M54B30 Engine rebuild for turbo

[RAiMA]

Well Gents,

I was fortunate enough to jump on an opportunity where I could pick up a M54B30 for an amazing price. I inspected the engine and all seems to be fine. Parts are parts are labeled and grouped for easy assembly again.

The plan atm is to clean it up, purchase some new pistons, bearings, con rods, and whatever bits I need to rebuild it for turbo applications. I'll get the engine reconditioned, balanced, sleeved and o-ringed. Eventually, the 2.8L will come out and be for sale and the 3.0L will go in the E36 compact.

I'll update this thread from time to time with the progress of this project.

The 2.8L is currently producing an estimated 320rwkw on 18PSI. God knows what this 3.0L will produce.

In the mean time, here's a pic of my E39 Touring filled with all the bits

[teen ti]

always brightens up my day to see a bmw wagon, looking forward to seeing the project as it progresses. good luck

[GrandpaTuner]

Nice...Good Luck

[RAiMA]

Thanks guys.

Here's a pic of the cams in the current state.



Just bought a parts washer. Going to soak it over night with some other parts to clean them up.

[RAiMA]

Took the motor to my mechanic today, to discuss the path for the engine.

Apparently the M54 is a less suitable engine for turbo compared to the M50/M52 block. The inlets are the main restrictions. The engine would be required to run more boost to obtain the same amount of air flow efficiency to the M50/M52.

At this stage, I'm considering taking the 3L crank and either put it in the E36 compact and change the con rods to make it a 3L turbo or save them for the E39 wagon and retune the ECU.

I'm still going to clean the engine as I think it's a good learning experience

Will most likely part out the engine bits.

[RAiMA]

Here's some of the before and after photos of the engine parts.

Got a lot more done than expected. Noticed the exhaust cam is stuffed after cleaning it. It's got a groove around the middle of the shaft.

Before:


After:


Here's some after shots of the inlet camshaft and inlet cambox