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gtopaul
10-14-2006, 03:24 PM
Just did a conversion of my euro M5 cluster for installation into my 92 525iT. Since I didn't want to learn on my good 92 cluster with nothing wrong with it I found a 93 525iT cluster on ebay and purchased it cheap. I separated the back from the cluster and also the front with the clear bezel. Did the same for the euro M5 cluster. Removed the tachometer from the M5 cluster and installed it in the 93 cluster. I then removed the red needle from the M5 clusters KPH speedometer and installed it on the 93 MPH speedometer, the red pointer needles just pop off. I also removed the red needle from the M5 clusters gas gauge and used it on the 93 clusters gas gauge. I also bought a really nice set of gauge surround bezels off ebay and there are a breeze to install. No sticky backing or pieces to mess with on these. They just snap into the cluster front cover and can be installed from the back of the front cover without separating the clear outer piece. I just reinstalled with the M5 front cover on the 93 cluster with my original 92 back cover without disturbing the original coding plug. The 92 and 93 backs were identical anyway. The resulting piece looks pretty decent and works properly.

http://members.aol.com/gtopaul/private/cluster.jpg

Paul
The Bigfella
10-16-2006, 05:17 AM
But why?
BimmerMeUp
10-16-2006, 05:25 AM
But why?

Whatever the reason, it's nice to have an oil pressure gage....
Yiorgos
10-16-2006, 05:38 AM
Nice work.

Can I ask why did you keep the sticker for the unleaded gasoline? I don't have this on my cluster, so I'm not sure if its a sticker that's stuck on the outside or inside. IMO it looks hell ugly.
E34-520iSE
10-16-2006, 06:11 AM
So does the oil temp guage work then? Or is it showing 100 deg/30 MPG!

Cheers,

Shaun
The Bigfella
10-16-2006, 06:21 AM
Whatever the reason, it's nice to have an oil pressure gage....

That's oil temp, not pressure.
VentoGT
10-16-2006, 10:22 AM
That's oil temp, not pressure.

+1. I can't imagine it works properly--did you re-wire this to show oil temp? Aren't the red lines different for each engine as well? The application looks nice, don't get me wrong, I just wonder if the gauges are properly telling you what's going on with a completely different motor than was stock for that cluster.
BimmerMeUp
10-16-2006, 10:27 AM
That's oil temp, not pressure.

D'oh...
gtopaul
10-16-2006, 08:38 PM
+1. I can't imagine it works properly--did you re-wire this to show oil temp? Aren't the red lines different for each engine as well? The application looks nice, don't get me wrong, I just wonder if the gauges are properly telling you what's going on with a completely different motor than was stock for that cluster.

As for completely different motors, you're forgetting that the 535i, 530i, 540i, and 735i & 740i all use the same cluster and they'll swap out too. Why should the M5 be any different?

It's a pretty simple matter just to take the gauges out and check the numbers on them. They are the same between the US and Euro pieces so my conclusion was the electronics really control what the gauges do and they do. The only one that doesn't work as indicated is the oil temp gauge, it works as if it were the standard mileage gauge. That can be wired to work, I understand, if a temp gauge sender is installed and a little more wiring is done but not really interested in that though. You can also do the instrument cluster self test to make sure everything is working properly.

The only real problem that got me for awhile was the gas gauge wasn't reading correctly, it would only go up to between 1/4 and 1/2. I swapped out two different gauges with no change before I noticed the real problem was the bottom on the gas gauge needle was contacting the cluster ring I installed. The fix was to just file a bit off the bottom of the needle and repaint it. As for the Euro unleaded sticker in front, I like it, in fact I might just go ahead an put the Euro gas gauge back in it just to be different.

Paul
VentoGT
10-17-2006, 02:05 PM
So did you change the face of the gauge on the Tach? That tach looks exactly like my M5 tach. I would imagine that your 525 has a completely different redline than the S38 motor...
gtopaul
10-17-2006, 06:57 PM
So did you change the face of the gauge on the Tach? That tach looks exactly like my M5 tach. I would imagine that your 525 has a completely different redline than the S38 motor...

True enough but I'm running a S52 M3 engine with Turner Motorsport chip (increased redline) and a few other mods so the M5 redline is pretty much right on. It's the complete M5 tach not just the face.

Paul
VentoGT
10-18-2006, 10:54 AM
Touche. I'd love to see pics of the motor in the car!
gtopaul
10-18-2006, 01:09 PM
Touche. I'd love to see pics of the motor in the car!

Here's a pic just after I installed it last June before getting cleaned up. Not really much different than the stock M50 that's visible to the uninitiated except the M engine cover. The engine had only 50k miles and was out of a 96 so I basically had to convert it from OBDII electronics to OBDI. It uses a 95 M3 DME w/Turner chip and EWS delete coding. I've got the steel headers too but just haven't had them welded up to work yet. The stock M50 intake, throttle body, and a later vanos MAF were used to get things going. Since it's a Touring it's not as quick as an authentic M3 but it's certainly quicker than any other Bimmer wagon I've driven with the only exception being the 2003 E39 540 Touring. Now that's a hot rod!

Paul
http://members.aol.com/gtopaul/private/525m3001.jpg
VentoGT
10-18-2006, 01:21 PM
Very cool--that must have been a lot of work to backdate the OBD on the motor...I bet there are some surprised folks when they see a wagon take off on 'em! Did you swap the 5 speed tranny over from the M3 as well?
gtopaul
10-19-2006, 12:53 PM
Very cool--that must have been a lot of work to backdate the OBD on the motor...I bet there are some surprised folks when they see a wagon take off on 'em! Did you swap the 5 speed tranny over from the M3 as well?

I installed a fresh, stock type automatic (ok, shoot away). I wanted to get the swap done quickly and I just wanted a nice everyday driver not a drag racer. If I had installed the manual trans I would almost certainly dog it more and probably get in trouble. It does fine with the auto and on my first trip of any length I got 29mpg on cruise at 80mph. That's with the stock 4:10 Touring differential and it's turning about 3k rpm at that speed.

Paul