420A $20 oil pan baffle

[dsmcrzy]

Hey Guys,

Here is what I came up with for a baffle for my oil pan since the 420A doesn't have anything in the pan stock!

I know there are companies that make windage trays and baffle systems for the 420A, but quite frankly I have better things to spend $300+ on.

The main goal here was to stop the worry of a hard right hander starving the engine of oil. Now I have not put it in the car yet so I don’t have any results of it yet but I still wanted to share with you guys and get some opinions. Also remember the pan doesn’t sit level in the car so the flap is at the lowest point being in that corner.

Another goal was to make it so anyone can take this idea and run with it. You could go much crazier with the design but I didn’t see a point for it since I don’t competitively track the car yet.
Nothing here was special ordered. I just went to good ol' Home Depot and got:
1 Sheet of 16ga sheet metal ($7)
2 5/16'' nuts ($2)
1 3' length of 3/16'' rod ($5)
Prices are estimated (total was around $15)

Please don’t make fun of my welds I am still learning MIG and i am using flux cored wire while I am practicing since gas is too expensive to 'waste'. I basically just tacked it since I didn't want to burn through my oil pan and in all reality this doesn’t have to be water tight.

The little piece over the flap is a stopper so the flap can only open so far. This will prevent it from getting stuck open.
Let me know what you think!!

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[Sirnixalot]

love the diy ingenuity BUT i would remove that until you get some more practice with the mig. I know welding such thin material is a pain but it would suck if that decided to break away from the oil pan and start playing patty cake with your crank counter weights

Also the trap door has the potential to be stuck with that hinge design (not saying it will)

BMW has some OEM rubber flaps for around $15 a piece that are designed for just what you are trying to do

OEM Part # 11 13 1 309 428

BMW Part 11131309428 (11-13-1-309-428) - Turner Motorsport

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[jayson427]

^thats what i thought about as well, that would really suck if metal broke loose. i love the idea tho we defintely need something better priced for oil pan baffles/crank scrapers.

 

[dsmcrzy]

I have seen those BMW flaps around the other car forums. I did a lot of research before I went ahead with this.

I have since gone in with my dremmel and cleaned the welds up to help remove anything that was loose. I got good penetration on a lot of it though for doing a series of tack welds like that.

The flap opens up very easily and doesn't get hung up at all. I drilled out the nuts so there are no threads in them.

Hopefully this will inspire some other 420a guys to come up with some ideas. Ill clean mine up more and see how it does with some oil moving around... Off the car of course.

 

[Th3DooM]

With something like this you don't have to weld:

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I hope you all get what I want I have a friend working at a cnc machine shop. maybe he can make me one for cheap.

 

[Sirnixalot]

with something like the above (if i understand right) you just doubled your chance of having an oil pan leak

 

[dsmcrzy]

I already have one of the crank scrapers which does the same thing gasket wise. I use permatex on both sides of it and I have not had any leaks at all. With that being said it is a pita everytime the pan comes off to prep the surface (take all the old stuff off) and make sure it's dry before applying.

 

[silvreclips]

Interesting idea, I have also been throwing around the idea of making a baffle for the stock pan. I would also look into making a plate that runs parallel with the block (flat) with a hole in just just enough for the pickup tube to stick threw. I looked at a few other pans and this seems to be pretty common. Something like this along with your setup. This would help to keep the oil from sloshing up the sides of the oil pan and keep it around the pickup tube. It would probably be a good idea to cut up an old oil pan to find the best placement for the baffles. I wish I wouldnt have thrown my old pan in the trash last year

http://www.ipgparts.com/store/image.php?type=T&id=19349

 

[2gnt]

I don't really understand oil pan baffles, trapdoors and what not but, would it be a bad idea to combine both ideas from post 5 and post 8?

 

[Aproductions]

I don't really understand oil pan baffles, trapdoors and what not but, would it be a bad idea to combine both ideas from post 5 and post 8?

To keep oil in all spots of the pan. This helps to prevents spinning a rod bearing from no oil on hard turns.


I have done one of these out of sheet metal and I am more comfortable with harder turns now.

 

[2gnt]

To keep oil in all spots of the pan. This helps to prevents spinning a rod bearing from no oil on hard turns.


I have done one of these out of sheet metal and I am more comfortable with harder turns now.

Sorry my question was a little vague.
I understand what it does but how is the design of the baffle determined, in terms of general placement, trapdoor placement, and how many baffles?

 

[dsmcrzy]

Interesting idea, I have also been throwing around the idea of making a baffle for the stock pan. I would also look into making a plate that runs parallel with the block (flat) with a hole in just just enough for the pickup tube to stick threw. I looked at a few other pans and this seems to be pretty common. Something like this along with your setup. This would help to keep the oil from sloshing up the sides of the oil pan and keep it around the pickup tube. It would probably be a good idea to cut up an old oil pan to find the best placement for the baffles. I wish I wouldnt have thrown my old pan in the trash last year

http://www.ipgparts.com/store/image.php?type=T&id=19349

Yes I have toyed around with the top plate idea and i have mocked it up out of cardboard. The think is I just need tto get the correct placement with the oil pick up tube.

Like I said in my first post this was more for me to be more comfortable with where the oil is in thenpan while driving.

There is a lot more that can and should be done before really tracking the car. A lot of the hardcore setups I have seen have 4 baffles one for each axis of movement. I feel this is over kill for me right now but if/when I start to track the car I will probably head that way.