P38 CAD models
Here is my CAD model of the front door and bonnet and the chassis.
The Chassis dimensions are taken from the Land Rover RAVE CD crash repair data. the mounts are accurate but the chassis is rough to just help with basic clearances. I would have likes an accurate model but work/life time balance always interferes with this stuff.
P38 chassis_and_front_body_OEM.zip
password is the usual one and it is HERE
What to read next
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Oh hey Beady, greetings from Tbilisi!
Terrific work and amount of info, much appreciated!
By any chance, could you help with a couple of questions? My P38 (97 4.6 GEMS) of 5 years ownership has finally had its V8 seized, and so I decided it’s time to go with the M57 swap I was thinking about for a lot of time.
It seems that as a quick recap, to make the basics work on a GEMS machine one would need to:
1. FIt the engine itself through either the prefab adapter from ashcroft, or CNC an adapter ourselves
2. During fitting make sure the starter mounts are drilled as described on several forums, as the original M57 starter is a bit stubborn in regards to fitting there
3. Set up the M57 ECU – either through a CAN bus emulator to get the data from the BECM or via the ECUs ‘standalone mode’
4. In both cases the autobox comms need to be made proper, either through compushift or natively through CAN data
These steps seem enough to make it run barebones, but for other stuff the additional steps are as follows:
5. Figure out the engine ECU to BECM locking comms (through CAN emulator)
6. Dash seems to work natively if the ECU CAN emulator is there?
7. HVAC wiring to be done as you described in one of the posts here
Am I missing something? It seems to me that the main unknown is the communication between the M57 and the GEMS autobox, although the latter seem to be the same model as Bosch, so it still uses CAN, right? Meaning it should not need any aftermarket ECUs to work with the M57. Oh btw, is the P38 fuel pump enough to go from petrol to diesel?
(just in case, some trivia: Me and my friend are russian software engineers and he is a part-time mechanic, living here in Georgia for, you know, quite a while now. P38 I’ve brought from St.Petersburg and to there from Moscow back in covid time and have been with it through hell and back. Electrics and software don’t seem to be a dealbraker for me personally, especially with P38 and repairs I’ve done to the BECM and various systems throughout the vehicle, but in the mechanics aspect I’m far less experienced)
Hi Artemii,
Sorry for the slow reply, I have juts been traveling around the Balkans off-roading and wild camping also a visit to the Allrad show in Bad Kissengen, this show has much improved over the last years after it decline.
Georgia and the Stans are on the list for another trip
1 & 2, unless you really want the auto and it’s a must for you, fit a 6 speed ZF manual gearbox from the M57 engine, you need GSX37 for the early 306D1 engine or a GSx53 for the later ( and better) 306D2 engine.
it bolts on, no interface issues with starters etc use the BMW clutch and are unbreakable you need a adapter to the transfer box, there is UK guy selling them. The Autobox can be fragile, but depend on your level of abuse you will give the car the torque from the diesel is the killer.
3 & 4, The early BMW 2.5 ecu used a unusual signal, to one pin, on early and late cars, it would be easier to get the diesel ecu for the autobox and create the emulator, the info you need is here https://www.beady.com/blog/p38-autobox-comms-with-the-m57-engine/ any Arduino etc will do , remember the signal is switched 12v not 5 or 3.3v
5, get the M37 ecu immobiliser removed, it can be done in code now , no emulator needed to runs everytime, or to get going if you have the EWS module for that ecu and the Key then wire it into the loom and glue the key inside . the works BMW X5 in Dakar did this for the first 2 years 🙂
6, the only thing you need is the temperature reading, this comes from the CAN, you could mess with data etc but it gets messy, easier to put the original temp senor into t-piece where the water comes out of the head, this is simple and accurate.
7. HVAC as per my other blog post.
check which turbo you have, they come with the actuator in different position, I think 3 series and X5 where different, one makes life easy to fit the other hits the chassis.
The electronics on the P38 where advance for the 1990’s but are very simple now , the best bit is that each part can stand alone, they dont need to chat to each other, the ABS the transfer box gearbox etc all only require a power and some wire to turn on error lights. if yu can get the later ABS box from a 1998 on ( with plugs and wires ) , and rewire it into the car, you get 4 wheel traction control that works very well. I have this and ARB lockers in mine
bd