B58 Swap In Bmw 120i E87

KostasE87 · 05-02-2020, 01:53 PM

Hello guys i know that this is not the appropriate forum thread to write this, But i am planning on swaping a B58 engine in my BMW 120i E87 2005 but i have lots of questions about it
I found a complete B58 engine with ancillaries for a very decent price and due to the reason that my car has 250.000 Km (150.000 miles), Everything is starting to falls apart, most of the attachments of the engine need to be prepaired (Oil leaks , Radiator constantly failing, Steering pump oil leaks and the steering wheel is super heavy) yeah i know this engine( N46B200 is not known for its reliability, Im the second owner of this car i bough it when it had 210.00 km, But something always failed mostly oil leaks etc, So i have come to a decision to swap the engine for a better more powerful and way more reliable engine, But there are a lot of questions arising, Like Is it possible ( I know it is but how hard its going to be) I am not doing the swap on my own ill pay someone to do it, Another question is what parts i need to fit it in my car except engine ancillaries, Loom , ECU and Gearbox
I hope someone could answer my questions

slow3oh · 07-25-2020, 02:00 AM

I don't have much knowledge to help you. But I support this swap 10000%

The B58 is nasty.. 340's with bolt ons and a little e making 500whp.

Only tip I can give is you're probably going to need a completely standalone engine management system.

Or you could probably install every harness, sensor, plug, module, everything from the b58 harness into your chassis. But it'd be probably the bigger pain of a job.

I hope you follow through with this. Sincerely.

slow3oh · 07-25-2020, 02:02 AM

Also, this is going to be a 5 figure cost swap. Without a doubt.

NorthernDancer · 07-25-2020, 09:47 AM

We in North America do not know the E87 nor the N46 so we likely can't be of much help. In Roundel magazine July 2020, Alex McCulloch writes, "An engine swap is not for the faint of heart" and also says, " the last 10% [of the swap] can be 90% of the heartache".
I can see huge problems arising, and tons of money being spent. I would think putting in a N52 from a 125 or 130 would be a much easier project.

Not sure if you'll be able to see this link:
https://view.imirus.com/290/document/13379/page/28

juld0zer · 07-26-2020, 08:03 AM

It would be one hell of a sleeper. Provided you can get traction, it would chomp a lot of cars.

Whatever you do, make sure the rear end is beefed up and well sorted. Short wheelbase cars are quite dicey. N54/55 is already too much for the stock rear end.

I did (and still do) contemplate an N62 swap into my E87. If the engines were not so troublesome, cheaper to buy and readily available it would be quite fun too.

StarThreat · 07-26-2020, 11:26 AM

following for history in the making haha

chris_flies · 07-26-2020, 03:03 PM

Cool idea, but it will be very very expensive. You really might as well buy a 135i or an M140i from the get-go.

The computers are from entirely different generations, and utilize different communication protocols. Standalone would probably be the only way to manage the engine, but then you gain the cost of building a wiring harness,and then development costs to get it to communicate with the car's stock CAN bus so that everything functions as it should. I'd love to see it happen, but I fear it would end up being far too "race car" to drive daily.

ShocknAwe · 07-26-2020, 05:24 PM

Cool idea. It'll require all wiring, DME, trans and all assoc computers steering, then all interior tech to match too such as cluster AC radio etc.

Mismatching generations

Basically strip it down to the chassis.

N54 swap would be infinitely less expensive and I just modified mine to flow better than the B58.

victorburli_f32 · 01-25-2021, 09:13 PM

hello im fairly new to this car thing too..... i recently purchased my 428I about 7 months ago and im not going to lie i love my car and the n20 engine has been very reliable to me but to be honest i want to go on with my build and proceed with more power bc the n20 can only hold so much power before it blows up. so i want to do an engine swap and get the b58 on my 428i! now ive been told it is very possible and that it can be done but its going to take alot of money putting this in but im willing to do it. My question are

1)what stuff do i need to do a b58 engine swap
and hahaha ik 1rst i need a mechanic

2)will i need a gearbox? cause ik if i was able to buy an b58 engine it should already come with one

3)ecu and ecu wiring harness and ik its must

$)intercooler thats fits an b58,new downpipe,

4)i will probably have to code my car after doing an engine swap like the cluster and all that.

!!please if anybody can help please let me know!!!!!

Veriz · 01-28-2022, 08:15 AM

Following this thread, as im interested in the merging of electronics...
Im considering a N55/B58 into my e82 which is currently without a powerplant.

