[blackxs]

Been awhile since I've been around these parts! I owned a 2001 M5 way back in 2009, sold it but never forgot the feel of that amazing engine. Have been in the Z3/E36 world since then - the S54 Z3 M coupes are a lot of fun, but something about that S62 keeps calling my name! That BMW V8 torque is something special. Late last year I started working on an N62 swap into a Z3 and finally got it running last month. Last week, as a late birthday gift to myself I bought myself a disassembled S62 and now am embarking on the process of rebuilding it while finishing up the fab work on the N62 swap... I am not entirely sure what chassis the S62 will end up in, but most likely it will be a Z3 - possibly a roadster (the Poor Man's Z8)

The S62 I bought did come with a complete dry sump kit as well - including pump, pan, lines and reservoir. But I most likely will sell that and try to retrofit an N62 oil pan onto the S62

Has anyone here rebuilt an S62? Or have knowledge on the process? Looking over the TIS procedures it doesn't look like anything stands out as being too crazy but I have limited experience working inside engines and would love to hear any feedback from anyone who has rebuilt one

 

[///M3Augy]

How much for the dry sump parts?

 

[blackxs]

Got the engine on a stand the other day, but still waiting on parts... I'll start going through and cataloguing what and where everything is

Nobody has any input on rebuilding one of these engines eh? Some of the VANOS timing stuff looks a little weird. I'll just go slow as I put it together...

How much for the dry sump parts?

Not entirely sure, it is this sump kit, plus lines and reservoir... VAC - S62, Dry Sump Kit
PM me an offer if interested

 

[CSBM5]

Peter, herrubermensch, runs the S62shop located at VIR and has built many S62s. Here are some sample threads he has posted:

Honing and Re-exposing S62 Blocks

DP S62 Build

Measuring Piston-to-Valve Clearance with Vanos

 

[blackxs]

Peter, herrubermensch, runs the S62shop located at VIR and has built many S62s. Here are some sample threads he has posted:

Honing and Re-exposing S62 Blocks

DP S62 Build

Measuring Piston-to-Valve Clearance with Vanos

I just went ahead and sent him a message... would be good to touch base with someone who knows these engines inside and out

Those videos are great and very helpful as far as general S62 knowledge. My build will be stock though, not going for any sort of low compression crazy build or anything, so hopefully will be less involved than some of those jobs. A stock S62 in a Z3 should be plenty enough!

I am a little worried I'm in way over my head with rebuilding one of these engines but, it's all nuts and bolts... someone put it together, as long as I come armed with the right information, I think I can assemble it correctly. Just worried I'm gonna overlook one stupid thing then ruin a very expensive engine lol

 

[Rosie]

Here’s a link to a copy of BMW’s TIS (Technical Information System).

BMW TIS

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

It has all the repair instructions and specs from BMW.

S62 Vanos is quite complicated and difficult to time, but if you follow the instructions to the letter you won’t have a problem.

 

[Sailor24]

Are you doing any major body work I.E. firewall work? How are you going to deal with weight distribution? I am doing an E34 wagon and had to do some firewall work to get the engine back a bit, but I suspect you have even less room but don't really know. My problem was the tranny mainly.

 

[blackxs]

I was able to get ahold of Peter and he already saved me some headaches. The ARP 201-4307 head studs I've seen listed for M60/M62/S62/S65, apparently those are only meant for S65. Which is fine with me since those were the thing that was backordered... I cancelled that order, ordered the OE BMW head bolts as well as the OE BMW cam lock pins for the VANOS. There are a few other tools and doodads it looks like I may need to put the whole engine together. Trying to be smart about it though and honestly starting to wonder if I'm better off selling some of these bigger ticket items (like the metal intake plenum cover and dry sump kit) and sourcing a complete running S62 and using these parts as spares... hmm

Here’s a link to a copy of BMW’s TIS (Technical Information System).

BMW TIS

MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.

www.mediafire.com

It has all the repair instructions and specs from BMW.

S62 Vanos is quite complicated and difficult to time, but if you follow the instructions to the letter you won’t have a problem.

Thanks! More access to TIS never hurts I've been reading through documents in my spare time trying to get familiar with the various processes, VANOS isn't the only thing I'm not entirely comfortable with but the biggest margin for error surely

Are you doing any major body work I.E. firewall work? How are you going to deal with weight distribution? I am doing an E34 wagon and had to do some firewall work to get the engine back a bit, but I suspect you have even less room but don't really know. My problem was the tranny mainly.

