For anyone's information: I did this modification on my July 2002 E39 with the 2.5 liter M54 a few weeks ago. I ended up having to buy a whole new wiring harness with the updated coil connectors because I wasn't able to get a used one that I thought was passable. The new harness was around $110 off of ECS Tuning. I also had to purchase the new gasket of course. The new E39 harness came with the ground resistor already in the harness. I remember Nathan from Nathan's DIY Garage had to add this to his harness to prevent any CEL's. I have put about 500 miles on my car so far with no leaks of any kind and no CEL's. Everything went very smoothly with the install. Thank you 50's Kid for the info on this topic.
How did you illuminated the INPA ignition resistance codes (I have 7 total in mem). I used my original E39 ignition harness with the resistor intact and swapped out the M56 (E46) pencil coil connectors on my E39 harness.
In 2023 we can get direct replacement M54 valve covers made out of aluminum. Chinese, of course, but people seem pretty happy with them. And only about $160. I'm still tempted to go the M56 route, however, because of the improved CCV system.
Hi. Thanks for posting this. The valve cover on my ‘03 e46 325 was leaking so I went hunting for replacement at the local pull part. Could find a plastics replacement but scored a metal one from a ‘03 325i! I was running out of of affordable options so really glad you posted this. I have push-on coils and you mentioned the harness are about the same. I took the new harness and the smaller connector wasn’t an exact fit so i de-pinned and swapped. So now i have the new harness and metal cover but the car wont start. Went back and compared the block adapter wire layout and sure enough it was different. De-pinned and re-pinned to match my old one and the car started! Thanks for this.
Just finished my swap!!! Very happy so far. I did upgrade my hose lines to heavy duty from a local hydraulic hose company. I wish there was a easy way to post pictures. Thanks for you videos 50skid and Nathan's DIY Garage !!!!
So is this better than dealing with the original plastic one? I've owned my 2002 bmw 325i since oct 27, 2018.... thank God I found the 5skid here, it had oil leaks everywhere, maybe even the trans... so haven't driven it much, too busy laying under it... hate that burnt oil smell, so when I'm done want it gone.... your thoughts? Thanks!
Fwiw. I got my pencil packs and harness off of a 525. ( The 5 series used ms43 when the e46 went to ms45. ) They came with the correct pin outs already. Just had to swap the clip for power and ground. ( good news! I'm in the middle of a manual/ turbo/ m52 to m54 swap in a e39it. ) a.k.a. if I was looking for a harness to match my metal valve cover , I would look for and or order a 2004/ 2005 525 harness.
You're a frickin' legend mate. Lots of respect for what you do! helping all of us newbie e46 owners. Your knowledgeable advise, demonstration, and instruction has helped me along with 1000's of people tremendously. Even though I'm mechanically inclined; watching your videos before I start any project on my e46 is bliss. Thank you thank you thank you. Great work, thank you
Really appreciate all your videos. Thanks to you I’ve rebuilt my cylinder head on my 04 525i 👍🏾. You make it look easy enough to try just about anything. DIY all the way now lol
Thanks for this video. Just picked up a 04 330ci and NEED to get rid of these vacuum issues. Anyway your still selling these kits and if so how much would really like to support you and your channel.
Finally ordered all the parts I need for the M56 valve cover conversion. Waiting for them to arrive from US. It's taking months due to COVID. Aaaarrrgh!
Great video you explained everything with detail especially about the wiring i would love to do the same to my E46! Do you sell these kits the value cover with the harness already pinned?
Hey thank u so much for all the help u been giving out for free I was wondering if there’s any way we can contact each other I looked for u on eBay for the aluminum valve cover but didn’t find u was wondering how much they going for with the gasket I have everything else it just plastic and warped and me to upgrade please if u can contact me
I have a few things to add to this mod. First: The cap on this valve cover is super brittle and hard to take off. There's no a replacement available, not even with the part number, sometimes you just need to buy a whole new valve cover. Thankfully, there's a guy at ebay that sells reproduction caps and diaphragms, i post the link here, currently only diaphragms are available, but I hope he will list more caps soon. www.ebay.com/itm/M56-Reproduction-CCV-Diaphragm-11127521080-01/283921154897 Second: If you can't repin the connectors you can cut the cables and solder them to the old connector following the same colors, saddly you will end with a missing wire, a ground that you need, but the car will work without it. Some users report that leaving it as is, will led you to no adaptations in your car. So, you need to modify your wiring harness, and use the resistor inside the old wiring harness bridged to this cable, and re-route the grounds in the harness to this resistor and then to a single ground to the valve cover. This will get rid of the DTC that you will get after a couple of seconds after starting your car, (This happened to me in MS42, I don't know if this happens too in MS43 as the last MS43 vehicles had pen style coils). Third: After you rebuild your wiring harness and everything is connected as it needs to be, no DTC's, no loose wires, no loose grounds, and everything good (please make sure you solder your wires, it is better, save yourself a head ache). You need to modify your ECU to get the best results, there's a parameter inside the ecu that tells the ecu how much time the coils need to be charged before spark, and it is set for the old style screw coils, it is called "Dwell time". If you don't adjust this parameter, the timing will be changed a bit, and the behavior of the engine will be affected. You can live without it, I mean, the engine will work, but It is better if you change this times accordingly to your new coils. You can find this time in the bin files from the newer MS43 ECU Firmware, and use it in your MS43/MS42 older ECU. For this purpose I use TunerPro and matching XDF files for the BIN you are editing, and flash the ECU back using MS4X flasher. I hope this info helps and once I have more time I can help you to sort everything If you have some questions. Best regards.
