DCT Pan replacement found

[Stainless 45]

I've been doing a lot of research on this topic and what follows is what I finally settled on-

Our DCT transmission is amazing as we know, however BMW really dropped the ball by producing it with a plastic sump pan. Aside from the cooling problems some of you have experienced at the track, we've all seen the gasket surface begin to weep because well, plastic is shit. Cost cutting at it's finest, even a stamped steel pan would have been better. My efforts to sort out a few design flaws in an otherwise perfect car led me to seek a replacement.

I don't track this car but I do a lot of spirited street driving. Never experienced a cooling issue yet, so I didn't think a deeper sump was necessary. More into finding something robust, appropriate for the car, and maybe better able to handle possible road debris or impacts.

There isn't much on the market. Slon, Burger, Gintani and Wortec. The first 3 are a lot deeper, 1-2 liters of extra fluid etc. but the roads in NY are shit and I was worried about how low they might hang. Wortec became my choice but it wasn't exactly easy to find. Vivid racing used to carry it but doesn't. '335i shop' doesn't exist anymore, etc. SO I finally contacted Wortec directly in the UK. Their website is being redone and their parent company is Karrot Developments. Pictures looked like a quality product and they have been awesome to deal with through direct email. $352 plus $50 shipping and I had it in 3 days. The pan is cast not forged, and feels very robust. Says it holds an additional .5 liter of fluid. It includes a Magnetic drain plug and some nice stainless hardware. I don't have a scale but I estimate it weighs about 3 pounds. Now waiting on ECS for the fluid and filters so I can do the swap. Info from the company in the link below the pictures.

[wyatth]

Does it use RTV sealant or the OE gasket?

[Stainless 45]

Originally Posted by wyatth

Does it use RTV sealant or the OE gasket?

It did not include the gasket. Hoping to re-use the stock one or RTV we shall see. Will update when I get the stuff to do the swap

[Redd]

Looks like a nice alternative to the much more expensive Slon DCT pan for those who don't track.

I would just use Loctite gasket maker.

[amrazM]

Originally Posted by Redd

Looks like a nice alternative to the much more expensive Slon DCT pan for those who don't track.

I would just use Loctite gasket maker.

It’s not, this appears to be oem just a metal version. Slon and other aftermarkets sell a deeper pan. I’m not taking and sides to which is better just making it a point.

Op, buy a viton gasket off eBay. That gasket with this pan should be a lifetime solution to leaks from the lower pan.

[GORDON.M3]

Save your time and effort and DO NOT install this pan.

I had this before and I lost nearly $100USD on duties and importation taxes to Canada during a refund and returning of the product.

The powder coating is on every part of the part of the pan, even in where the sealant is supposed to sit and mate to the transmission. The trench that the sealant is supposed to sit is not deep enough. The magnetic plug is slightly undersized and leaks. The coating on the magnetic drain plug is weak and chips/cracks easily which ends up floating in your transmission.

The product would have been great but the powdercoating they used on it ruined it.

The only good part about the pan is that it is heavy duty and matains the OEM size with a small drain hole in the rear for an added DCT cooler.

I had this installed for a day and I got rid of it. The leak was worse than a used pan with 35,000 miles on it. Not to mention all the hardware supplied were Chinese bolts.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by GORDON.M3

Save your time and effort and DO NOT install this pan.

I had this before and I lost nearly $100USD on duties and importation taxes to Canada during a refund and returning of the product.

I have the Slon DCT pan that adds an additional liter of fluid. Based on the way this pan is designed I don’t see how’d you be able to add an additional 1/2 liter of fluid - is this a true statement?

[GORDON.M3]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

I have the Slon DCT pan that adds an additional liter of fluid. Based on the way this pan is designed I don’t see how’d you be able to add an additional 1/2 liter of fluid - is this a true statement?

The pan is ever-so-slightly enlarged, its a copy of the OEM pan but cast in metal instead of plastic. I'm sure it's more hollowed/deeper out compared to the plastic material pan, making it have a .5L more capacity. The pan worked great for the day, shifts were buttery smooth but the leak was too much.

The Slon DCT pan is enlarged and it comes with the fluid pick-up spacer which helps with allowing the suction pump sitting at the bottom of the pan. The Slon pan is the only pan that incorporates this design right now, and truly the best replacement out there.

[M3SQRD]

Originally Posted by GORDON.M3

The pan is ever-so-slightly enlarged, its a copy of the OEM pan but cast in metal instead of plastic. I'm sure it's more hollowed/deeper out compared to the plastic material pan, making it have a .5L more capacity. The pan worked great for the day, shifts were buttery smooth but the leak was too much.

The Slon DCT pan is enlarged and it comes with the fluid pick-up spacer which helps with allowing the suction pump sitting at the bottom of the pan. The Slon pan is the only pan that incorporates this design right now, and truly the best replacement out there.

Makes sense. The cast Al probably allowed them to thin the walls down compared to the OEM plastic pan + slightly deeper design would allow an additional 1/2 L.

[Stainless 45]

Originally Posted by GORDON.M3

The pan is ever-so-slightly enlarged, its a copy of the OEM pan but cast in metal instead of plastic. I'm sure it's more hollowed/deeper out compared to the plastic material pan, making it have a .5L more capacity. The pan worked great for the day, shifts were buttery smooth but the leak was too much.

The Slon DCT pan is enlarged and it comes with the fluid pick-up spacer which helps with allowing the suction pump sitting at the bottom of the pan. The Slon pan is the only pan that incorporates this design right now, and truly the best replacement out there.

