North West
Hello all Elliot here,
Got a very long post, sorry about that!
I recently decided to get my first car. I had a budget of 4k max, but ideally lower.
Browsing autotrader I came across a 2010 Z4 30i for 2.5k, but it had a few advertised problems. The problems being, it didn't have a functional reverse gear, the battery was dead, and the window had been left open for almost a year.
So of course I did the reasonable thing and sent a deposit of £500. After a few weeks I went to pick it up with my dad.
On arrival it was all as described. Got a new battery in, and closed the window. Tried to start it but it had no fuel. No problem, we first gave the interior a vinegar shower, and then towed it out the driveway.
The next problem, we started to winch it onto the trailer and realised the front was way too low to clear it.
After getting my phone camera into the wells I could see both the front springs had snapped. So we put it on the trailer backwards instead.
On the way back, we stopped to put a bit of fuel in it. It started first try and sounded great.
The next task, fixing the car. First issue, parts. I managed to get a used gearbox off eBay for £300, some used front Bilstein B8s with eibach springs for £140, cream trim and heated sport seats for £150, a new luk flywheel and clutch for £450, Bolts from BMW £90, and a BNIB Car play unit for £250.
After all these parts had arrived I went back down to get started on fitting everything. This all started on a Thursday afternoon.
Day 1 and 2: To begin with we got both the fronts replaced. No problems here apart from the wheels being extremely fused which required me to lie down and kick them many times
.
Day 3: Next challenge, getting the gearbox out. Thankfully, my dad has a lot of tools so it went onto a funny seesaw car lift. The under protection then got removed.
Day 4: Next task, the exhaust. Now I got to the manifold and couldn't do anything with them as they looked like this
But I asked my dad and he managed to get them out in 15 minutes or so, no clue how he did it.
After the exhaust was removed, the propshaft, gearbox, clutch, and flywheel all came out no problems.
Next issue, there were a few leaks including the rear main seal.
Thankfully, I had purchased a spare one for just this occasion. Now, I'm mostly going off ISTA and YouTube videos. I had no clue how to get the new one in properly without the special tool ISTA tells you to use. After trying to get it in with a rubber mallet, old seal, and a socket I accidentally bent the seal.
Day 5: I called up the local dealership and had the pleasure of getting robbed £37 for an OEM one. This time, I used the old seal, and tapped the new one in extremely carefully over an hour. It felt like it wasn't moving at all, but it finally got seated (I hope, I'm still not sure haha).
Next steps, putting the new flywheel and clutch in. I accidentally ordered a normal alignment tool that didn't fit with the SAC. Ordered the new alignment tool next day
Day 6: Next small issue, didn't have a big enough bit to remove the plate so had to Amazon next day it haha.
Day 7: Now came the biggest issue, getting the replacement gearbox in. Now I've never done this before, and after jacking the gearbox up, I was having trouble getting it seated. I finally realised the engine was tilting forwards due to the lack of gearbox weight.
I had no clue on how to solve this and after watching a few YouTube videos I worked out I needed to jack the front of it up with something to get it to tilt back down. So here you have my solution haha.
This worked fantastic and the gearbox seated and I bolted it in.
After connecting the gear selector I gave it a test. Success! All the gears worked.
The home stretch. The MOT got booked on for the next day, it had to pass as I had already taken too much time off work.
I spent that evening connecting everything back up, and torquing it all down (apart from the top gearbox bolts, nightmare fuel). Replaced the oil, and filters too.
Day 8: Went for the MOT and it passed successfully!
150 miles into my journey home, I had a low oil warning telling me to fill up 1l. I had definitely put 6.5l in so i found this strange. I put in another 1.5l and it's told me it's fine for the last 300 miles now. Not sure what happened haha.
Finally got the seats in yesterday along with 4 pilot sport 5 tyres from the curent Costco deal!
Anyway, if you read this far thanks and I'm happy to join the club!
If anyone has any advice on getting the heated seats wired up that'd be great though. I know I'm missing the loom but I'm not sure what exactly I need to buy to get them going.
