N52 oil pan design for Z4 engine arm based swap

[hoveringuy]

1) I just got some photos from a guy that received his SendCutSend pan package yesterday; he even has a spare block to bolt it to while he welds it. The wild part is, the N52 is going into an FR86!

2) This is how much clearance my pan has. I just finished fabricating an undertray and it sits flush against the bottom of the pan. I did some CAD that worked-out really nice for attaching the front of it, hangs off the core support and bolts in where the stock oil cooler mount goes, it's strong A.F. and comes off with a few screws. Hit me up for the CAD if you're interested...

Will the car be faster? quieter? overheating? Track season only a few months away...

[Striker01]

Looks like I have some slight interference in these areas at the moment.

I bet the gasket will take care of that interference, don't forget to account for it for pickup depth.

Glad to see you got the bedplate on to the next guy!

[projectJTv4]

Yes, Thanks for that idea! I shipped it off to projectJTv4 today. He'll pass it on to the next guy who needs it when he's done.

Bed plate is now in the possession of Yo.goob

[projectJTv4]

Max attachments per post is 5...

Ignore the dusty inside :P



Baffle is also tacked together



Looks like I have some slight interference in these areas at the moment.






Oh and I have access to a lathe now but it is not convenient to get to. I cut my oil pick up o-ring groove too shallow so it won't fit into the oil pump, oops.

[projectJTv4]

Removed the support cross members to bolt directly on to the block upside down.

[projectJTv4]

Your dipstick drawing looks different than what I'm using and looking at mine again I think the dot is probably the full mark?! I was using the top cutout, so apparently I'm closer to the half mark at 5.5 quarts. Sorry if that's what's causing your grief, I'll update my other post with this picture.

The top of the "aftermarket" indention is where mine was with 5.5 quarts. I plan to fill it until it reaches the top of the cutout, hopefully about 6 quarts, that should keep the oil just at or slightly below the top of the baffle.

I wouldn't get hung up on the 5.5 number, the more oil the better. I think the full mark to parallel with the top of the baffle will be safe, I don't know how high is too much. Hoveringuy might have some better input.

You could just make a new mark on the dipstick and send it, as is. Save quite a bit of work.

Ahh that makes sense, thanks!

And you are correct, I actually modeled out the M20 dipstick and not the M50. I need to update my model, thanks for pointing that out.



I was able to rotate the dipstick while in the guide tube and mark a sharpie mark, which happens to be just a little bit above the little domed feature.

[Striker01]

My pan is back on the engine so I can't get any measurements. My goal was 1/4" below the wing, I didn't actually measure it once complete but your o-ring engagement looks like it might be lower than mine is. I got as close is a I could with rough measurements, welded it up and then filled it to get an actual amount. Your CAD stuff will be way more precise.

Your dipstick drawing looks different than what I'm using and looking at mine again I think the dot is probably the full mark?! I was using the top cutout, so apparently I'm closer to the half mark at 5.5 quarts. Sorry if that's what's causing your grief, I'll update my other post with this picture.

The top of the "aftermarket" indention is where mine was with 5.5 quarts. I plan to fill it until it reaches the top of the cutout, hopefully about 6 quarts, that should keep the oil just at or slightly below the top of the baffle.





I wouldn't get hung up on the 5.5 number, the more oil the better. I think the full mark to parallel with the top of the baffle will be safe, I don't know how high is too much. Hoveringuy might have some better input.

You could just make a new mark on the dipstick and send it, as is. Save quite a bit of work.

[projectJTv4]

Long overdue update on my pan now that summer is over. I will post pictures soon, but in the mean time...

When I measure the distance between the 'wing cap' and the 'baffle top' I get about 0.25 inches.
When I measure the distance between the 'baffle top' and my theoretical 5.5 quarts of fluid, I also get about 0.25 inches.
This makes my theoretical distance between the 'wing cap' and 5.5 quarts of fluid about 0.50 inches.

Are you sure about your 1/4" measurement?
Also, what is the distance between the top of your bung and the top of the 'wing cap' ?

No on to the dipstick, just trying to copy hoveringuy's setup here as well. Mocked it up with the last piece of the pan held in place with magnets. My goal was to get the full indention on the dipstick about 1/4" below the top of the wing.

Here is 5.5 quarts, It's just at the bottom of the full indention on the dipstick.

I will double check the dimensions on my dipstick guide tube, but it doesn't look like I can get the full mark to measure 5.5 quarts using this bung without modifications...

I think I will have to increase the counterbore depth to lower where the dipstick guide tube seats and bring up the bung.

[Striker01]

Sounds like a good plan. Great idea having those studs installed right on that piece. Wish I would’ve thought of that!

[projectJTv4]

Thanks for the input guys, still lots for me to learn.

Yeah, I had SCS install a couple of studs for the OEM Level Sensor.

Next steps:

1. Weld everything except 'wing cap'
2. Fabricate and weld corner pieces
3. Remove support sections on the 'flange'
4. Test fit oil pan
5. Determine length of oil pick up and weld final assembly
6. Determine oil level
7. Determine height for dipstick guide tube and weld to 'wing cap'
8. Weld 'wing cap'

Oh and add something like this to the bottom of the pans:

[hoveringuy]

I think that cap piece is really susceptible to tolerance stack-up where the position of the two bends relative to each other are really sensitive.

Slight trimming can reduce any gaps a lot and even anything up to 3/32 or an 1/8 is easily bridged.

Did SCS place those studs??

[Striker01]

I still have a bit of a gap compared to yours.

I don't think it can be helped. Maybe the metal relaxed since they bent it or a bend wasn't made in the exact place from the CAD design. Once you start welding the seams things will move and that piece will most likely need a little tweaking anyway. Mine looked good in that pic but I did have to do a little trimming after the rest of the pan was fully welded, oil bung and level sender were installed.

Just get good tacks on the rest of the pan, as precise as you can. Go slooow when you start fully welding the rest of the pan and expect to adjust that last piece before closing the pan up for good.

[projectJTv4]

My 'wing cap' before trimming...



and after...



I still have a bit of a gap compared to yours.

[Striker01]

Looking good. Your SCS order came out lining up better than mine. I think every one will come out slightly different. A degree difference on one bend can throw the whole pan a little out.

[DEV0 E30]

Nice work!