e39 motor swap questions

[matthewmads]

hello all im looking into buying a 2001 525 wagon, standard transmission and about 150,000 miles. sounds like a great deal and its from a family friend. biggest problem is the fact it burns about a quart of oil every 200-400 miles! did some homework and as it turns out the m54 alloy block is prone to this and im wondering if anyone has dealt with this before and what can be done. im considering an engine swap if i can get the car for a good price. if not then what can be done to the current engine that cures the burning and prevents it in the future. from what i understand the problem is the Niksil coated cylinder walls so i thought about swapping to one of the older m50 or m52 engines if it isn't more trouble than its worth. any feedback or ideas would be great.

thanks!!!

[Lord Vader]

The swwould possible, but you would need the wiring harness and DME for the donor engine. The M52 would be a much better choice as its OBDII, which is the same as your current engine. The M50 is OBDI so you would have to do additional work to make sure the car isn't throwing codes.