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M54B30 ZHP engine swap into 323

175K views 546 replies 70 participants last post by  Mango 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello,

Just bought a M54B30 ZHP engine off a wrecked car for about $2600. Next week the shipper is sending it out to me and I will start doing my swap. I am going to replace my M52TUB25 engine.

The ZHP engine has about 90,000 miles.

Planning to do the VANOS seal, vanos rattle and change out all the gaskets.

I am planning to run my original injectors, MAF, throttle body (mechanical), and DME (sharked).

Of course I will get it DYNO after the swap and report back. Currently my car has about 175HP (Dynojet) so I am very anxious to see how many ponies I will see after the swap.

More to follow. the update will be slow because I have to wait for the engine to arrive but I will start updating with pix and of the build as soon as I get the parts.

so excited!!!
 
#9 ·
I am going to dyno the car first and see my results before I invest any more money on my getting a tune.

from the top of mind the most cost effective method is for me to to manually flash my DME (MS42) from the 323 stock tune to the MS42 328.

Hopefully I could reuse my shark injectors (finger cross). I am under the assumption that the shark injector is copy protected only by VIN # and all of their tune is based on the DME version number regardless if you have a 323/328 (MS42), 325/330 (MS43), etc.
 
#6 ·
You need to consider upgrading your trans to handle the extra power, and also I do not think the DME from the m52tu will run right with the ZHP engine. At minimum you need bigger injectors. Seems like a lot of expense for a 30hp gain. If you are putting down 172hp at the wheels (don't see how that is possible with a 323) then why bother? A stock ZHP only puts about 200hp to the pavement. And with the wrong DME, you won't be able to take full advantage of the 3.0 motor anyways. A $100 set of headers and pullies would probably be about the same.
 
#21 ·
You need to consider upgrading your trans to handle the extra power, and also I do not think the DME from the m52tu will run right with the ZHP engine. At minimum you need bigger injectors. Seems like a lot of expense for a 30hp gain. If you are putting down 172hp at the wheels (don't see how that is possible with a 323) then why bother? A stock ZHP only puts about 200hp to the pavement. And with the wrong DME, you won't be able to take full advantage of the 3.0 motor anyways. A $100 set of headers and pullies would probably be about the same.
I have a ZF tranny and this is the same as the 330 I think.

For my 172HP thread please see my intake manifold retrofit project below
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=859641&highlight=intake
 
#31 ·
I am curious what dyno that was on and if that is corrected power (SAE). I can't figure out how a car with factory 170hp at the crank with an AUTO trans (figure 20-30% loss through the drivetrain) is able to put 170hp to the wheels. A stock ZHP with a 6MT makes 235 at the crank and only gets 200ish to the wheels.

So you are going to go through a lot of pain and anguish to gain 30whp. It would be easier to pick up a used SC kit and bolt it on. I am all for retrofit projects, but this one makes little sense to me. But if you enjoy it, what the heck, go for it right?

One other thing to think about, the 330's come with larger axle splines, I doubt you'll have problems, but it is another potential weak point. And given that the ZF trans is more problematic and weak than it's GM counterpart, I'd strongly suggest a 5 speed swap.
 
#7 ·
How do you propose running a car with all of the sensor for a MS45 DME on the block yet have an MS42 DME and harness?
 
#13 ·
yes running lean is a big concern for me that is why I am going to hook it up to my GT1 and see the 02 reading. If I am going to run lean then I have no choice but to droppe in the 330 purple injectors and send my car off to get a custome tune.

There are a few members on here than swap out their M52TUB25 and M54B25 to the b30 version and ran on their stock tunes and reported no issues so I am hopefull. I think Angie swap out her 2.5 for a 3.0 and ran stock tune for a while.
 
#12 ·
Can anyone tell me whether there is anyway for me to do a compression test on the engine without it being hooked up to the car? Can I just manually cracked the car to do my compression test.

I am going to inspect the valve cover gasket for any sign of sludge, reinforce my engine pump nut, replace all gaskets, but need help with the compression test.
 
#18 ·
good point but I am afraid to get a bunch of weird error codes such as

-IAT (MS42). the MS45 IAT is integrated into the MAF
-3/2 way valve (Ms42), MS42 doesnt use the 3/2 valve and has the pressure regulator integrated into fuel filter
-Mechanical throttle (MS42). MS45 has an electronic throttle

until I get the engine and start working on my car everything is a guessing game so I will try to keep my replies to a min.

In the mean time, can anyone can chime on my compression test question?
 
#19 ·
I am currently running a M54B30 intake manifold on my M52TUB25. I have the turner throttle body adapter plate so I can mount my mechanical TB into the B30 intake manifold.

I am going to use the same throttle body adapter.

The starter is bolted to the transmission.
You could probably make really simple jig to mount it but you'd still need extra flywheel
good insight on the starter. when i replaced my tranny...getting that starter bolt off my bell housing was the biggest pain in the butt for me
 
#27 ·
yes, you are right. I was quoted $7K for a complete S54 swap but I am taking on this project because I want the challenge. Of course the S54 is challenging but I think is way over my head if I do it myself (time and resources wise).

this is another subject in itself but I have been seriously taking about retrofitting the ZF 6 speed automatic (found on the twin turbo e9x) on the
M54 engine. It was already confirmed that the bell housing will mate with the engine block perfectly. what havent been confirmed is what modification is required for this to work (Tranny wire harness, TCU, drive shaft, etc)
 
#30 ·
Hello,

Just bought a M54B30 ZHP engine off a wrecked car for about $2600. Next week the shipper is sending it out to me and I will start doing my swap. I am going to replace my M52TUB25 engine.

The ZHP engine has about 90,000 miles.

Planning to do the VANOS seal, vanos rattle and change out all the gaskets.

I am planning to run my original injectors, MAF, throttle body (mechanical), and DME (sharked).

Of course I will get it DYNO after the swap and report back. Currently my car has about 172HP (Dynojet) so I am very anxious to see how many ponies I will see after the swap.

More to follow. the update will be slow because I have to wait for the engine to arrive but I will start updating with pix and of the build as soon as I get the parts.

so excited!!!
Good luck! If it works out I'll attempt the same project! :)
 
#35 ·
Mini update: the engine is coming on 17jan. We already bought a cherry picker and an engine stand. Oh yeah....scored a great price on a used zhp cluster. Going to erase the EPROM chip and encode it with my vin and mileage.

Tonight I will post pictures of the engine stand and cherry picker

sent from HTC EVO
 
#36 ·
1000lbs engine stand
2 ton cherry picker



also...painted some parking strips in the garage (oil based paint). Need to clear coat the strips with eproxy but still waiting for the oil based paint to dry. 1 week of drying/curing time should be okay






used cluster


very confident that I can transplant the EPROM chip from my old cluster to the new cluster or just erased the EPROM all together
 
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