oil temp sender in S54 sump cover

It's going to work fine.

Oil pump inlet pipe is 20mm diameter. Edge of my sender is just over 6.5mm away from the pump inlet pipe. Plenty of room. I'll post more pics tomorrow.

Originally Posted by dwm

It's going to work fine.

Oil pump inlet pipe is 20mm diameter. Edge of my sender is just over 6.5mm away from the pump inlet pipe. Plenty of room. I'll post more pics tomorrow.

If I do any more, I'll move the bung 1 or 2 mm closer to make it easier to weld on the outermost edge. The weld bead will also look more uniform.

How long did you have to wait before taking that last shot (to keep oil from dripping on the lense)?

How's the sender clearance below the sump?

Originally Posted by dwm

Sump strainer/temperature module/drain fitting is different orientation than on this M3 sump...



... or is it just me?

Originally Posted by Randy Forbes

Sump strainer/temperature module/drain fitting is different orientation than on this M3 sump...



... or is it just me?

Sorry about that... I flipped the picture in software since I was lying on my back on the creeper when I took the picture. Flipping it created a mirror image. In real life, it's the same as the E46 M3, not backward.

Originally Posted by Randy Forbes

If I do any more, I'll move the bung 1 or 2 mm closer to make it easier to weld on the outermost edge. The weld bead will also look more uniform.

How long did you have to wait before taking that last shot (to keep oil from dripping on the lense)?

Probably an hour. It was still dripping once every 10 minutes or so, through one of the threaded holes in the pan for the sump cover and from the pump inlet. I suspect I'll find drips on it again when I get under there in a bit, though maybe not since the oil is definitely cold now.

How's the sender clearance below the sump?

Dunno yet, I'll know shortly. I stopped last night because I couldn't find my 1/8 NPT die so I can easily play with sender depth. I picked up another one at the hardware this morning. It shouldn't be a problem, since I can run the thread all the way up the sender if needed. Some of my other ISSPRO senders would fit as-is and be above the bottom of the X-brace, but these 2-contact ones that come matched to the amp and gauge for the 100-280F 270-degree sweep oil temp gauges are long critters.

Sender clearance now looks good. I had to run the die up further on the the sender body, and run the 1/8 NPT tap further into the bung, but all looks good now. The brass part of the sender is above the bottom of the x-brace. Right now it's positioned pretty close to the x-brace for protection, but maybe too close (have to account for engine movement). I can rotate it away if needed. Of course I've no idea how much the engine moves under load. Someone want to crawl under their car on a dyno for me?

Worst that could happen would be something that hits and crushes the x-brace and also takes the wires or more off my sender. If something snags my x-brace, I'll likely have bigger problems than a broken temperature sender (air bag in my face, for example). I use my undercover; dirt road makes it a good idea.

Time to start looking at wiring, putting on Halar braided sleeve and silicon splicing tape, etc. This one's a keeper.

Thanks Randy! I'll check the protrusion with the depth gauge so you have a rough idea of how far a sender can protrude w/o being in jeopardy. In case someone else asks you to do one these.

The bung was an AutoMeter ATM 2260. I've seen them priced as low as $5.50. egauges.com wants $9.65.

Some pictures...

From the rear.



From the front.



Closer shot from the back, showing why I'll probably rotate the cover 60 degrees.

Originally Posted by dwm

Some pictures...

Closer shot from the back, showing why I'll probably rotate the cover 60 degrees.

I like it. Glad it worked out for you

Originally Posted by Randy Forbes

I like it. Glad it worked out for you

I like it too!

Anyone want an unused Turner oil temperature flange for cheap?

How cheap is cheap?

Why did you move the sender to the sump cover?

Edit: nice looking bead BTW.

Originally Posted by PbFut

Why did you move the sender to the sump cover?

Edit: nice looking bead BTW.

Same reason BMW put it in the pan: a faster, more accurate reading than running it off of the oil filter housing. In Michigan winter temperatures, the temperature at the oil filter housing was reading low.

By not touching the pan itself, Randy and I were able to do this without costly consequences. The sump cover is cheap, the pan is not. It's also a lot easier to pull the sump cover than the pan, and I can easily revert to stock at any time.

Brent, I don't think you want the Turner flange. hence the smiley re. selling it... it replaces the stock oil level and temperature sensor. VANOS uses the signal from that as the primary temperature sensor. It can use the water temperature as a secondary, but why remove the primary if you can just buy a modified sump cover from Randy?

I already sent him a PM.

Originally Posted by dwm

The bung was an AutoMeter ATM 2260. I've seen them priced as low as $5.50. egauges.com wants $9.65.

Aware of an M12 x 1.5 one?

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_acce.asp?...apter&Manf=All

Originally Posted by Ron Stygar

Aware of an M12 x 1.5 one?

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_acce.asp?...apter&Manf=All

I haven't seen one. VDO 323-057 is 1/8 NPT though, which would let you use the AutoMeter 2260 bung.

Originally Posted by dwm

I haven't seen one. VDO 323-057 is 1/8 NPT though, which would let you use the AutoMeter 2260 bung.

That will do it.
Thanks,
Ron

Received the cover and gasket. Hard to believe that the cover only retails for $20.60.
Egauge parts will be arriving next week. Where will the hole go?

Yes, the dirt-cheap cost of the sump cover with strainer made this a no-brainer for me. It's a lot easier and cheaper than messing with the pan itself, and getting the oil temperature right before it enters the pump is a good deal to me. Also nice to be able to do the hard work on the bench instead of under the car.

Watch out for the flow when you pull the cover. On my car, it removed the vacuum in the pump inlet so the pump inlet emptied out. A decent amout of oil if you're not ready for it. I suspect this was engineered in so the pump doesn't get starved for a second after an oil change, but it's a wild guess on my part. Not sure about your car, but on mine you can pull the ground on the DME to crank the motor (and hence the oil pump) without ignition or fuel.

Hope it clears the reinforcement plate.
The one in the oil drain did but shorter some.
Will probably shorten the bung and tap it so the sender goes in more.
Will saftey wire the sender too.

I put sender thread sealant on mine, and cable-tied the sender wiring to the x-brace. But the ISSPRO sender has the pair of wires potted into the sender, and the sender can't be backed out without removing the undercover. You can buy 1/8-27 NPT jam nuts, but I don't know how you'd get one firmly attached to the other side of the sender even if you had enough thread exposed. It'd be tricky given the shape of the strainer.

On the Z4M, there's a reinforcement plate instead of an X-brace? I'm remembering your 'bowl of jello' comment regarding engine movement in your previous M coupe. Hope the reinforcement plate isn't too close (or has room for a mod with a hole saw ).

Originally Posted by dwm

On the Z4M, there's a reinforcement plate instead of an X-brace? I'm remembering your 'bowl of jello' comment regarding engine movement in your previous M coupe. Hope the reinforcement plate isn't too close (or has room for a mod with a hole saw ).

Yes to both.

Oil Temp.

Looks familiar. Hope it works out for you.

Originally Posted by dwm

Watch out for the flow when you pull the cover. On my car, it removed the vacuum in the pump inlet so the pump inlet emptied out. A decent amout of oil if you're not ready for it.

Did you use any sealer with the gasket?

Ron,

No sealant on the gasket. Just a new gasket, dry.

I did use high-temp thread sealant for the sender; the ISSPRO sender has its own ground wire. Hmm... late for me to think of this, but is that going to be an issue with the VDO sender?