m52b28 origin

Originally this m52b28 comes from a 1997 BMW E39 528iA Touring Executive with some minor front-end damage. Actually, the disassembly of the engine hasn’t been done by me. I bought the entire “swap package” from another E28 enthusiast. While disassembling the m52, he thought about getting an m60 V8 in his E28 instead. More power!

The m52 already ran with the much wider and better flowing m50b25 inlet manifold. Airflow is significantly increased by putting on the m50b25 inlet manifold. It gets 40% more air to the engine! As a result of that, the ECU had been remapped and tuned.

The “swap package” included:

  • m52b28
  • m52 wiring loom with ECU
  • m50b25 inlet manifold
  • additional m50b20 inlet manifold
  • m52 exhaust manifolds
  • open air filter
  • ZF S5D 320 Z gearbox from a 1997 E36 M3
  • single mass flywheel and clutch from an E34 520i (m50)
  • oil sump pan, pickup tube and dip stick from a E34 m50 engine (with the bulge on the front)
  • custom engine mounts
  • E28 gearbox cross member
  • propshaft from an E28 524td
  • radiator from en E28 524td
  • all E39 water hoses
  • original E39 air-con pump
  • original E39 engine mounts
  • original E39 oil sump pan and accessories
  • original E39 wiring loom

Fortunately, custom engine mounts to fit the E28 mounting points had already been made by the seller of the package:

After test fitting the engine and gearbox into a bare E28 shell, the owner decided to sell the entire collection. That’s when I came in!