Seems like you’re packed full of knowledge! Thanks for sharing! Any chance you would know if it’ll hurt anything to run the m56 cover ccv with the m54 cvv still installed? I just spent $200 to replace my whole ccv system and don’t just want to toss it in the trash, so could I run the two ccv systems in line?
@@joatmon7621 I don't think it will hurt anything at first. But you will now have two things that can fail. Also, the old CCV has the potential to hydrolock your engine if the diaphragm fails, sucking oil from the oil pan into your intake, and it's a potential vacuum leak too. Have a nice day and happy new year!
Does this reduce vacuum pressure or make the vacuum pressure modifications impossible? If either are true, wouldn't oil leaks from the piston oil rings increase?
Been on your channel here and there. You should do some videos on the ZF E90 automatic transmissions. There are a lot of guys out there that have 335i with these automatics and I’d think you would get some more viewers.
Thanks for doing this video. Always appreciate your effort to keep information clear. You mentioned something about ms43 extra ground. I have an ms43, do I need to worry about this, find another way to ground it? Also, how did you get the valve cover so clean. Could do a video on just that. Thanks again, and keep up the hard work
@@AIhacker101 A bit... So, it's not needed to have the engine run. But, the ms43 computer will trip a code, just letting us know something has changed. It does not bother anything to just have this code left on. It will not show on the dash, only with a scan tool.
Followed this guide, the only thing I did differently; the m54 motor with the push in coils has the exact same pin out for the harness, all you need to do is change the white connector over and the m56 harness clips that screw into the valve cover. The m54 harness also looks better, has the rubber grommets over the wires.
Those plates with the torx bolts are they serviceable? I bought one on ebay and they removed the baffles and rtv them shut. Is there a way i can get just the plate covers ?
Jason, thoughts on M56 to a catch can, then back to manifold? I have a radium catch can at the moment, and I'm satisfied with it, but considering the M56 cover as well in addition to. Thoughts?
I'm looking to do this modification and perhaps try to bypass the old CCV system completely. However, how would you deal with the M52TU engine, which has the vacuum hose going from the fuel filter to the CCV port. Would you leave this vacuum hose in place, try to route it elsewhere, or remove and plug the ports?
I am considering doing this switch with the ccv delete but I was wondering what to do with the Fuel Pressure Regulator line that is connected to the ccv? I can't seem to find a video on a ccv delete that explains what to do with this line.
First of All thank you for all your videos, helped me so much.. I have two e46's, a 2003 325i, and a 2000 328ci. The 328ci has a M52 engine, will this upgraded valve cover fit on this car? Secondly, where can I purchase your upgrade Kit? thank you.
Are these valve covers now in high demand because of this video? I don't think I'll have much luck finding one here in Kansas. Appears these were sent to California, New York, Massachusetts , and Vermont (according to Wikipedia).
No luck in the uk trying to get one of these aluminium covers. Looks like it will be an epoxy resin and fibreglass job if it cracks or another plastic one, hell it is not a big job every 100k miles...
Thank you for all your videos. I have learned a lot from you. my question is when installing value cover gaskets do you install them dry or with oring lub.
Are you aware of a gasket kit set for the M56 valve cover baffles? I took mine apart to clean it and they disintegrated. I put it back together with RTV but the bolts are shanked to accommodate for the gasket material. I used washers to space them out.
I'm having trouble with this swap on my ms43 M54B30. The pin 6 has a ground that goes to a resistor inside the ms43 wiring harness at the coils connected somehow to either all of the 4 grounds or some of them... Could I just repin the original ms43 harness to transfer the triangle coil female plugs to accept the newer style coils, take the 2, of 4, extra ground wires on the original harness, and bolt them to the M56 cover using the extra ground bolts that hold down the middle portion of the M54 valve cover?
Hi there 50’s kid I just got a m56 cover from my junk yard but it’s filthy how do I properly clean it and is there anyways that the Ccv installed can get clogged in any way ? Smelt like burnt oil when I pulled it off .
Hello, I'm having a problem with this swap. My car starts and drives well, but I get 7 DTCs stating a failure in Ignition activation in all 6 coils, Did you have this issue?
Hi! I went to have a look in eBay and found those kits but would much rather buy on off you since you clean them up and everything. my e46 is a 2002 325ix so it should be a direct fit. So how do I go about ordering directly from you?
