"160i" 6.0l Motor Swap Build - @ls1series

[ShocknAwe]

How's it coming along bud?

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

How's it coming along bud?

Everything's good, just been enjoying the car (daily driver). Swapped out the rear subframe and diff bushings for m3/poly and refreshed the suspension. Feels great with the low end power.

Working on piecing together the AC system and turbo parts now, so I should have some more updates in a few more months.

[ryanwrobel]

Did you have to replace the dash? Did you have to use the wiring harness from the LS?

[M1chele]

sub'd.

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by ryanwrobel

Did you have to replace the dash? Did you have to use the wiring harness from the LS?

No, everything from the firewall back is OEM BMW.

The Holley Terminator ECU came with its own harness, I threw the BMW engine harness in the trash. The Holley communicates over CANBus so everything works out of the box except for ABS and Tach. I used a CanBox adapter to enable wheel speed and restore ABS and make the tach work again.

[highbrowed]

This weekend I decided to start tackling the AC system, as AC is a necessity in South Florida. Whoever designed this car made it quite difficult to access the evaporator, nearly everything under the dash had to come out, including the crash bar.





Closeup of the bad evaporator core:


Cleaned out the heater box and replaced all of the seals while I was in there:


I'd estimate the evaporator replacement took me about 8 hours to complete from start to finish. It's not difficult as long as you make sure to document how everything goes back together and keep parts organized as they are removed.



I installed new air vents as the original vents were very sun faded.



I'm waiting for the remaining hoses and fittings to complete the AC system. I'll be monitoring the CANBus for the AC on signal and using a custom output on the Holley ECU to kick on the compressor when the AC button is activated.

Will continue to update as more progress is made.

[picklz]

Looks awesome man, this is very similar to the path I'm considering going down.

Question for you on the driveline, reading throug the posts it sounded like you swapped your driveshaft for one out of a DCT 135i, is that correct? Did you order that online or source one locally? Any other changes or parts you needed (outside of the PMC adapter)? Also what clutch did you end up going with?

Appreciate you posting, nice to see successful swaps.

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by picklz

Looks awesome man, this is very similar to the path I'm considering going down.

Question for you on the driveline, reading throug the posts it sounded like you swapped your driveshaft for one out of a DCT 135i, is that correct? Did you order that online or source one locally? Any other changes or parts you needed (outside of the PMC adapter)? Also what clutch did you end up going with?

Appreciate you posting, nice to see successful swaps.

Hi, yes the driveshaft is from an n55 135i DCT which I sourced locally. The DCT driveshaft is about an inch shorter than the 6MT driveshaft and still mates to the 135i rear end via the unique differential nut.

I used the clutch included with the PMC kit which I believe is a 335is clutch, but I'll be going with something a bit more heavy duty soon as I'll be boosting the car.

[highbrowed]

Working on finishing up the AC and have the front end disassembled so I took the time to install some parts I had laying around:

PMC Motorsports polyurethane motor mounts:





Condorspeedshop transmission bushings:





ICT Billet manual belt tensioner:



Will be working this week to install a new accessory drive from lse90.com which will allow me to install a Sanden AC compressor low on the driver's side. I'll then crimp custom AC lines to mate the compressor to the BMW evaporator and condenser, and activate the compressor using custom inputs and outputs on the Holley ECU. Installing the AC on the driver's side will allow me room on the passenger side for the turbo, turbo manifold, and downpipe.

[WrathOTM]

Oooo, those mounts are sooo girthy!

Sorry couldn't resist.

[highbrowed]

Made some pretty significant changes this past weekend. I worked on installing the remaining parts to get my AC system working, including a new compressor, condenser, dryer, and custom AC lines. I worked with Michael Page from lse90.com to get first dibs on a new accessory drive which allows the AC compressor to be installed on the driver side, leaving plenty of room for a turbo on the passenger side.

Lse90.com AC Accessory drive installed. The new Sanden AC compressor is on the bottom right:




At the firewall evaporator connection I used a custom adapter from Lse90.com:




I bought an AC line crimper so I could make my own AC lines, using fittings and hoses purchased from ColdHose.com:








Another custom adapter from Lse90.com was used to mate the AC compressor to the condenser:




To prep for the turbo that will be going on the passenger side, I needed to relocate my expansion tank. I was able to relocate it over to the driver side and it fit perfectly.




