Junglie Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Hi all, So. I've just been offered a BMW 528i, which has the M52 engine fitted (I believe) to Landys in Soth Africa at some point. It's very cheap and the engine is good - it's the bodywork that is shot. The original game plan was to fit the 3.9V8 I have say here, but I have heard great things about Landys with the BMW unit. Any of you folk tried (or had involvement with someone else trying) this swap? Just wondering if I should take the BMW and upset my wife more or whether it's not worth the hassle. Cheers, Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 An engine designed about 30 years after the first is bound to be better. Had a 525 E34 touring, liked the engine a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Is it @Adam001 that has done one of these? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 Not done the swap, but had a couple of South African M52 Defenders. The engine does sit very well in a Defender, is very quiet and smooth and pretty tame and driveable when tootling about, only really getting going when you let the revs run out, then it's a beast. Downside to the M52 - spares, sensors etc are stupidly expensive and not readily available now (over £200 for a maf for example, aftermarket stuff largely useless) I had to get most stuff shipped from Germany. You can use a lot of parts from the p38 to convert, but will bump up against a couple of probs. Long term I think the m52 would be a nicer proposal over running a stone age V8 but not so easy to convert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglie Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 Thanks guys. As I have some time constraints (and I have all the bits I need for the V8 and gearboxes) I think I'll go down that line for now but keep the M52 as a possible option for later. I will be able to store the engine for a while I think. Still very interested to hear more about it though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurbie Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 i seem to remember that the dificult part is finding a bell housing to fit the engine , because there were not many made ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I think LR also fitted the 1.6:1 transfer box with the 2.8, so as to better exploit its revs and comparable lack of low end grunt. Meant to be good engines and I believe swapping the intake manifold for another BMW factory item is able to release 20-25hp extra from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommobot Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, Retroanaconda said: Is it @Adam001 that has done one of these? I took his M52 setup after he's gone for the M57.. Personally I love it, can trundle along at low revs quite happily and will pull to the limiter and seemingly rev forever. Pulls smoothly and strongly from circa 10mph to 55mph in 3rd without breaking a sweat.. I've got a TD5 rear section exhuast fitted and it is (for a old defender) very quiet at 60mph... FYI, alot of people use the P38 bell housing and an adapter behind between the transfer box from memory, I've used at V8 gearbox and bellhousing with an adapter plate from ashcroft. This means you can use a 'traditional' clutch arrangment as opposed to the somewhat awkward and torque limited P38 setup. 39 minutes ago, Chicken Drumstick said: I think LR also fitted the 1.6:1 transfer box with the 2.8, so as to better exploit its revs and comparable lack of low end grunt. Meant to be good engines and I believe swapping the intake manifold for another BMW factory item is able to release 20-25hp extra from them. This is true, but the heater unit would likely restrict the fitment of the, what I think is a slightly larger is size 2.5 manifold... Edited March 17, 2022 by tommobot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 1 hour ago, Chicken Drumstick said: I think LR also fitted the 1.6:1 transfer box with the 2.8, so as to better exploit its revs and comparable lack of low end grunt. Meant to be good engines and I believe swapping the intake manifold for another BMW factory item is able to release 20-25hp extra from them. The M52 was dreamt up to fill the gap left when the V8 was dropped, and the 1.6 box was to give similar torque at low rpm for people towing fishing boats and offroad caravans through sand etc- I thought it felt way to low geared - 1st gear almost redundant - and a 1.4 would have been absolutely fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommobot Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 6 minutes ago, Eightpot said: The M52 was dreamt up to fill the gap left when the V8 was dropped, and the 1.6 box was to give similar torque at low rpm for people towing fishing boats and offroad caravans through sand etc- I thought it felt way to low geared - 1st gear almost redundant - and a 1.4 would have been absolutely fine. I started off with a 1.4 in mine, but at 55/60/65 mph the engine bogged down I felt... With the 1.6 admitidly its gained a few revs in the upper gears but I don't find first gear short at all, I had a LT77 with a 1.6 and that seemed to only do about 5mph in first wheras this seems to happily go upto 15mph or so? I am running a Discovery V8 R380 gearbox however, so perhaps the ratios are slightly different to what they are in the factory fit M52s' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junglie Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 That's really useful to help me make the decision. I've just rebuilt a 1.2 transfer box to go with the V8, but the one in there currently (which really needs a rebuild) is a 1.6 attached to a 2.5NA diesel. I'll run with the V8. Definitely. Thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam001 Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 I heard my name 🧐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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