Got a very long post, sorry about that!
I recently decided to get my first car. I had a budget of 4k max, but ideally lower.
Browsing autotrader I came across a 2010 Z4 30i for 2.5k, but it had a few advertised problems. The problems being, it didn't have a functional reverse gear, the battery was dead, and the window had been left open for almost a year.
So of course I did the reasonable thing and sent a deposit of £500. After a few weeks I went to pick it up with my dad.
On arrival it was all as described. Got a new battery in, and closed the window. Tried to start it but it had no fuel. No problem, we first gave the interior a vinegar shower, and then towed it out the driveway.
The next problem, we started to winch it onto the trailer and realised the front was way too low to clear it.
After getting my phone camera into the wells I could see both the front springs had snapped. So we put it on the trailer backwards instead.
On the way back, we stopped to put a bit of fuel in it. It started first try and sounded great.
The next task, fixing the car. First issue, parts. I managed to get a used gearbox off eBay for £300, some used front Bilstein B8s with eibach springs for £140, cream trim and heated sport seats for £150, a new luk flywheel and clutch for £450, Bolts from BMW £90, and a BNIB Car play unit for £250.
After all these parts had arrived I went back down to get started on fitting everything. This all started on a Thursday afternoon.
Day 1 and 2: To begin with we got both the fronts replaced. No problems here apart from the wheels being extremely fused which required me to lie down and kick them many times
.Day 3: Next challenge, getting the gearbox out. Thankfully, my dad has a lot of tools so it went onto a funny seesaw car lift. The under protection then got removed.
Day 4: Next task, the exhaust. Now I got to the manifold and couldn't do anything with them as they looked like this
But I asked my dad and he managed to get them out in 15 minutes or so, no clue how he did it.
After the exhaust was removed, the propshaft, gearbox, clutch, and flywheel all came out no problems.
Next issue, there were a few leaks including the rear main seal.
Thankfully, I had purchased a spare one for just this occasion. Now, I'm mostly going off ISTA and YouTube videos. I had no clue how to get the new one in properly without the special tool ISTA tells you to use. After trying to get it in with a rubber mallet, old seal, and a socket I accidentally bent the seal.
Day 5: I called up the local dealership and had the pleasure of getting robbed £37 for an OEM one. This time, I used the old seal, and tapped the new one in extremely carefully over an hour. It felt like it wasn't moving at all, but it finally got seated (I hope, I'm still not sure haha).
Next steps, putting the new flywheel and clutch in. I accidentally ordered a normal alignment tool that didn't fit with the SAC. Ordered the new alignment tool next day
Day 6: Next small issue, didn't have a big enough bit to remove the plate so had to Amazon next day it haha.
Day 7: Now came the biggest issue, getting the replacement gearbox in. Now I've never done this before, and after jacking the gearbox up, I was having trouble getting it seated. I finally realised the engine was tilting forwards due to the lack of gearbox weight.
I had no clue on how to solve this and after watching a few YouTube videos I worked out I needed to jack the front of it up with something to get it to tilt back down. So here you have my solution haha.
This worked fantastic and the gearbox seated and I bolted it in.
After connecting the gear selector I gave it a test. Success! All the gears worked.
The home stretch. The MOT got booked on for the next day, it had to pass as I had already taken too much time off work.
I spent that evening connecting everything back up, and torquing it all down (apart from the top gearbox bolts, nightmare fuel). Replaced the oil, and filters too.
Day 8: Went for the MOT and it passed successfully!
150 miles into my journey home, I had a low oil warning telling me to fill up 1l. I had definitely put 6.5l in so i found this strange. I put in another 1.5l and it's told me it's fine for the last 300 miles now. Not sure what happened haha.
Finally got the seats in yesterday along with 4 pilot sport 5 tyres from the curent Costco deal!
Anyway, if you read this far thanks and I'm happy to join the club!
If anyone has any advice on getting the heated seats wired up that'd be great though. I know I'm missing the loom but I'm not sure what exactly I need to buy to get them going.
Last edited:
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