N52 oil pan design for Z4 engine arm based swap

[projectJTv4]

The bung was turned on a lathe to fit the oil pump and it has like a 7/8" ID or whatever the pickup is, which is just a stock Moroso 2480.

What we need is someone to bang-out 20 of these and oil pump adapters so plebes like me without a lathe can just purchase them!

I just ordered the Moroso 24840 but it won't get delivered for a few days. Do you happen to remember the OD of the tube that comes with it? Also, what was the total height of the oil pick up?

Lathing will start tomorrow evening; dipstick tube and oil pump adapters coming soon (hopefully).

[downforce22]

nice one, curious to learn more about that, projectjtv4

[projectJTv4]

Please excuse the crudity of this model. Here's something I threw together quickly for the oil pick up. Prototype is printing and I will check fitment hopefully later tonight.



I will work on the bottom end later this week.

[projectJTv4]

Still waiting on my brother's help to get the pan fully welded. I wanted to try my hand at CAD so I came up with a studded mount for the original M20 oil level sender. Happy it came out right because I had to order 7 to avoid paying the minimum order fee with sendcutsend. If any of you guys order this pan I will have extra I can send you.

Wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, the mounting holes are about 3mm north of centered on the actual sender body. The studs are M6 x 1.0.

Do you mind either sending me the CAD or actual part of the flange? I'd like to run the OEM level sensor as well. Thanks!

Anywhere in that area will work. I had the power steering pump on but not that bracket it your second picture, when I mocked it up. I used the arms on my engine stand to bend the dipstick tube and get it to clear, it's pretty soft. You should be good since you have the pump fully mounted.

Thanks for the confirmation!

[Striker01]

Reviewing the previous dipstick tube installments, it fits between the alternator and intake manifold. Since I don't have the SCS oil pan yet, I put a laser down (assuming my engine is straight) and it appears to line up with one of the oil pan bolts that I can use as reference.

I will likely create a cutout for the dipstick holder here.

Anywhere in that area will work. I had the power steering pump on but not that bracket it your second picture, when I mocked it up. I used the arms on my engine stand to bend the dipstick tube and get it to clear, it's pretty soft. You should be good since you have the pump fully mounted.

[projectJTv4]

Reviewing the previous dipstick tube installments, it fits between the alternator and intake manifold. Since I don't have the SCS oil pan yet, I put a laser down (assuming my engine is straight) and it appears to line up with one of the oil pan bolts that I can use as reference.

I will likely create a cutout for the dipstick holder here.

[hoveringuy]

yes, precisely.

The top can be chamfered on inside edge and/or swedged out so it has a bit of flare so the O-ring doesn't snag going in.

I flared mine a bit and it slides in smothly (the one pictured is unfinished)

The ID on the McMaster one isn't an issue, anyone that has access to a lathe could chuck that up and cut out the pocket in a jiffy.

What we need is someone to bang-out 20 of these and oil pump adapters so plebes like me without a lathe can just purchase them!

I will also say again that the OBD2 dipstick tubes with oil drainback are different, they're much fatter.

[projectJTv4]

So it would look something like this, with the bottom flush. The dipstick tube seals on the 0.75 diameter and sits on the inner tube.



As an alternative for machining, quickly looking, McMaster has Low Carbon Steel 0.875" OD x 0.635" ID, a slightly larger ID by 0.015".

[hoveringuy]

projectJTv4 Damn, you make it look all professional!

Here is some more detail on the dipstick. It's two pieces of tubing where the OD of one is the ID of the other, 3/4". It's not like the movies where they just slide together, I heated the outer one up with a torch and then it (barely) slid over with some tapping. Once it cooled they were fused. The difference in length is 8mm. Overall length is 3.5". A stock M50 dipstick tube (NOT the one that includes oil drainback!) slides right in. (I chamfered the very top to make sliding the O-ring in easier)

I think the pan tube is angled out just a hair, but bending the dipstick tube for alignment if it's a little off would be easy.

I think I even used the stock E30 dipstick!

[projectJTv4]

Imported hoveringuy's .DXF files of the 2.0 version into SolidWorks for funsies.

Striker01 do you happen to have dimensions for the oil dipstick and/or level sensor you used?

[Striker01]

Huh, never considered needing a vent there. I just figured that removing the dip itself makes a big vent on top...

My big question when I removed the pan after 2 years was how much surface corrosion or flash rust I would see, because it's steel, right? There was none. Zero. It looked shiny and brand-new everywhere.

I stressed over corrosion from the weld area inside my fuel tank as well and did the same thing and it flash rusted almost immediately, and I needed to soak it in rust dissolve to clear it up. Any paint would be subject to peeling and a bigger worry than corrosion would ever be. Paint flakes would clog the pickup!

You're plenty good at 5.5 qts. Like you've demonstrated, no amount of braking or cornering will ever give you the oil light.

Looking good!

It did fill the dipstick tube when I pulled the dipstick out to see where the level was, just figured a vent hole would help. Thanks for the advice and sharing all the files with me. Can't wait to get the engine all back together and start figuring out the wiring.

[hoveringuy]

Huh, never considered needing a vent there. I just figured that removing the dip itself makes a big vent on top...

My big question when I removed the pan after 2 years was how much surface corrosion or flash rust I would see, because it's steel, right? There was none. Zero. It looked shiny and brand-new everywhere.

I stressed over corrosion from the weld area inside my fuel tank as well and did the same thing and it flash rusted almost immediately, and I needed to soak it in rust dissolve to clear it up. Any paint would be subject to peeling and a bigger worry than corrosion would ever be. Paint flakes would clog the pickup!

You're plenty good at 5.5 qts. Like you've demonstrated, no amount of braking or cornering will ever give you the oil light.

Looking good!

[Striker01]

Here is 5.5 quarts, It's just at the bottom of the full indention on the dipstick. It's amazing how much you can tilt this pan around the the pickup area just stays full.

Any thoughts on how full I can get the oil, would flush with the baffle top be ok? Could probably hold 6 quarts if I can go that high.



I forgot to add that to test for leaks I bought some aluminum tape and taped up the bedplate with about 4 layers, on the pan mating side. Installed a new gasket, dry, and bolted the pan down. I could only get a few PSI before the tape would tear on sharp edges but it was enough to soap and water all the seams on the pan and see that the tape stayed ballooned until I opened the valve and relieved pressure.

[Striker01]

After welding I decided to acid wash the pan before paint. In hindsight, I'm not sure that was a good idea. The inside of the pan flash rusted in the time it took me to get it painted and oil in it. The oil should keep it from rusting any more but I still don't like the idea of rust in there. Time will tell I guess. I did have to trim the hole for the pickup to get it to clear when installing the pan, that complete I tacked the top baffle piece in place, the thin stainless warped a little on me but I don't think it will cause an issue.

Flaps installed, ready to seal up.


I had to add a vent hole in the dipstick tube. After I filled the pan, the dipstick was still dry. The dipstick tube that slides into this bung has a hole so I went ahead and drilled one in this piece as well. I didn't like doing it after the pan was finished but I used a magnet while drilling to get most of the shavings out, hopefully the magnet on the drain plug will capture the rest.



I drilled a larger hole in the dipstick tube, just in case I have to rotate it slightly when I get everything set.

[Striker01]

A little more trimming on the baffle for the dipstick and level sender. Tacked the baffle together and started welding the last piece of the pan on.



The last corner that had to be figured out, plenty of extra metal from the pan pieces in the SCS plans.



Rest of the final piece welded in place, fit right together.



I also added the connector holder for the level sender.