The drain bolt on mine fits quite tightly, and there is a copper washer supplied with it similar to the plugs of the engine pan.

[randrews15]

I'm curious to see if the OP has any leaks when installed. Also, do they make the side pan as well?

[GORDON.M3]

Originally Posted by M3SQRD

Makes sense. The cast Al probably allowed them to thin the walls down compared to the OEM plastic pan + slightly deeper design would allow an additional 1/2 L.

Yup exactly.

Originally Posted by Stainless 45

The drain bolt on mine fits quite tightly, and there is a copper washer supplied with it similar to the plugs of the engine pan.

Of course, it fits tightly, I've used all the supplied hardware. The drain pan bolt is undersized and coated with a chrome plating that flakes off. You can tighten it all the way and it still leaks. The problem lies with the powder-coating material they had used. The most stupid part of the design is they created a tapered edge on the drain hole which is usually used to mate rubber/tapered bolts. But instead the drain plug is flat with a copper crush ring. The only way you can seal it properly is to add sealant on the threads of the drain bolt. Poor design and waste of time.

There is a reason why VividRacing removed the product from their catalog.

[Stainless 45]

Interesting. The coating doesn't seem like powder coat, more of a flat anodized type finish. I'll be doing the swap this week so will keep you guys posted.

[nyc_dude]

NYC/LI, YYZ -- Time for a Drum Solo. RIP Neil Peart.

Another common source of leaks is the o-ring where the harness enters the DCT Tranny. It is on top of the DCT...so it is hard to get to. New 0-ring is fatter.

One idea is to have the pan stripped and recoated at a local shop with a durable finish.
Use teflon tape on the drain plug. Of course. upgrade the bolts.


Cheers

[GORDON.M3]

Originally Posted by Stainless 45

Interesting. The coating doesn't seem like powder coat, more of a flat anodized type finish. I'll be doing the swap this week so will keep you guys posted.

I've had plenty of things anodized before and I know what the results are, this is definitely not one of them. The surface is rough and poorly finished.



It's most likely a powder-coat finish less the gloss powder clear. You can even see where it's coming off. If it's not powder then it's a very close finish to wrinkle paint.

Originally Posted by nyc_dude

One idea is to have the pan stripped and recoated at a local shop with a durable finish.
Use teflon tape on the drain plug. Of course. upgrade the bolts.

It's an unfinished product, hence why it hasn't gotten much attention. If I had to keep it, I'd strip the product completely. Machine down the mating surface and CNC mill out deeper trenches for the sealant to sit in.

The amount of work needed to get it properly done is simply not worth the time.

[Stainless 45]

I cleaned up the drain hole flange with some sandpaper, I agree it should have come smoothly machined. I'll probably use RTV sealant on the lip if the stock gasket doesn't sit well. Hey, it's robust, it's metal, and it's a third of the price of it's competitors. I'll report back when I have it installed.

[rantarM3]

I looked at this pan a while ago, before deciding on the Slon pan, and when it was listed on Vivid's site. Just from looking at the photos that were available then, it was unclear whether the pan was actually properly finished for installation. The mating surface was not machined, which is what I would have expected even for a cast piece.

If I were you, I would have the mating surface of the pan machined just enough to ensure that it is flat (no guarantee with a cast surface). And if the RTV channel is not deep enough, they could make it the necessary depth. I would not expect a machine shop to charge all that much for machining the top flat, and it could save you the headache of revisiting leaking pan.

[RedScytheM3]

[Stainless 45]

Update....

So the pan is installed. I got the DCT service kit from ECS plus an extra liter of Pentosin. The kit comes with 2 plugs- a magnetic drain plug that isn't necessary since the Wortec already has one, and a replacement aluminum fill plug. I used the o-ring from the fill plug in place of the copper washer that came with the pan.

The gasket surface on the pan does not allow for use of the oem gasket, so I ran a bead of red RTV. For some reason the photos around the interwebs show the pan before the mounting holes have been drilled out. Again mine came ready to install with nice stainless hardware.

Using a fluid transfer pump from Autozone https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-a...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
I was able to get about 5 liters into the tranny before starting the engine. 2k rpm for 2 minutes and I got an additional liter in, minus what dripped down my arm. Car seems happy, shifts are smooth and crisp, maybe better than before due to the new fluid. All in all I consider the Wortec pan a home run for my purpose.

48 hours and no signs of leaks.

[Helmsman]

Sounds good OP! Believe the system hold 9 liter fluid, incl pipe and cooler but still sounds like you could squeeze some more in?

[Stainless 45]

After the 2k rpm period, with the engine idling I added until it burped out the fill hole. Pretty sure she's full. I didn't open any other part of the system

[Godchild14]

Originally Posted by GORDON.M3

Save your time and effort and DO NOT install this pan.

I had this before and I lost nearly $100USD on duties and importation taxes to Canada during a refund and returning of the product.

The powder coating is on every part of the part of the pan, even in where the sealant is supposed to sit and mate to the transmission. The trench that the sealant is supposed to sit is not deep enough. The magnetic plug is slightly undersized and leaks. The coating on the magnetic drain plug is weak and chips/cracks easily which ends up floating in your transmission.

The product would have been great but the powdercoating they used on it ruined it.

The only good part about the pan is that it is heavy duty and matains the OEM size with a small drain hole in the rear for an added DCT cooler.

I had this installed for a day and I got rid of it. The leak was worse than a used pan with 35,000 miles on it. Not to mention all the hardware supplied were Chinese bolts.

Does anyone knows how to reset your Transmission after you done the Fluid. I cannot shift upward I'm in limp mode