I routed the expansion tank drain line the same way it is routed in the N54, and plumbed it to the heater core line. I used a molded heating hose and 45 degree BMW coolant fitting to route around the power steering cooler lines.






I then tied the steam ports from the BMW radiator and the LS together and routed them to the top of the expansion tank, which is how it was routed on the N54.




This new configuration (where I am actually using the expansion tank as an expansion tank, and not just an overflow tank) removed the need for an inline filler neck on the upper radiator hose, and I can now open the weep valve on the expansion tank when filling the system, which allows air to escape from both motor and radiator to ease filling.






I took this time to also relocate my Mishimoto oil catch can from the strut brace to the 128i power steering reservoir mount. After some slight modifications the oil catch can looks at home here, like it was installed like this from the factory.




Another "while you're in there" moment came for me when I was wiring the new compressor. I didn't like the fact that the wiring wasn't labeled so I took the time to identify and label every wire involved in the swap.






Here's how the engine bay looks today after the modifications.




I now have PLENTY of room on the passenger side for the planned 78mm turbo, manifold, and downpipe (coming soon).

[houtan]

Nice work!!

That Tee fitting that you used to splice the expansion tank drain to the heater line, where is that from?

Reason I ask is I will be doing something similar but could only find a plastic tee made by doorman. I can get a brass tee from Home Depot but the specs say working temperature is up to 180 Fahrenheit. Which seems odd to me but the coolant gets warmer than that so I went with the plastic tee.

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by houtan

Nice work!!

That Tee fitting that you used to splice the expansion tank drain to the heater line, where is that from?

Reason I ask is I will be doing something similar but could only find a plastic tee made by doorman. I can get a brass tee from Home Depot but the specs say working temperature is up to 180 Fahrenheit. Which seems odd to me but the coolant gets warmer than that so I went with the plastic tee.

Thank you, I'll dm you the link.

[frankies.slow128i]

Hey so I'm in the process of gathering parts for my 128i turbo 5.3 swap and I noticed you're running a stock cooling system, did you need to upgrade the radiator, how well does the LS cooling line up with the OE radiator?

[highbrowed]

Originally Posted by frankies.slow128i

Hey so I'm in the process of gathering parts for my 128i turbo 5.3 swap and I noticed you're running a stock cooling system, did you need to upgrade the radiator, how well does the LS cooling line up with the OE radiator?

The stock cooling system is fine for this application. I might upgrade to an all aluminum radiator in the future but the stock fan and shroud are unmatched compared to aftermarket alternatives. Another option would be to use an M3 radiator and fan, I believe it's a higher cooling capacity and I know the fan is higher wattage compared to the 135i.

[e80two]

Originally Posted by StevieJ2

Unfortunately I believe the E and F setups are different. Not sure what specifically, but none of the adapters I found go with an e series either.

https://pmcmotorsport-shop.com/produ...c-DCT-8HP.html

"Aluminum adapter enabling to mate (SWAP / conversion) the GM Chevrolet LS LS1 LS3 LS6 LS7 LS9 LT1 LT4 LSA LSX Vortec engine with the manual / automatic ZF (ZF Friedrichshafen) / Getrag gearbox from BMW.


BMW GETRAG DKG DCT GS7D36SG N54 S55 N55 7-speed
GS7D36SG - BMT 28 00 7 640 956 / 28 00 7640956
GS7D36SG - 28 00 7 585 538 / 28 00 7585538
GS7D36SG - 28 00 8 482 016 / 28 00 8482016
GS7D36SG - ABW 28 00 7 853 541 / 28 00 7853541
GS7D36SG - ABY 28 00 7 853 542 / 28 00 7853542
GS7D36SG - AC2 28 00 7 853 546 / 28 00 7853546
GS7D36SG - AC5 28 00 7 853 549 / 28 00 7853549
GS7D36SG - ADE 28 00 7 853 550 / 28 00 7853550
GS7D36SG - AEA 28 00 7 853 551 / 28 00 7853551
GS7D36SG - AEB 28 00 7 853 552 / 28 00 7853552
GS7D36SG - AEE 28 00 7 853 554 / 28 00 7853554
GS7D36SG - AEG 28 00 7 853 555 / 28 00 7853555
GS7D36SG - AEP 28 00 7 853 557 / 28 00 7853557"