[bmwenjoyer]

Hey everyone,

I just sold my 2018 340i xDrive due to some life circumstances (don't need a car right now and would rather save the money), and I'm brainstorming on what I want my next move to be in the next year or two.

You can get a 2016-2018 F31 B48 M-Sport wagon here in the USA for around $25k-$35k depending on the mileage and condition of the car, which isn't bad, and I feel like that is just going to come down more as car prices keep dropping.

So...has anyone done this EXACT swap before? Just an F-Series B48 car to a B58 motor (Gen 1 B58 from an xDrive F-Series car). I feel like mechanically it has to be as straightforward as a swap on this platform can possibly be considering that the B48 and B58 motors are so similar. I could also sell the B48 motor and recoup a percentage of the cost of the swap.

Does anyone have any ideas of what kinds of mechanical differences between the two motors that might make this difficult? I understand that there will be some coding required on the transmission, but I'm pretty sure the 8 Speed ZF transmission is the exact same. Motor mounts? Radiator? Anything you guys can think of.

Let me know what you guys know about this, what you think it might cost to pay a shop to do the labor, if you have any shop recommendations in the USA that can handle something like this, and if you know anyone that has done this exact swap before in an F-Series chassis.

Thank you!

[disintegrator66]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Hey everyone,

I just sold my 2018 340i xDrive due to some life circumstances (don't need a car right now and would rather save the money), and I'm brainstorming on what I want my next move to be in the next year or two.

You can get a 2016-2018 F31 B48 M-Sport wagon here in the USA for around $25k-$35k depending on the mileage and condition of the car, which isn't bad, and I feel like that is just going to come down more as car prices keep dropping.

So...has anyone done this EXACT swap before? Just an F-Series B48 car to a B58 motor (Gen 1 B58 from an xDrive F-Series car). I feel like mechanically it has to be as straightforward as a swap on this platform can possibly be considering that the B48 and B58 motors are so similar. I could also sell the B48 motor and recoup a percentage of the cost of the swap.

Does anyone have any ideas of what kinds of mechanical differences between the two motors that might make this difficult? I understand that there will be some coding required on the transmission, but I'm pretty sure the 8 Speed ZF transmission is the exact same. Motor mounts? Radiator? Anything you guys can think of.

Let me know what you guys know about this, what you think it might cost to pay a shop to do the labor, if you have any shop recommendations in the USA that can handle something like this, and if you know anyone that has done this exact swap before in an F-Series chassis.

Thank you!

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...on+performance

[bmwenjoyer]

Originally Posted by disintegrator66

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...on+performance

Thank you! This is actually one of the builds that inspired my idea of doing this. The difference is that this was a 328i F31 with a donor car 340i. I'm wondering how difficult it would be if you had an LCI F31 330i xDrive and wanted to buy a B58 engine from a crashed 340i xDrive.

I guess I'm curious to know, what are the main differences in the engine bay between the B48 and B58 cars that would complicate this swap.

[mwat]

Can't assist but awesome idea and I hope you can get it done!

[FatFriedGoat]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Thank you! This is actually one of the builds that inspired my idea of doing this. The difference is that this was a 328i F31 with a donor car 340i. I'm wondering how difficult it would be if you had an LCI F31 330i xDrive and wanted to buy a B58 engine from a crashed 340i xDrive.

I guess I'm curious to know, what are the main differences in the engine bay between the B48 and B58 cars that would complicate this swap.

This is exactly what i want to do with my 2018 330i f31. I enjoy the car very much and I really want to keep the wagon instead of getting a 340i sedan. Have you started this project? i would really appreciate sharing anything you have learned about this

[rlesko]

You would need donor engine and transmission at a minimum. Then, you need to swap out at least the springs on the front to proper springs for a B58 car, and optionally other suspension parts while you're at it. I am not sure about the air intake / cooling aspect but my guess is you would need to take everything from a donor vehicle. I've heard the wiring for LCI cars would be suitable as-is for such a swap but I never verified it myself.

After, you need to align the DME, transmission, and FEM because the ISN wouldn't match...easiest way is to get donor engine and transmission from the same car, and then overwrite your car's FEM with donor ISN.

I've never done this but I've researched it fairly extensively. Good luck.