I don't expect I'll have to modify the firewall. I did not have to for the N62, I would have had to modify it if I was working in an E36 but the Z3 has more room under the hood. I regularly talk to a couple others who have S62 swapped Z3's and they haven't modified the firewall either

I do plan on weighing it on a four corner scale before and after any swap, as weight distribution is the #1 question I'm asked as it is and it would be nice to have a real concrete answer to that
But think of it this way, a heavy iron block S54 with 5 speed to an aluminum block V8 with 6 speed... the V8 setup does weigh more, but the weight is rearward and lower compared to the I6. A lot of the increased weight will also come from the much heavier trans - which will sit smack dab in the center of the car. So theres an argument to be made that while weight will increase, weight distribution may improve. I'm not entirely sure. I just want an S62 in a Z3

S62 E34 is very cool. I had a RHD 92 525i wagon I swapped a couple years ago for a customer - originally a 525i auto with an open diff, now driving with an S52, 5 speed and 3.23 LSD. A lot of fun

 

[fmcfad01]

I can't wait to see this, and then for COVID to be over so I can come get a ride in an S62 Coupe.

 

[blackxs]

I can't wait to see this, and then for COVID to be over so I can come get a ride in an S62 Coupe.

I have a feeling many moons will have passed between covid having been over and the time I finally get this S62 running... (either that, or covid will just be something that exists permanently in our world now, coming and going seasonally like the flu)



I was talking to my friend I bought the engine from to try to get some history on this short block and he said he blew the motor in his personal drift car and paid over 2k for this block but couldn't find the conversations with the seller and it was 3+ years ago now. He did say he was going to build it up and run it, then he decided LS was more cost effective for his use

Is there any way to tell if it needs to be honed by visually inspecting it? I've seen plenty of damaged/scored engine blocks from various types of damage so know what to look for as far as cylinder wall damage. If it rotates over smoothly, cylinder bores feel smooth and visually look ok, should it be ok to run it as-is? I'm just not sure if there is something I am overlooking here. I'd really hate to get to a first start and then it's just pouring smoke out. I'm fine to look like an idiot by asking basic, stupid questions. I'd rather do that and hopefully get some answers than ruin an expensive engine.

Ideally, I would leave the crank and pistons installed and assemble the engine from there. Haven't even unwrapped it yet (I do have both the head gaskets now and the bolts... so in theory, I could...)

 

[blackxs]

Worked on the S62 a bit today. When I first opened it up there was a lot of dirt along the cylinder walls. I believe it was broken down carbon deposits, maybe the engine had been stored upside down at some point, not entirely sure. It was pretty easy to clean out, but whatever substance it was was mildly coarse, so I was careful to remove as much as possible before rotating the engine

After inspecting all the cylinders, the below is visually the worst looking cylinder, but it is worth noting, none of these can be felt by a fingernail

Almost all of the other cylinders pretty much looked like new, so I think I am going to run it without honing it. There was one other cylinder that if I really really dug my fingernail into towards it at just the right angle I could feel a scratch... I'll check it again before final installation but it seemed passable to me

The below did have me a little concerned though, I noticed a few minor imperfections across the deck surface, none of which were very deep, a few of those are pictured in the image towards the left. These are likely the results of being stored for so long and getting dinged up from various things. The only one that goes into a combustion chamber is the one in the very center of the picture. It is a very thin scratch, extending almost between two cylinders. It does not raise above the surface, I can feel it with a fingernail but it is not deep. I am thinking of several ways to address this and the other minor imperfections currently

Top of the list of things to do is the old school method of stuffing oiled rags down the cylinders and using a big flat slab, with a huge piece of sandpaper underneath (honestly where to get a piece of sandpaper that big is my biggest concern? lol) and lapping the surface a little bit. I don't know...

In the meantime I also cleaned the pistons a little bit... (the right one in the original, uncleaned state). I did so by rotating each piston I was working on to TDC, so it was sitting just proud of the deck (shown in this image), flipping the engine upside down so that any dirt that came off would fall to the ground instead of into the bore and then just scraping with a plastic scraper. Whatever buildup was on there came right off, I assume because it had been stored properly and well oiled and the detergents slowly ate away the carbon buildup over time.
You can also see a good example of the other cylinder walls in the below image and how nice they look

While cleaning the pistons I also think I discovered the reason this engine was taken apart - cylinder 4 had rod bearing issues, I could hear it slap at the rod if I moved the piston by hand at the right angle. I am hoping that does not mean the crank is damaged... Now that I think of it, I have ARP bolts, so I may as well do the rod bearings now to see what is going on with this. I will investigate this shortly

The engine was then gratuitously re-oiled for storage and a temporary means of protection was applied...

Currently waiting on parts for the head gasket kit so I can put the head back together and then put the heads on the block. That kit doesn't ship until late March though so I have awhile to figure out what is going on with cylinder 4 and what to do to clean my deck surface...