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Deep oil pans for '70's airheads?

SCBuckeye

New member
Years ago (circa 1985) there was a rage about Deep oil pans for '70's airheads. I own a '78 R100/7, and am wondering if they still are available.
 
Jimmy -

Yes, it appears some are still made. Anton has info at the bottom of this page:

http://www.largiader.com/tech/oilpan/

Note his caution about centerstands and clearance.

Personally, I'm fine with the stock pan on my /7. I did put a slightly deeper pan on my R25/2. It only held a little over 1 quart...yikes! I thought maybe another 0.5 quart of oil might be the way to go.
 
I have a deep oil pan on my 78 R100S. To make this modification completely effective , you need to lower the pick-up of the pump also.
 
I had one on my R100S that I sold last fall, but have the standard pan on my R100RS.

Honestly, I don't know, I certainly don't think it's one of those mods that you HAVE to do.
 
Yup

Years ago (circa 1985) there was a rage about Deep oil pans for '70's airheads. I own a '78 R100/7, and am wondering if they still are available.

I put a later mdl pan and pick-up on my '78rs only for the following reason, and I quote Largiader,

"The deep pan and cast pickup are better than the earlier designs, so you can get more reliable oil delivery using the newest parts. Additionally, the greater air volume in the sump means less fluctuation in crankcase pressure and therefore less oil lost through the breather."

My bike was blowing a lot of oil through the breather into the air filter area; the larger pan with the baffle seemed to help. I still use same amount of oil and dip stick as I did with the old pan. I just took notice where it came up to on the dip stick when I first changed it and added full oil change.

You can find them on ebay or IBMWR Marketplace; just make sure it's '81 or newer and comes with the adapter and pickup parts.

DW
 
I recently installed a later year ('81+) deeper oil pan with baffle on my 1978 /7. The center stand just clears the newer model oil pan. Here are the BMW part numbers I used:

07119919143 screw plug
07119963300 gasket ring
11131336995 oil pan (1981+)
11131338427 gasket (oil pan)
07119902993 hex bolts
07119932099 wave washers
11411252226 wire-strap
11411337509 perforated plate
11411337536 intake manifold (oil pickup)
11411256258 gasket
 
Many of those parts, like the screen and the 14 bolts, are the same between different oil pan versions. You need the pan, a fresh gasket, the matching pickup and its bolts, and maybe a new dipstick. And a new crush washer but that should be obvious.
 
I recently installed a later year ('81+) deeper oil pan with baffle on my 1978 /7. The center stand just clears the newer model oil pan. Here are the BMW part numbers I used:

07119919143 screw plug
07119963300 gasket ring
11131336995 oil pan (1981+)
11131338427 gasket (oil pan)
07119902993 hex bolts
07119932099 wave washers
11411252226 wire-strap
11411337509 perforated plate
11411337536 intake manifold (oil pickup)
11411256258 gasket

How much oil volume did this add? 1 Qt? Less than 1 Qt? Also, did these parts also lower your oil pick up suction screen down an equal amount as the new depth of the pan?

What I am wanting is a "buffer" just to make sure that I NEVER go low on oil, and the added benefit of cooler oil.
 
Many of those parts, like the screen and the 14 bolts, are the same between different oil pan versions. You need the pan, a fresh gasket, the matching pickup and its bolts, and maybe a new dipstick. And a new crush washer but that should be obvious.

I plan on using the same dipstick and adding the extra amount of oil to keep the "full" line at the same place.
 
Jimmy -

If you use a deeper pan, you have two different things you can accomplish...and typically, they work against each other. One reason to add a deep pan is to put in the same amount of oil as before (you'll need a different dipstick) which then increases the air volume in the engine block. What this does is help with the "windage" which is the whipping of the oil and creating more misting which can then work its way out the breather. It also reduces the pressure on the seals. When the pistons are heading to bottom dead center, they are pushing air...if there's more volume for that air, not as much pressure will build up.

But if you add a pan and fill the oil to the original mark, you now have more oil which means that it will take more time for a given part of the oil to work through the engine, thus maybe cooling a bit more along the way. You add more surface area along the sides of the pan which theoretically could help with cooling, but I would think it's marginal. But the problem with this is that you have the windage problem mentioned above.

So, the best solution might be somewhere in between. It's a tough call and the actual improvements either direction might be difficult to quantify. Check the "Why might I care?" section on Anton's website.

One thing that Anton's site shows is the added baffling some of the pans got. This is a good thing to keep the oil from sloshing around and preventing the oil intake at the bottom of the pan to such air...that's a bad thing for sure.
 
How much oil volume did this add? 1 Qt? Less than 1 Qt? Also, did these parts also lower your oil pick up suction screen down an equal amount as the new depth of the pan?

What I am wanting is a "buffer" just to make sure that I NEVER go low on oil, and the added benefit of cooler oil.

Yes, the oil pick up is lowered to the correct level with the addition of the 11411337536 intake manifold (oil pickup).

If you have had a problem with low oil level and your bike is not leaking it or burning it, I suggest that is might be disappearing due to the blow back through the breather into the cavity around the air filter. The '81 and newer oil pan with the baffle will give you more volume and therefore less pressure inside and should eliminate that problem. But, if you add extra oil, you will have the same problem as before which is less air volume and increased pressure.

The best way to make sure you never go low on oil is to check before each ride and at the end of each ride. If you want cooler oil, put an oil cooler on it.

If you want to carry more oil, change to the post '80 oil pan with the baffle. Change the oil and add 2.50 liters, check where the oil level comes to on the dip stick and that is your full mark. Or, get a post '80 dip stick with correct marking on it.

All this info I got from our MOA members and techs over the years; most of it is on the net. Our Mod on this site gave you the best location to look for this info. There is a lot to read but well worth it. About 30 years ago, I thought more oil was the answer on my RS but learned I was wrong by reading articles from our MOA members who really dig into things.

Without oil coolers, up to 1980: 2.25 liters = 2.37 qts. what your bike should hold now.
From 1981 without cooler: 2.50 liters = 2.64 qts. what your bike would hold with newer oil pan.

DW
 
When I got my '74 R90/6 back in '88, it came with a Briel oil cooler. They sandwich between the engine block and stock oil pan. Adds about quart of oil to the engine oil capacity. It also has a very rudimentary built in oil cooler with 3 air tubes running thru it. The center stand cross member has to be modified to work. The thing I like most about it is that it adds 70's bling to the bike. And it makes the engine look bigger. Some times it all about the look.
 
How much oil volume did this add? 1 Qt? Less than 1 Qt? Also, did these parts also lower your oil pick up suction screen down an equal amount as the new depth of the pan?

What I am wanting is a "buffer" just to make sure that I NEVER go low on oil, and the added benefit of cooler oil.

From what I have read - I have not measured the change in oil quantity yet - the increase in oil volume is 250 ml. That is when using the stock /7 dipstick and the oil level at the same 'max' location. While this is some extra oil (~ 8 oz), I mainly installed the deeper (BMW) oil pan for the baffle.

Here are several other options:

http://www.bmw2valve.com/motorcycle/B/1113100.html
http://www.bmw2valve.com/motorcycle/B/1113110.html
http://www.bmw2valve.com/motorcycle/B/1113120.html
http://www.motoren-israel.com/index.php?cat=c176_Oil-pan---Distance-rings.html


p.s. The hex bolts listed previously are for the deeper pickup. The 81+ screen was slightly different than my 1978 /7 screen.
 
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