Hello! I own e39 523i with m52 double vanos engine I have terrible experience with this valve cover. When my valve cover started to leak I bought Genuine BMW gasket and replaced it myself by following your guide and it was brilliant for about 4-5 months. After that, it started to leak again, so I thought maybe I have done something wrong and decided to buy gasket again and took it to independent mechanic so he could do the job better. And guess what? He said that the cover is cracked so i bought the cover in junkyard replaced it with new Genuine BMW gasket. After few DAYS it started to leak again... I had no time to ask that mechanic to check it again so I don't know if the "new" cover is cracked again or the mechanic have made a worse job than I did or if there is something that is causing the cover to crack. So yeah my question is = Is it possible that SOMETHING is wrong with the engine and it makes the cover crack or blow out the gasket or something like that? sorry for epic English ^_^
When I tried to clean under the panel for the CCV Baffle, I broke the gasket that seals this panel to inside of the valve cover. What can I use to Re-Seal the gasket? Any help would be greatly appreciate. Thank you
I know I'm a bit late to the party and I'm not gonna be butthurt off I don't get a reply, but do you have website for your shop?? Would love to check it out
I am currently working on myE39 M54 and was wondering if this valve cover will work with a M50 intake manifold??? Ive been told that it wont but i dont see why it wouldnt work
Wait. So, the "older" style bolt on coil packs with the ms43 ecu, have an extra ground wire on pin 6, right. So, the wiring harness from the m56 won't work if we just re-pin the connector because we need that extra ground on pin 6 that only exists in the ms43 harness. If this is true, then we have to transplant the entire "older" ms43 harness onto the newer plastic enclosure from the m56 so that we can properly mount the harness to the M56 cover using the two bolts that fit with the m56 minting style. Or, do we just not even need that extra ground, so we can just run the re-pined m56 harness as is?
you said you sell a valve cover kit i plan on grabbing one from a yard but i have a question my o2 wires have fried and melted together do i need to change the whole engine wiring harness or how woud u go about doing this ??/
Hey Jason, Thanks for the video. I am trouble shooting some wiring issues and cannot find a source for pinnouts and DME MS 45.1 wiring diagrams for my 204 325i M56 SULEV. Can you help me with a viable source for the schematics? Thanks, Jason
If i have an E46 with the M56, can I swap in an M54 engine and bring over the valve cover, fuel rail etc from the M56 onto the M54 and effectively turn the M54 into an M56?
Hi, I need your help ... I have seen almost all of his videos about the BMW ... I have a 325 I e46 m56 engine ... I have lost power and white smoke by escape, they tell me that the CCV is bad that I have it what to change ... what do you think?
Hey brother!! Sorry if it has already been answered as I have not looked at any of the comments how much for one of your m56 valve cover conversion kits? Thank you!
Cool conversion. If I have the older style m54 with the bolt-on coils, are later style m54 or m56 coils plug and play, or do they need to have their connectors adapted to the old-style m54 electrical harness?
I found one of these valve covers and did this swap, seems that it keeps leaking oil. Anyone know why? Around the new gasket on the back and front, then the oil filler cap, a little seems to spray out the round black cap hole, it's making me think there is added pressure and it's being pushed out, maybe I'm wrong, anyone have any ideas? Thanks
Hi 50s kid, I purchased a 2002 325i, was thinking of replacing the ccv system, it runs fine, just some of the pipes have been silicone back together.... what's better? Replacing it or putting this m56 valve cover on it? You mentioned that you now sell them, how much? Do you ship to bc Canada? What about your video don't buy an e46 with an m56 engine? Something has changed? Also my local auto wreckers have newer valve covers, from 2004... but he says they are still m54.... so would this be the same as what I have? Thanks Steve
Hey all. I'm upgrading the valve cover on my 2001 325xi (screw-in coils with rectangular electrical connector) with a similar valve cover with the new style press-in coils. To cut down on soldering, I purchased a coil pack harness from a newer E46 that has the triangular coil electrical connectors. I re-pinned the 9-pin connector as shown in the video and changed the coil power connector. I've got the car running but am now getting ZSR (resistor) codes and ignition codes for all six cylinders. The car runs just fine. I suspect that the MS45-style harness I bought doesn't have the ZSR resistor that connects all coil ground (brown) wires and routes to ground. Should I transfer the resistor from the old harness to the new one and tie the grounds together into a single connector rather than the two ring eyes that are on the MS45 harness?
Good question! 02 pilot mod reduces oil consumption, I'd also like to know that answer.. does Jason respond to questions? I don't see him responding...
@@frankholmes5431 it's not any troubles like here in video . I just afraid for plastic beauty cover because it made just for e46 and e39' s air intakes to air-conditioner don't let to install it on the top of valve cover. But its let to install also beauti Cover of M56, no necessary to cut some corners or something like that.
I hope someone reads this soon. I have 2005 325i, with a m56 in it. I ended up doing the vanos rebuild, and found a lot of gunk in the engine. I took off the two little baffle looking plates, that has the diaphragm and whatnot connected to it. The two plates that block off the rest of the valve cover to reach the chamber had extremely brittle gaskets, and completely broke apart as I removed them. Can anyone help me find a part number, or someone that sells the two gaskets for those plates?