Preferably i would like to "connect" the new engine to existing control units in the car and code everything together. If that doesn´t work i can go standalone ECU.

Tyc0 · 02-22-2022, 05:28 PM

I think the fact that the OP hasn't said anything shows a lot. This would be a very cool swap but doesn't seem worth it at all.

amg6975 · 02-23-2022, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veriz

Following this thread, as im interested in the merging of electronics...
Im considering a N55/B58 into my e82 which is currently without a powerplant.

Preferably i would like to "connect" the new engine to existing control units in the car and code everything together. If that doesn´t work i can go standalone ECU.

There is no way the B58 will play nice with the rest of the car. However, any engine that was in a similar year 1 or 3 series will work, basically: N54/N55, N52/N51, or S65.

viniciusrp-br · 08-14-2023, 03:14 PM

Hello,
I live in Brazil and I have a BMW 118i E81 with M Sport kit.
I love this bodywork and I've thought several times about swapping the engine, transmission and differential.
I believe that the N20 engine can serve in the E87 generation cars without many modifications because the X1 of the E84 generation came out with this engine during the years 2011 to 2015 in the 20i and 28i versions.
The BMW X1 E84 has many components shared between the 1 series E87 and 3 series E90 generations, these components may come from a donor car.
I think the N20 is a good option because the engine is lightweight and has good performance potential due to the preparation parts currently available for the N20 on the market.

05-02-2020, 01:53 PM	#1
KostasE87 Registered 8 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW 120i e87 Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Greece iTrader: (0)	B58 Swap In Bmw 120i E87 Hello guys i know that this is not the appropriate forum thread to write this, But i am planning on swaping a B58 engine in my BMW 120i E87 2005 but i have lots of questions about it I found a complete B58 engine with ancillaries for a very decent price and due to the reason that my car has 250.000 Km (150.000 miles), Everything is starting to falls apart, most of the attachments of the engine need to be prepaired (Oil leaks , Radiator constantly failing, Steering pump oil leaks and the steering wheel is super heavy) yeah i know this engine( N46B200 is not known for its reliability, Im the second owner of this car i bough it when it had 210.00 km, But something always failed mostly oil leaks etc, So i have come to a decision to swap the engine for a better more powerful and way more reliable engine, But there are a lot of questions arising, Like Is it possible ( I know it is but how hard its going to be) I am not doing the swap on my own ill pay someone to do it, Another question is what parts i need to fit it in my car except engine ancillaries, Loom , ECU and Gearbox I hope someone could answer my questions
	Appreciate 1 slow3oh11.50 Tweet Quote

07-25-2020, 02:00 AM	#2
slow3oh Enlisted Member 12 Rep 36 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW 135i M Sport Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Annapolis, MD iTrader: (0)	I don't have much knowledge to help you. But I support this swap 10000% The B58 is nasty.. 340's with bolt ons and a little e making 500whp. Only tip I can give is you're probably going to need a completely standalone engine management system. Or you could probably install every harness, sensor, plug, module, everything from the b58 harness into your chassis. But it'd be probably the bigger pain of a job. I hope you follow through with this. Sincerely. __________________ 2013 135i M Sport/DCT/Carbon Black 2020 Tiguan R Line Black/Pure White
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-25-2020, 02:02 AM	#3
slow3oh Enlisted Member 12 Rep 36 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW 135i M Sport Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Annapolis, MD iTrader: (0)	Also, this is going to be a 5 figure cost swap. Without a doubt. __________________ 2013 135i M Sport/DCT/Carbon Black 2020 Tiguan R Line Black/Pure White
	Appreciate 1 amg6975500.00 Quote

07-25-2020, 09:47 AM	#4
NorthernDancer Colonel 848 Rep 2,276 Posts Drives: 08 Sedona 128 & 06 330xiT 6MT Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Ottawa On Canada iTrader: (3)	We in North America do not know the E87 nor the N46 so we likely can't be of much help. In Roundel magazine July 2020, Alex McCulloch writes, "An engine swap is not for the faint of heart" and also says, " the last 10% [of the swap] can be 90% of the heartache". I can see huge problems arising, and tons of money being spent. I would think putting in a N52 from a 125 or 130 would be a much easier project. Not sure if you'll be able to see this link: https://view.imirus.com/290/document/13379/page/28
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-26-2020, 08:03 AM	#5
juld0zer Lieutenant Colonel 480 Rep 1,600 Posts Drives: Prev 135i 7DCT, Now 130i 6sp Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: 2153 iTrader: (0)	It would be one hell of a sleeper. Provided you can get traction, it would chomp a lot of cars. Whatever you do, make sure the rear end is beefed up and well sorted. Short wheelbase cars are quite dicey. N54/55 is already too much for the stock rear end. I did (and still do) contemplate an N62 swap into my E87. If the engines were not so troublesome, cheaper to buy and readily available it would be quite fun too.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

