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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

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DSGRNMCM
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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:51 pm

Afternoon All,

So we got back from France last night, after 5 days away. Not bad , but a bit of rain on the last 2 days.

It was my first proper drive of the car after the garage work, so got to know it a little better. Even with the CDV delete it is still a git to shift to 1st and 2nd, I still have to swap out the gear box oil.

I feel (maybe in my mind) that when the car is cold it feels more solid, then when it is warm more loose and clunky? I'm thinking engine / gear box mounts? or is it just me?

Didn't really get to drive to its full potential in terms of speed, as loads of slow roads, and a few cameras. I also got flashed on a dual carriage way, so I will wait and see what the post turns up with.

Had to park the car opposite the Air B&B, and away from some roof work.
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The huge Sub Pen in Saint-Naziere
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Attachments
3rd party head light drls.jpg
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E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Thu Oct 01, 2020 3:53 pm

When We got back my 3rd party head lights were here and my code reader!
box.jpg
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so that is two things to do when it is dry: Headlights and Gearbox oil!

I cleared the Airbag light with my £49.99 Amazon device C310+

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01 ... UTF8&psc=1
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:42 pm

So head lights returned, OEM just ordered! Put off the gear box oil change, due to rain.

The original headlight, is now letting in water! bugger.

Still in two minds about the plasti dip, but will try it as can be peeled off.
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:51 pm

Afternoon All,

So today was going to be headlight and Gearbox oil day (The sump plugs were cheaper from BMW!)

So I thought I'd just do the headlights after seeing how small the working space I would have contend with working on the car using jacks. I'll get it on a ramp for the gear box oil change.

Top Tip: Have a second person help you refit the front bumper! and make sure the lamp wash hose is secured out of the way when re fitting.
Top Tip 2: Order some panel supports before taking the bumper apart as mine snapped. (LHS 51117165179, RHS 51117165180) 23EUR each. from here part 17, then select left and / or right.

Link https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/carparts ... 0-verklei/

So off with the tyres, I'm still working how best to use the jacks and axel stands. I used the tyres and cardboard to support the bumper as it is still connected to the water supply for the jet washer. I undid the lower fixings, then side ones (Wheel arch) and finally the upper ones in the engine bay.
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There are many tell tales about a cars life, and the previous owners intent or level of care. This is a good one, a number of fixings are missing or mixed types. I've got a load on order.
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4 Torx T25 bolts hold the head light unit in, 3 on the front and one on the side. There is a lot of movement to allow correct sitting of the headlight. The inner bolt has the crash bar in front of it, so I had to use a small ratchet.
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Next was to remove the small connector by squeezing in this bottom clip and then used a screw driver to leaver it up and off.
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The large one, you pull the housing to the side and it self lifts off.
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Here the two headlights, my new one was from Habauer-Shop.DE, a German OEM supplier. It did not come with Ballast, Igniter or main lamp. The side lamp was included. I had a new ballast as the old one was wetter than a dolphins eyelid.
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After undoing 3 spring clips, I twisted the main lamp off, but could not fit it to the new unit. A quick facebook ask got a rapid and helpful response that the lamp comes out of the unit. DOH!
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Last edited by DSGRNMCM on Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:01 pm

q10.jpg
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These clips go over the black lamp housing. then click / screw the igniter on.
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This was the old ballast, covered in tape and clingfilm. Which made me think, should I water proof the new one?
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So after all that was done, plugged the headlight in, put a single bolt in, then tested the lights and it all works.

RHS one is from 2007, and LHS one from 2019 or 2020. So it does look different, might give the old one a clean and see if they will match up.
When replacing it, I'd recommend screwing all 4 bolts part way in, then position the headlight before tightening up for the final fit.

Fitting the bumper was a PITA, check the lamp washer hose is clipped in, and use a second person as I was getting frustrated. The LHS snapped, so more on order.
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Finished product!
front end.jpg
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E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by -Tom- » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:06 pm

That looks like a bit of a pig of a job! But the central jacking point, and stands where they are is the way I’ve also always gone.

With regard to the clunking ... I had the engine mounts changed on mine last year. It totally transformed the car, they must have been shot. The front end felt much more together when pottering around town, and eliminated clunking that I hadn’t actually taken notice of before.

I had the gearbox fluid change with insp 2 a few months ago, and this further improved the feel of the car for me. Engaging 1st, and then 1-2 is sometimes still notchy; but nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Hopefully you find the same joy!
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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:08 pm

Hi Tom, Were the engine founts a DIY job, or is it a PITA.

I'm assuming you have to suspend the engine while changing them?
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by -Tom- » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:26 pm

I had it done at BMW with some other bits, but if you’ve got the space, it looks a bit fiddly but not technically difficult.

