S54 Oil Pan & Pump Upgrade for the S52...here's what I learned.

[94M3]

Thanks for the info, and does anyone know if there are any S54 pumps to stay away from? In searching S54 pumps I came across the bearing recall notice from BMW and it said they were replacing the oil pumps on the early ones along with the bearings. Anyone know the story?? Thanks in advance - Brien

[beteljaws]

Thanks for the info, and does anyone know if there are any S54 pumps to stay away from? .......

Ya the one I got. I bought a s54 pan/pump kit from bimmerworld. They use new BMW parts in their kits. A keyway broke inside the pump and it seized. One in a million and I got the bad one.
Bimmerworld is working with BMW trying to get me some money for the damages thier defective pump caused.

[94M3]

Sorry to hear that. Do you know if the VAC pump upgrade kit would have prevented that issue or does it just deal with the nut coming loose? If it does I might have to go for the $200 -Thanks Brien.

[NeilM]

Sorry to hear that. Do you know if the VAC pump upgrade kit would have prevented that issue or does it just deal with the nut coming loose?

I can't imagine that the VAC kit would make any difference on that score. The S54 pump has two separate rotors on the shaft. One is pressed on, the other located by a Woodruff key (to allow pump assembly). The VAC setup is identical in that respect.

Neil

[Compactive]

question for the guys running the S54 setup, are you still overfilling the oil level as with the S50/S52 pan setup? Or is running the normal level good enough?

1+ I'm wondering the same thing? How much are you guys filling up the motorsport pans to when changing the oil? I was told more than normal

edit: I have cooler and lines and won't be draining those with the pan, but still kind of confused. As of now I have two gallons sitting here with me for the job

[jcrist]

I run my oil over the high mark just up into the upper spreader

[Compactive]

not a bad revive eh?

[uconnr]

1+ I'm wondering the same thing? How much are you guys filling up the motorsport pans to when changing the oil? I was told more than normal

edit: I have cooler and lines and won't be draining those with the pan, but still kind of confused. As of now I have two gallons sitting here with me for the job

Someone with more knowledge can chime in here but I don't see the point of overfilling if you have a dual sump/pickup setup. The point of overfilling is to make sure that the pick up is always submerged. With the dual setup you eliminate the possibility that the pick up will not be submerged in the pan.

That said I always ran my S52/s54 pump setup filled to the top of the fill mark on the dip stick.

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[jcrist]

not a bad revive eh?

Sure, if you don't use search...

[Compactive]

Someone with more knowledge can chime in here but I don't see the point of overfilling if you have a dual sump/pickup setup. The point of overfilling is to make sure that the pick up is always submerged. With the dual setup you eliminate the possibility that the pick up will not be submerged in the pan.

That said I always ran my S52/s54 pump setup filled to the top of the fill mark on the dip stick.

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I was thinking more towards because of the oil cooler and lines for the need for more (if there is)

[jcrist]

Someone with more knowledge can chime in here but I don't see the point of overfilling if you have a dual sump/pickup setup.

I get my info from Epic Motorsports. They have all the knowledge I need

[Compactive]

Sure, if you don't use search...

LOL I did search, that's how I found this thread (and a few others). So now I'm here where the info is just trying to confirm some stuff, I found some conflicting info else where

play nice

for me the answer was 8.25qts to get to the top of the fill mark on the dipstick.

S52
S54 pan,pump,pick-ups,dipstick, temp sensor delete from the pan
Vortech V2
Setrab 613
Mocal tstat
Rallyroad cap and about 6 feet of size 8 lines.

Depending on the POs oil cooler setup 9 qts definitely sounds believable. I'd say it's going to vary depending on everyones setup. You'll probably be somewhere between 8 and 9.

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thanks, you're very helpful. You must've had your coffee. I think I'm going to go ahead and just change the pump/pan oil, and save the cooler and lines for later in the year. Minus the cooler and lines, I've read we refill to 5.5 liters**? I understand how some of the other guys get confused with how its said to be 5.5 quarts in the pan, ~8 for the entire system, and what to refill each with when changing the oil.

[Michael9218]

Someone with more knowledge can chime in here but I don't see the point of overfilling if you have a dual sump/pickup setup. The point of overfilling is to make sure that the pick up is always submerged. With the dual setup you eliminate the possibility that the pick up will not be submerged in the pan.

The S54/Euro system eliminates the windage tray (BMW calls it an oil deflector) under the crankshaft, so over filling can cause oil to crankshaft contact. So yes, you can cause problems by over filling this system.

