! I love seeing full rebuilds.

[oVeRdOsE.]

more parts !

6262 gen2 ballbearing top mount kit

[StradaRedlands]

Whoa.