N52 oil pan design for Z4 engine arm based swap

[projectJTv4]

Thank you! I am looking forward to making progress on this.

Embarrassing question of the day: as someone who knows very little about welding, would it be okay to MIG or is TIG preferable for the oil pan and pick up? And for wire or stick material to use??...

[hoveringuy]

Embarrassing question of the day: as someone who knows very little about welding, would it be okay to MIG or is TIG preferable for the oil pan and pick up? And for wire or stick material to use??...

TIG. This probably isn't the best learning project if you've never welded. I'm an Ok Tig welder but I had a lot of mine done by a local guy in his garage that was an ACTUAL welder, he didn't charge a ton, knew where and when to weld to minimize warping and didn't risk burn through, leaks and all that.

Search your Craigslist for someone that does welding on the side so you can learn as they're doing.

[projectJTv4]

I was able to model out the Oil Level Sensor and M20 Dipstick end (waiting for M50 set) and drop them into the assembly with an approximate volume of 5.5 quarts of fluid.

Dipstick reference marks are about 1 inch apart and goes from 5.5 quarts in the middle image to 3.2 quarts for the bottom image.

I will need to make some more cutouts for the Baffle Top and Wing Cap to accommodate the Oil Level Sensor and Dipstick.

I can confirm the Oil Level Sensor has a simple floating ground that switches between FULL and LOW. It appears to only make the LOW connection at the very bottom of the sensor, anything above that it will read as FULL. Further tests to be conducted soon. May also need to consider raising the Oil Level Sensor so that the LOW signal triggers earlier as a warning, rather than reach dangerously low.

[hoveringuy]

If you already have a dipstick, is it really worth having the oil quality sensor?? i know that for quantity it only reads the very last quart of oil so I guess it would need to be precisely positioned for that to work right, otherwise it'll just tell you when the oil is dirty.

[projectJTv4]

The Oil Level Sensor rendered above is the OEM unit on the E30 that mounts top down and will trigger the overhead check panel. It is something Striker01 and I would like to still have functioning after the N52 swap.

The OEM E9x Oil Condition/Leveling Sensor on the other hand, mounts from the bottom: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1533444



Maybe if/when you release a version 3??

[projectJTv4]

If you have trouble centering the 'rear section' and lining up 'very rear', try printing out some spacers:





Don't forget these key details!

Here is where I notched the rear-section where the main-pan overlaps it. I did this after the rear-section was tacked it would've been easier if I'd realized it needed it before tacking the rear-section to the flange. I notched it so the wing-top-cap and opposite-side-of-wing pieces could sit flush against the main-pan. The main-pan piece is designed to overlap the rear-section. It took just a tiny bit of grinding the angled edges of the main-pan piece to get it to sit on the rear-section nicely

Here are a couple pics of the wing-cap mocked up and I had to grind maybe 1/8" off on the edge that sits on the flange, not much at all. It will get welded last, after the oil pickup is set. and the baffle is installed.

I forgot the bedplate and hardware to ensure for clearances...

[DEV0 E30]

Nice work!

[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.

[projectJTv4]

My 'wing cap' before trimming...



and after...



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

[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.

[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??

[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:

[Striker01]

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

[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]

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.