Vanevera

Hi Guys,

I need your advice. I own 2008 E 60 M package with N52B25 Engine with Black Cap. The car is EU model produced for Japan, with 218 HP.

The car has only 60000 Miles but eats a lot of oil, around liter per 1000 KM. So, I have to somehow resolve the oil issue. The first option that I have is to open the engine and replace all the parts responsible for high oil consumption. The issue is that this will cost a lot. So, I have started to consider an option of replacing existing 2.5 liter engine with bigger engine, that is 3.0 with 272 HP. It might sound strange, but engine replacement will cost less than the repair of existing one

So, I have researched this question but did not get definite answer, whether this swap is possible. I know that those two engines are physically same and there is no issue of fitment. The real issue is how much of modification will be needed to swap N52B25 with N52B30 ...

When talking about N52B30 I mean Engine with black top that produces 272 HP, not the one that produces 258 HP with silver top...

Have you had any exprience with this? any help will be highlu appreciated.

Pistratoaie

Hello,
I'm currently looking at doing the same thing for an 05 525i. I'm also looking at an LCI N52B30 engine (going from a silver to black top though). I've called BMW dealers and spoke to their technicians and got the response that it's a straight swap. The only thing extra you need is the DME from the new engine to be able to use the 3.0 litre engine tune, and the CAS with that DME to be able to start the new engine (unless there's a workaround for this I'm not aware of). I got this from post 29 here:
N52B25 silver top vs black top engine swap possible? - Page 2

I'm looking at buying an entire car from a salvage auction instead of just the engine, so I've been waiting for months now for the right car to come by. This way I'd definitely get all the parts and not risk missing CAS or DME. That and a number of LCI items to put on my pre-LCI E60.

Please share any information you come by, I'm also constantly researching this and preparing for the swap. Would also like to here back from anyone who has actually done this swap.

Vanevera

Hi,

Thanks for reply. My technician also says that it should fit with no problem, but he did not mention DME and CAS.

I am not quite familiar with these words and please, can you explain what is DME and CAS?





[QUOTE=Pistratoaie;1593931]

Hello,
The only thing extra you need is the DME from the new engine to be able to use the 3.0 litre engine tune, and the CAS with that DME to be able to start the new engine (unless there's a workaround for this I'm not aware of).

richie281vn

DME and CAS are a must.

PRe LCI N52 uses MSV70 while LCI use MSV80. This DME is associated with corresponding CAS and subsequently your key to start the engine. If you're lucky finding a technician who can virginise your CAS and mate it to the new MSV80 then you can cross one thing off the to-buy list.

I've looked into this before and decided to give up as the increased horsepower/torque though appealing but does not justify the hassle. Probably it is just my particular situation since we do not have a lot of N52B30 running around where I live but to each his own.

Vanevera

Thanks again,

My car is April 2007 Production, LCI model with Black top engine. Does it mean that my DME will be MSV80?

Is there any way to sort this out? Can I find this info with vin code ?

And if I assume that it is MSV80, it means that I won't need change of DME and CAS?

Thanks



[QUOTE=richie281vn;1593951]DME and CAS are a must.

PRe LCI N52 uses MSV70 while LCI use MSV80. This DME is associated with corresponding CAS and subsequently your key to start the engine. If you're lucky finding a technician who can virginise your CAS and mate it to the new MSV80 then you can cross one thing off the to-buy list.

Pistratoaie

Read post 29 in the link above if you can, I'll summarize below:
If your buying just the engine you'd need to get the DME and CAS unit from the car which housed that engine. Or another 30i DME and CAS just for the 30i engine tune.

The DME is the engine control unit which makes the most of the engine it is installed with. For example, your old DME for the 25i is essentially tuned to work for that engine. If you replace the engine but keep the old DME it will still use the tune for a b25 and not a b30 engine.

The CAS (Car Access System) communicates with the keys and engine to allow the car to be locked, unlocked, and start the engine. This module is VIN locked to the DME. So this is why you'd want to get an engine that has the correct DME and CAS that is coded to it. If these are different, you won't be able to start the new engine. And it's apparently a pain to make it work or find someone able to get it to work otherwise.

Hope this helps

Pistratoaie

Thanks Richie, just posted and saw you already covered it.
My engine has had it and so instead of repairing internal components I've decided to replace with a lower mileage and bigger engine since it's a straight swap. Since mine's a pre-LCI, a salvage LCI model would already come with extra parts and features that mine doesn't have. So I'm happy to go this route since I plan to keep the car and get many more k's out of it

Vanevera

The same with me...The N52B30 engine with around 40000 miles costs around 800 USD in my country. Broken cars are brought from Japan and are sold in parts.

Just when you buy the engine, you have pay 800 USD+your old engine

p.s. here is the photo of my car by the way...I plan to keep it as far as it is in a decent condition. The only problem is oil issue, that is factory problem with N52B25 engines.

richie281vn

It's good that you have converted successfully.

I am always tempted with this option but since the whole set is quite rare coupled with all the hassles shipping the whole engine from US back to my country, this is unfortunately put on hold. For me I only have 218hp with my original engine so the 272hp is more than a bonus

By the way I used to stay in Melbourne 10 years back, 3163

Pistratoaie

Oh a fellow Melbournian! we moved further out over time so now we're at 3810.
I haven't actually converted yet, unless you were addressing Vanevera, I may have missed something above. Hopefully there's a donor car soon, that's the only thing I'm waiting on to complete this. 272hp should be nice, even the 218 was alright for everyday driving.

Vanevera those are some good prices if they were here. The same engine in great condition here is around the 4k AUD mark. At auction an entire car can go between that and 6k. Like I said earlier, with all those LCI parts on there I'd much rather buy a donor car and have extras on top