07-26-2020, 11:26 AM	#6
StarThreat Private 7 Rep 54 Posts Drives: N54 E82 Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	following for history in the making haha
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07-26-2020, 03:03 PM	#7
chris_flies Sideways and Smiling 3027 Rep 2,860 Posts Drives: In Exuberance Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Rosamond, CA USA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2012 BMW E91 328i [0.00]	Cool idea, but it will be very very expensive. You really might as well buy a 135i or an M140i from the get-go. The computers are from entirely different generations, and utilize different communication protocols. Standalone would probably be the only way to manage the engine, but then you gain the cost of building a wiring harness,and then development costs to get it to communicate with the car's stock CAN bus so that everything functions as it should. I'd love to see it happen, but I fear it would end up being far too "race car" to drive daily. __________________ 2012 BMW 328i 6-Speed Wagon \| Deep Sea Blue with Grey Dakota Leather \| Manual Swap, 330i Intake + Tune, 3.15 Helical LSD, Öhlins R&T (SOLD) 2009 BMW 128i 6-Speed Coupé \| Monaco Blue with Black Sensatec \| chris_flies' 128i thread
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07-26-2020, 05:24 PM	#8
ShocknAwe 1Addict 3233 Rep 7,894 Posts Drives: E82 Mutt, M57 Truck Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Charleston iTrader: (22)	Cool idea. It'll require all wiring, DME, trans and all assoc computers steering, then all interior tech to match too such as cluster AC radio etc. Mismatching generations Basically strip it down to the chassis. N54 swap would be infinitely less expensive and I just modified mine to flow better than the B58. __________________ 2010 135i 6MT Jet Black N54/3 FE82 Mutt \| BUILD THREAD \| GARAGE SALE
	Appreciate 1 Afam28298.00 Quote

01-25-2021, 09:13 PM	#9
victorburli_f32 Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: 428ibmw2015 Join Date: Jan 2021 Location: Naples,fl iTrader: (0) Garage List 2015 428i [0.00]	b58 engine swap hello im fairly new to this car thing too..... i recently purchased my 428I about 7 months ago and im not going to lie i love my car and the n20 engine has been very reliable to me but to be honest i want to go on with my build and proceed with more power bc the n20 can only hold so much power before it blows up. so i want to do an engine swap and get the b58 on my 428i! now ive been told it is very possible and that it can be done but its going to take alot of money putting this in but im willing to do it. My question are 1)what stuff do i need to do a b58 engine swap and hahaha ik 1rst i need a mechanic 2)will i need a gearbox? cause ik if i was able to buy an b58 engine it should already come with one 3)ecu and ecu wiring harness and ik its must $)intercooler thats fits an b58,new downpipe, 4)i will probably have to code my car after doing an engine swap like the cluster and all that. !!please if anybody can help please let me know!!!!!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

01-28-2022, 08:15 AM	#10
Veriz Registered 2 Rep 4 Posts Drives: Bmw M135i & Bmw e82 drift proj Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Europe iTrader: (0)	Following this thread, as im interested in the merging of electronics... Im considering a N55/B58 into my e82 which is currently without a powerplant. Preferably i would like to "connect" the new engine to existing control units in the car and code everything together. If that doesn´t work i can go standalone ECU.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-22-2022, 05:28 PM	#11
Tyc0 Lieutenant 147 Rep 517 Posts Drives: BMW e92 335i Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Oregon iTrader: (0)	I think the fact that the OP hasn't said anything shows a lot. This would be a very cool swap but doesn't seem worth it at all.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

08-14-2023, 03:14 PM	#13
viniciusrp-br Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW 118i E81 2011 Join Date: Aug 2023 Location: Brasilia iTrader: (0)	Hello, I live in Brazil and I have a BMW 118i E81 with M Sport kit. I love this bodywork and I've thought several times about swapping the engine, transmission and differential. I believe that the N20 engine can serve in the E87 generation cars without many modifications because the X1 of the E84 generation came out with this engine during the years 2011 to 2015 in the 20i and 28i versions. The BMW X1 E84 has many components shared between the 1 series E87 and 3 series E90 generations, these components may come from a donor car. I think the N20 is a good option because the engine is lightweight and has good performance potential due to the preparation parts currently available for the N20 on the market.
	Appreciate 0 Quote