BMW E30 M52 Conversion Brown Temp Sensor, Modified Heater Matrix Hoses & PAS Lines for Z3 Rack | 052
Here's a link to check out the Custom E30 PAS lines at BMConversions: bmconversions-uk.co.uk/produc...
A rethreaded Brown Coolant Temp Sensor for use in the throttle heater port on an M50 or M52 swap: ebay.us/ukh3RI
Links to the two heater hoses I used: ebay.us/l57lXF and ebay.us/2u5b6Y
My handy wire stripping tool: ebay.us/aYNjWo
And a link to my wiring video for more info on that: • BMW E30 M52/M50 Swap W...
In this longer BMW E30 Build episode I tackle a selection of smaller jobs that need doing before I can fit the intake manifold. Here are the tasks I completed to get my M52 swap E30 ready to receive its new intake manifold and their context:
1. Fitting BMConversions E30 M52 with Z3 Rack Power Steering Lines
I started off the day with an exciting job, which was fitting my newly purchased custom PAS lines supplied by Dan BMConversions-UK.
I actually had a lot of trouble with the original E30 lines I rebent and routed ready for the M52 swap, not least of all was the routing I'd used. One of the lines was wedged in tight between the Z3 steering rack conversion and my front subframe, to the point of me decided something was going to break.
Knowing I also wanted to refinish these old PAS lines to rectify some surface rust, I opted to remove them ready for a re-bend and a refinish. Unfortunately, in trying to do that, I discovered that I have a big problem with my engine's sump plug.
Thanks to the position of the sump plug on my E34 custom shallow sump, I couldn't remove the PAS line without a fight, not only that but I can't remove the plug to drain the oil which is a ridiculous problem to have.
After a battle, I eventually got the PAS lines removed and concluded they were going to kink if I bend them the way I need to. So I got in touch with Dan at BM Conversions who very kindly came up with a custom routing to avoid the sump plug and supplied his beautifully crafted E30 custom power steering lines.
His new lines route far more sensibly and they are fantastic quality.
2. Capping off the throttle body heater
I concluded that I don't want to run the throttle body heater on this E30. I certainly don't want to be draining the coolant every time I need to mess with the intake.
I capped them off using the good old short hose with a bolt in the end trick. I will look to do a more permanent solution in the future, but this is good for now.
3. Installiing a Brown Temp Sensor to get a coolant reading on the E30 dash
This is a fairly major one to be aware of when doing a 24v swapped E30. If you want to monitor coolant temperature and have a reading on the E30's original dash, you must install an E30 brown temperature sensor. I harvested mine from the M40 engine I removed, so it's known working, but probably an original part.
The M52 uses a black temp sensor which is a 4-wire one that feeds everything including the dash and the ECU in an E36 for example. However the E30's dash cannot interpret the signal from this, so you need to fit a brown temp sender to run in parallel connected to the brown and violet wire that goes between the black sensor and the C101 plug.
Mine was easy because the previous owner had kindly drilled and tapped a 3rd port on the M52B28 head to accept it. If you arent so lucky you can put a rethreaded brown sensor in place of the throttle heater port.
4. Modifying and fitting heater matrix hoses
There are a few ways to rig up heater matrix hoses to an M5X swapped E30, I ended up with two hoses that looked like they would fit, one being the thermostat hose from the M40 and another that came with the M52.
I chopped down the M40 hose which had one end too big and miraculously the hoses now seem to fit really well. I have included the part numbers in the video.
5. Fitting the fuel filter and soft lines
This was nice and easy, I finally put the fuel lines back working out which was the feed, return and breather pipe and attached their respective soft lines. The breather is at the bottom, feed in the middle, and return at the top.
6. Wiring improvements
Thanks to some of the comments I got on the wiring video, I was able to make some upgrades. I traced the green EWS wire from C101 pin 4 to ECU pin 18 and chopped the correct wire, leaving ignition attached.
I also wired in the black and green wire which previously had no home. Turns out its a ground wire that connects to the starter solenoid.
For more helpful how-to guides and restorations: www.spannerrash.com/
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