Place to install dipstick n52 engine. Or is it to easy to be true?

[Nipsey]

Just wanted to put up a couple pictures and bring up the subject of retrofitting a dipstick on the 3.0si. I have seen several posts about it on various forums. They usually end up becoming a “why do you want it? Bmw says you don’t need it” sort of thing with no real progress or resolution.
Well anyway I got poking around under the hood and looking at parts diagrams. It looks like there is a spot in the oil pan that is used as an oil return line for some types of CCV systems. And it is labeled as such on some parts lists. On the z4 , at least on mine and a few others I was able to look at on the net. There is just a plug screwed in that spot. It looks like it would be extremely simple to remove the plug and machine/drill it or a spare one so you don’t ruin the original out to except a dipstick tube. There is nothing in the pan or hanging down from the engine that would interfere with placing something there.
Hopefully I can manage to post pictures. I would really like to hear any feedback.

[Nipsey]

Maybe not the best formatting of the pictures but to the right of the first one is a parts diagram showing a oil return line from the CCV system in that spot.

[vt100]

Z4 with S52?! Did you have your engine swapped?

[Nipsey]

I noticed that, too lazy to correct it I guess. But I will now that you had the opportunity to point it out

[Nipsey]

Oh and if anyone is interested I got a dipstick from the junkyard and mocked it up. It will fit. When I get a more permanent installation I will post.

[vt100]

Originally Posted by Nipsey

I noticed that, too lazy to correct it I guess. But I will now that you had the opportunity to point it out

Oh! So this is for N52. That's pretty cool
I'd love to do it on my wife's 128i as well..

What model/year did you get the dipstick from?

[Nipsey]

The initial one I have more or less fabbed up was from a nissan v6. 3.6? maybe, I probably should have paid more attention but I didn’t expect it to be as easy as it was. The bolt/plug that is in the pan is nothing special and you could buy plenty to experiment on as far as different dipstick tube diameters go.
I will grab a photo of what I have now so you can get a better idea. I will post it later today. And sincere apologies about the mistake on the engine, I just thought everyone would know what I meant. Pretty lazy of me really. So to clarify what I have is a 2007 3.0si.

[Nipsey]

Real quick post just to get the pictures up. I will try and organize it better tomorrow. Basically as stated in the first post I used the plug in the top of the oil pan to put an oil dipstick in place. It looks good as far as function goes but the final rendition should be made to look neater.
I removed the plug and drilled it and stepped it to take the dipstick tube and o-rings. Then cut and welded up the tube to fit and have the right bends. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the length and angles right so it is accessible and reads properly. I used a couple different dipsticks to get a good reading.
The pictures just show the plug location and the hacked up tube as well as the whole thing in place. It is fully functional as is but just not real pretty if you look too closely.

[Willy Sea]

Why? Gotta ask, someone will.

[Nipsey]

Because I like to be able to confirm oil level. Also old habit of looking at the oil to see if it is getting dark/dirty. Really no downside to it at all and a lot of people get some piece of mind being able to actually see there oil level especially on a car that gets driven hard on occasion.
In the end I suppose it is like any of the hundreds of mods posted here just because I wanted to ��

[WickedNy]

Great post

[Nipsey]

Thanks, I have been juggling a few mods all at the same time. But for those of us that miss having a dipstick to check the oil this is one of my favorites. Fairly easy to do, not a whole lot of disassembly. Really just more fiddling around getting the bends and length figured out.

[pungo]

Great work. Why, because people that know cars and or work on them want the additional data point of being able to verify the oil level and color. Some people rarely ever open their hood.

[Nipsey]

Thanks pungo, my wife accuses me of “fixing” stuff that isn’t broken. I do love to tinker but not having a dipstick on a performance car is just not right to me. Like you said many people who drive these cars might never check their oil even if there was a dipstick from the factory.
For me it is great piece of mind. I am probably traumatized from having a few small block Fords that were heavy oil burners.