BMW Z4 3.0i, 170kW, titan-silber, 21 May 2004

[pr117]

Took time and gathered some info and thoughts.

Not a newbie at BMW's at all but this is the first Zed.
Have had many but still own two other keepers:
1980 BMW 316 Baur

1980 BMW 518


Now about the Zed.

It has had 6 warranty jobs done:
02/06/2004 1091 Km
Side trim panel in luggage compartment (textile surface); Unpleasant noises; Job: On.board computer, going Occasional malfunction
02/06/2004 1091 Km
Job: Anti-theft alarm system, triggering Permanent failure
23/06/2004 2060 Km
Job: Convertible top bow/frame Poorly adapted/fitted
21/06/2006 32780 Km
Job: Hydraulic: unit / hydraulic pump of convertible top Unpleasant noises
26/06/2007 53644 Km
Job: Convertible top latch (at top of cowl panel) Poorly adjusted / outside tolerance
26/06/2007 53644 Km
Job: Battery lead B+ (engine compartment) short cirquit
(These could be either Km or Mi here and could have spelling mistakes)

Optional equipment
01CA Selection of COP-relevant vehicles
0206 Sequential manual transmission (SMG)
0224 Driving dynamic control
0230 Extra package, EU-specific
0255 Sports leather steering wheel
0302 Alarm system
0334 BMW LA wheel/double spoke 103
0345 Chrome Line Interiour
0354 Windscreen, green-tinted upper strip
0380 Hardtop-preparation
0387 Wind deflector
0399 Softtop, electromech. all-autom.
0423 Floor mats velours
0428 Warning triangle and first aid kit
0430 Interiour/outside mirror with auto dip
0441 Smoker package
0459 Seat adjustment, electric, with memory
0493 Storage compartment package
0494 Seat heating driver/passenger
0502 Headlight cleaning system
0508 Park Distance Control (PDC)
0520 Fog lights
0521 Rain sensor
0522 Xenon Light
0534 Automatic air conditioning
0601 TV function
0609 Navigation system Professional
0672 CD changer for 6 CDs
0704 M Sports suspension
0812 National version England/Ireland
0853 Language version, English
0863 Dealer list Europe
0877 Omission of non-combined operation
0880 On-board literature, English
0925 Dummy-SALAPA

What is funny about this list, it has SMG, NAV, TV, CD-changer, PDC etc.. but did not have an extra audio package nor cruise control from factory.

It has 18" MV2 alloys fitted which are in fairly OK condition.
It has had a SMG overhaul at 103k miles (pump, solenoid, valve block)
Also a "Parrot" fitted that i kind of like.
And this one has suffered from back-box delete. I'm still trying to make up my thoughts about this.





It was bought from UK as a "pig in a bag". My summer cars engine had just failed and i felt an itch to get something new.



Zed was kind of an obvious choise. It had to be 3.0, roadster, with NAV screen and automatic or SMG (because of my habits of changing gears with right hand). It had 112k miles at the time of purchase. I knew as much as i was told - it was driving OK and looking fine.

As i got it the first thing noticed was the paintwork . But about this i will tell later.

After testdrive Zed gave me this "eagle shaped" oil leak. After some investigation it turned out to be overfilled with oil.



Then oil change + all filters/belts/pulleys. The filter looked like this..



It had some recent oil services in paperwork that came with the car but go figure- maybe recent ones did not include the change of filter.. As it did not filter anything anymore some aluminum glitter was in oil. Will see after a few changes if it continues or stops.
First thing to be done was retrofitting cruise control- as it had all the wires in place this was easy.







To be continued .. (10 picture limit per post i guess)

 

[pr117]

Thought i posted it under "newbies" but maybe not. Some mod can move it there i hope.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome aboard.

It looks like your previous summer car's engine failed pretty catastrophically.

Still that did prompt you to buy your Z4 and you seem to be busy improving it.

 

[pr117]

Welcome aboard.

It looks like your previous summer car's engine failed pretty catastrophically.

Still that did prompt you to buy your Z4 and you seem to be busy improving it.

At rev limiter oiling bolt under rocker cover came loose and blocked one rocker that caused timing chain to jump over (because crankchaft chain gear that was quite worn was not changed by ME previously). Result you see on picture, valve went through this piston at least twice + 3 rockers broke in half + all kinds of smaller damage.

