Not a Project but...

[Andrew J]

A little bit more work done (nearly). Got the vanos unit off the car and stripped the unit. Was a bit fiddly getting past the slam panel but my bmw special vanos removal tool did the trick (not block of wood and a big heave ho, honest guv!). I've seen posts where people have dropped the lower radiator hose but we didn't need to. We did try extracting the left most stud but couldn't get the second nut tight enough.

The x8r kit seems very good quality apart from the vanos piston cover bolts. They look a bit screwfix special but I didn't have time to get some from bmw so have used them for now.

As it stands I've got the vanos back on the car and a few bolts holding it in, just need to finish the re install and change the oil. Might change the spark plugs whilst the top and coils are off (more expense - I suppose O was warned when I first posted about getting it ).

Edit: apologies my photos are in the wrong order below but I can't work out how to get them to sit within the post above.

[Andrew J]

On another note, the x8r disa kit comes with a seal for the unit however I made the mistake of removing the red/orange Silicon seal that seals it against the inlet manifold. The small seal that came with the kit did fit over the valve to get in the groove but didn't seem big enough to fill the groove and seal it if that makes sense. I installed the disa and it felt snug to tighten up so I presume it's sealed but we'll see how that goes. Anybody dug the orange seal out and used the x8r kit seal with success? If it doesn't work I'll have to source a bigger seal from somewhere.

[Andrew J]

It's took about a year but its finally done...I'm now the proud owner of a 2005 Z4 3.0i! Pictures or it didn't happen I know but haven't had chance yet (will update in due course). So its a 3.0i, sapphire black, heated seats, business stereo (not sure if these are standard fitment or not?), wind deflector, aftermarket Bluetooth connectivity with music stream functionality, 106k miles so has some age related scars but nothing drastic or rust inducing. Engine runs sweet as a nut as far as I can see and roof works too. Oh it also has a drivers side cup holder .

Plans for it: drive it! I do need to fix the drivers door as to get in you have to press the door and pull the handle. Weird but hopefully it's a simple fix. If anyone has any ideas on what the issue might be, I'd be all ears .

What I am in need of is a car cover. It will eventually go in the garage but that needs sorting so for the time being, she'll have to a drive queen. Anybody have any good recommendations for a cover? I've never used one before so I haven't the foggiest of ideas which brands are good, bad or ugly.

Anyway, looking forward to getting miles in it with the roof down even in the cold weather. Cheers.

Edit: I'm going to use this thread as a document of what I've done to the car. I won't say project thread as I'm not planning on changing much (famous last words!).

[Joez4]

I used the x8r disa kit and the instructions i had said to remove that orange molded gasket and replace with the black o ring supplied which I did and it does provide a very tight seal in my experience.

I agree about the vanos piston caps in the x8r kit been poor,I couldn't get them to fit with enough confidence that they would stay in place so I took the o rings off them and put them on the old caps and got a much better fit

[Andrew J]

I used the x8r disa kit and the instructions i had said to remove that orange molded gasket and replace with the black o ring supplied which I did and it does provide a very tight seal in my experience.

I agree about the vanos piston caps in the x8r kit been poor,I couldn't get them to fit with enough confidence that they would stay in place so I took the o rings off them and put them on the old caps and got a much better fit

I watched the video on the website and it didn't mention scraping the seal out, they just add the new seal onto the unit. It did on other videos and the disa came out pretty easily so I'm guessing it wasn't sealing well. Glad to know others have done it and not seen an issue.

I haven't tried the piston caps yet. It was the bolts that hold down the cover that I thought looked a bit screwfix. Thinking back the new piston caps didn't seem as robust as the ones that came out. I'll see how it looks when I try to get them on but I might re use the old ones.

[enuff_zed]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

[Andrew J]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

Thanks for the advice. Will do this when I come to to fitting them hopefully at the weekend.

[Joez4]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

Wish I knew that tip when I did mine, I used the right angle pliers to put my caps back in

[Andrew J]

Tonight's job, remove the rocker cover gasket. Once you get the hang of getting the gasket out of the crevice, it's fairly easy. I can imagine it's a lot harder if it's not to supple. I managed to get 3/4 out in one go. Now I just need to clean the inside. I'm going to rinse it with water to remove any shards of gasket but then give it a decent clean. I've only ever cleaned metal rocker covers, does engine degreaser attack the plastic on these?

[Andrew J]

So rolled the car back today and the alarm starts to go off. The door managed to unlock but now I have nothing when I try and turn the ignition on in the car. The alarm started with short blast then it did two rounds with a long blast at the start and now nothing. I'm thinking a flat battery as it hasn't been started in over a month and I've been working on it recently. Hopefully it's nothing worse .

[Andrew J]

Got the car back together today. Used a jumper pack to charge the car whilst we fitted everything back together and car started fine. Plenty of smoke coming from the exhaust under the bonnet from the oik leak but that's burnt off now I think after a couple of runs. I've still got a P0102 code and the MAF is now reading 0.1g/s regardless of revs so another conundrum. This bloody car is costing me a fortune. I'm already £350 down in parts alone. All I want is to be able to heel and toe . I didn't get any pictures as I was under strict orders to get it done before company arrived this afternoon. Now at least I can drive it and get the vanos seals bedded in.

[Andrew J]

Why faff about? Fit a new door cable

I'd read it was a right royal pita to do the door cable instead of just the washer spacer fix. A new cable it is.

Door card off, handle off, carefully fold the membrane upwards, unbolt carrier and lock assembly and pull them out of the door. Fit new cable and put it all back together.

I'm going to get a bowden cable for the door but when I've looked on realoem, there's 2 bowden cables in the door (item 7 and 16 in the image). Which cable is it that's stretched? My guess would be 16. Or is it both .

[enuff_zed]

Number 7 to the outside handle. Number 16 to the inner one

[BigDaddy]

How different does it feel now you’ve done the vanos? I have a 2004 3.0 with 91k and i have the vanos kit but haven’t done it yet. I’m dreading it in a way but if the car feels perkier after that would be good.

Is it just responsiveness or does overall power go up?

The only complaint I have about the car really is it’s not that quick. Not slow, but not quick.

Anyway the websites selling the kit say it’s the best thing ever, but what’s your real life experience?

[Andrew J]

How different does it feel now you’ve done the vanos? I have a 2004 3.0 with 91k and i have the vanos kit but haven’t done it yet. I’m dreading it in a way but if the car feels perkier after that would be good.

Is it just responsiveness or does overall power go up?

The only complaint I have about the car really is it’s not that quick. Not slow, but not quick.

Anyway the websites selling the kit say it’s the best thing ever, but what’s your real life experience?

Does yours have the dead band around 3-4k rpm? Sometimes mine felt like I was driving into blancmange until it got to about 5.5-6k then kicked in again (not quite vtec yo but still noticeable).

Right now I haven't really tested it as the instructions on the website advise 250 miles of "about town" driving so I haven't taken it above 4k yet. I've done 50 miles since the install and at low revs it does seem to pick up a bit better but I have done the DISA mod and cleaned the icv too so the low end could be due to those. I'll report back once I've done a few more miles to let the new seals settle in.