[Z3racer701]

thanks, you're very helpful. You must've had your coffee. I think I'm going to go ahead and just change the pump/pan oil, and save the cooler and lines for later in the year. Minus the cooler and lines, I've read we refill to 5.5 quarts? I understand how some of the other guys get confused with how its said to be 5.5 quarts in the pan, ~8 for the entire system, and what to refill each with when changing the oil.

I've not had my coffee yet, but I do remember that the sump capacity is 5.5 liters (that's 5.9quarts), be sure to get those units right!

[jcrist]

The S54/Euro system eliminates the windage tray (BMW calls it an oil deflector) under the crankshaft, so over filling can cause oil to crankshaft contact. So yes, you can cause problems by over filling this system.

That's vague to the recent poster. The dipstick is our reference for filling, what do you consider "overfilling" ?

play nice

Sorry, was still getting my coffee level up. Just hit me weird someone congratulating themselves on getting information (for themselves) from a good thread.

[Mad Dog 20/20]

Fill it to the rim . . . with Brim.




































Seriously, fill it to the "full" mark on the stick. If you have to fill it much higher than that to avoid low OP or lifter noise, you might want to go back in and adjust pick-up height and check for other issues.

[jcrist]

I can add, on the technical side, that in the process of re-installing an OBD controlled S52 and switching the S54 oiling over from my old M50, I was glad I saved the AN barb to pipe thread fitting that goes into the top of the oilpan from the oil recouperator. With the M50 intake it just goes back in to the intake boot. The S52 dipstick had a port for it, with the S54 you can just push the hose onto the AN barb fitting and you're good to go.
I mentioned this deep into earlier pages of this thread but it's worth mentioning again. The S54 pump bracket attach to 2 of the main bearing caps (S52 uses only one). These are factory stretch bolts (22nm + 50deg IIRC) and should be replaced after removing them. Reusing once after visually inspecting the threads - maybe, twice - no way IMostO

[mfrisc1]

I am currently in the process of putting a new pan in and I really dont track the car at all, but I do take some hard corners along with some spirited driving from time to time. Is this something I should be considering doing since im down there and im buying a new pan anyway? I was looking into gettting a baffle from VAC, but I dont know if I should go this route. Keep in mind the car is Gt35r turbo, with 8:5:1 Wiseco Pistons, Arrow Rods, currently running about 15LBs, but soon to have a new tune somewhere around 21LBs. Looking to protect all of the $$ I have spent.

[Compactive]

Considering the mods you have I don't see why not, but I consider this pan to be a true motorsport pan, for some serious cornering constantly through seasons. The baffle just doesn't do enough compared to the pan

[SG_M3]

I am currently in the process of putting a new pan in and I really dont track the car at all, but I do take some hard corners along with some spirited driving from time to time. Is this something I should be considering doing since im down there and im buying a new pan anyway? I was looking into gettting a baffle from VAC, but I dont know if I should go this route. Keep in mind the car is Gt35r turbo, with 8:5:1 Wiseco Pistons, Arrow Rods, currently running about 15LBs, but soon to have a new tune somewhere around 21LBs. Looking to protect all of the $$ I have spent.

Its totally worthless for you, you'll never generate the forces needed on the street to see any pressure drop.

[uconnr]

If the car won't see a track be running sticky tires and pulling high lateral acceleration the S54 dual sump swap is probably a little over kill. It definitely won't hurt but probably not necessary if you don't plan on tracking the car.

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[mfrisc1]

So should I still do a baffle or not even that? I am atleast going to secure the oil pump nut.

[SG_M3]

So should I still do a baffle or not even that? I am atleast going to secure the oil pump nut.

Since you're going to have the pan off anyway, its nothing to do the baffle at the same time.

[mfrisc1]

True thanks for all of your help... I think this is the route I am going to go. The only issue is I scrapped the old pan because the drain plug was stripped only to find out that the other pan I had readily available was an S52 pan and I have a s50 dipstick. I think I am going to buy a extra large Oring in order to accomodate the S50 Dipstick in the S52 Pan along with some Black Gasket maker

[vinnymac]

I am currently in the process of putting a new pan in and I really dont track the car at all, but I do take some hard corners along with some spirited driving from time to time. Is this something I should be considering doing since im down there and im buying a new pan anyway? I was looking into gettting a baffle from VAC, but I dont know if I should go this route. Keep in mind the car is Gt35r turbo, with 8:5:1 Wiseco Pistons, Arrow Rods, currently running about 15LBs, but soon to have a new tune somewhere around 21LBs. Looking to protect all of the $$ I have spent.

To be honest...you really don't need the dual sump setup on a street car. You're never going to generate the g-forces necessary on a consistent basis to cause the oil starvation issues the dual sump setup is aimed to remedy.

You're better off saving the money and spending it on something else. Best of luck!