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=58419

I’d upgrade to the VT mounts if you do it, everyone reviews them well on here. If the mounts visibly look ok, it’s worth checking first that the bolts are actually torqued up as a lot are known to have not been tightened properly from factory :tumbleweed:
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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by Mr Tidy » Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:59 pm

Some impressive work done there Dan. :thumbsup:

I got new engine mounts fitted when I had the bearing shells replaced by "bowser134", but he didn't recommend VT ones unless the car is going on the track so I just had OE. But the new ones definitely feel better!
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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Mon Oct 26, 2020 9:19 pm

Cheers Guys,

Engine mounts next then...
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:10 pm

So one job that I have been dying to do was the gearbox oil, mainly as part of my sorting 1st and 2nd gear change out. I have the CDV delete and ZHP gear knob, and wanted to do the Royal Purple gear fluid change as the last part.

2 x Red Line MTL 75W80 GL-4 Manual Transmission Gear Oil 1 US Quart. Redline MTL (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Red-Line-MTL ... 2749.l2649)

I have not taken the car for a "test" drive as the 20 min job, went on a little longer as we were (Socially distanced of course) talking about cars and my neighbours new garage.

As the many guides on here say it is as easy as:
  • Warm up gearbox oil (15min drive)
    Remove filler plug
    Remove drain plug
    Re fit new drain plug
    Fill until oil appears at filler plug
    Fit filler plug
    Torque up (35nm) done!
Also having the 8mm bolt helped (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BRAKE-CALIPE ... 2749.l2649)

and an oil pump also (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-Trans ... 2749.l2649)

I had looked at doing this using axel stands, but didn't fancy it. One vehicle ramp I tried, I could not get the arms in position to lift up. The Z4M jacking points are 104 cm apart and the lift I was using could not get the arms close enough to fit. My car has a 140mm floor to front bumper clearance and the jacking pads are 110mm so it was pretty tight.

On Friday myself and a mate helped my neighbour fit an install a car lift. It was pretty straight forward. bloody heavy though (Adhering to C19 safety obviously) and today it had been tested (With his wife's A4...) so I reversed my Z on to the ramp but the jacking pads were about 10mm too low for the car lift. As we started talking about using planks of wood under the wheel to lift the car or a trolley jack (Which I had lugged over) I realised I could just lift the body by the wheel arch and slide the arms under (Why did I not think of this previously...)
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So that was it, car on, and raised! While the WD40 was soaking on the filler & drain plug I had a good look around and (I'm no mechanic or expert) the under car seemed, well a little rusty. Obviously like myself the previous owner had the car outside. more on that later.

(Am I missing a black shield on the RH side?
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The existing plugs looked new, but I used new ones anyway as piece of mind. The oil filler worked a treat and it took just under 2 bottles of fluid. It really was a quick job.

new
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old plugs
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Now the under car bits. The shocks I'm surprised were not picked up at the service or last MOT. Any suggestions on replacements will be greatly received and any tips.


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E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by beanie » Mon Jan 18, 2021 12:02 am

I wouldn't be overly concerned with the rust level, for a 14/15 year old 90-100k car that's probably lived outside or at least seen regular wet use, it seems about par for the course. As long as the chassis and main mounting points are solid then those are all bolt on components that can be easily refurbed or replaced.

You could easily 'touch up' the shocks and camber arms with a bit of time and paint or you could say sod it and change them for new parts as they're likely past their best anyway. As this is the Internet and it is customary to spend others money, I vote full refresh with some spangly coilovers as some visual gratification!
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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Mon Feb 01, 2021 7:15 pm

Cheers Beanie, I feel like I should replace them, as it "should" be a simple job and they look shot to me.
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by DSGRNMCM » Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:48 pm

Hadn't posted in a while so thought I'd do a quick update.

So a few weeks back I changed the rear shocks for B4s. Initially it sorted out the rear height, then the next day it was back down low. So they are lowering springs on there.
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Last Sunday (14th march) the dash started flashing random lights, then the radio started cutting out. So I thought that was strange, then a bang noise and the car went dead.

The negative lead collar had split. So a quick call to my car insurance to get the recovery guy out was actioned.

He got there in about 40 mins, I opened the boot with my key (as I stupidly shut it...) he then went and got a spare and 5 mins later fixed!
E86 Z4m Coupe - Titan Silver, Stubby, Sun protection, Eibach springs, LED interior lights, CDV delete, Badge delete, Pipercross, Exhaust bypass
F11 520d, E46 328i, E91 320d, F21 120d, E46 318ti
Mk VI GTD DSG (Daily Hack)

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Dan's New Z4M Coupe!

Post by AndyBeech » Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:53 pm

Have you only changed the rear shocks out of interest or are the fronts new as well?
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