But well, this is all good for now:

 

[pr117]

.. dear diary

Aluminum guard for gearbox fitted (pre-facelift ones didn't seem to have it but facelift one is a bolt on). Before that differential and front axle got some strongflex.



Swap of taillights, fog on the left and revers on right. As for now i did not attach these C shape bananas. I can always add them.



Change of rocker cover gasket as it started leaking heavily if stood for a few days (guess plastic like rubber cooled down and formed as plastic again).




Headlight renewal and set for right-hand traffic. Aharon EvoX-R 2.0 lenses were fitted and new Osram bulbs.
Front panel was looking a "bit" worn and got a refresh. And also replacing a lot of broken plastic bits (front bumper holders etc..), drilling out some snapped bolts..






Third brake light had some dead leds and one corner snapped, Aliexpress was helping out on this one (18€).



More to come ..

 

[pr117]

As there still were minor oil leaks in engine bay i did oil filter housing gasket and dipstick o-ring and as i was this far it was easy to change CCV valve also. And a lot of cleaning





Drivers door sounded like falling apart when closing. Added a sheet of sound deadening to both doors and driver one got a new inner "skin" as old was torn to pieces. Used white grease to make windows move smooth again. Tightened the famous rear bottom bolt that was completely loose on drivers door window and was the cause of the rattle. Did pre-rust treatment with some Canadian spray.





As everything was apart, added door speakers with nice selfmade wire harness not to cut any OEM wires. Interesting was to find wires and a plug for door speaker in the doors but as expected there was no signal in them- just readiness for HIGH audio i guess.



Finally filled door "mood light" holes with 2€ budget lighting (only one clip per side to the OEM wires). Finished with all new plastics on handles and door openers.





..

 

[yipikayee]

Third brake light had some dead leds and one corner snapped, Aliexpress was helping out on this one (18€).

Nice work on the car! Did the light came with rubber seal?

 

[pr117]

Third brake light had some dead leds and one corner snapped, Aliexpress was helping out on this one (18€).

Nice work on the car! Did the light came with rubber seal?

There was a seal but it was more of a
Because the shape is not as curvy as the boot its not going to seal much.

 

[yipikayee]

Third brake light had some dead leds and one corner snapped, Aliexpress was helping out on this one (18€).

Nice work on the car! Did the light came with rubber seal?

There was a seal but it was more of a
Because the shape is not as curvy as the boot its not going to seal much.

I bought one of ebay and was no seal whatsoever. just used some black sealant instead so i wont suddenly have leak in my boot :wink:

 

[pr117]

Nice work on the car! Did the light came with rubber seal?

There was a seal but it was more of a
Because the shape is not as curvy as the boot its not going to seal much.

I bought one of ebay and was no seal whatsoever. just used some black sealant instead so i wont suddenly have leak in my boot :wink:

Well that little water that is getting in from there pours out outside of trunk from the lid.

 

[pr117]

Do not clean interiour plastics in ultrasonic cleaner! I got spares from UK already but center part is not as good as mine was. Maybe i will try to respray it one day.





I took rear bumper off to change one PDC sensor but as is tends to happen- also trunk trim apart for cleaning and to replace all of the broken plastic bits and do some paint fixing in trunk. Both rear corners were filled with dirt and i think this was the reason - air "flaps" were installed the wrong way letting more water in then ventilating moisture out. Also found out that TV antenna inside the bumper is a real PITA to attach/deattach.













Had an issue that no matter what, passenger seatbelt had to be in buckle. It would beep whether there was someone sitting there or not. Then i found strange errors in ECU and also this fella under the seat. For now i removed it and connected original sensor wire. Checked all the sensors and everything is as it should be. Will see what happens if car is moving. For now it is still hibernated.

 

[pr117]

Oh and this NAVI screen, i should have not wanted it. I have fixed it twice now. Last time added more glue to the edges so that it would not fall apart again. And CD-changer does not load CD's.

 

[Floydroid]

I did wonder why you wanted Nav. My thinking is that it would be difficult to update to something like Waze/Google and therefore you'd end up using your phone instead.

Great attention to detail here. Wish I had the time to do all that as it is satisfying when it's done and working. I need to remove my front bumper and fix the condensation in my drivers headlight.

 

[craig3.2]

Excellent work op, nice to see it gets refresh. Looking good

 

[pr117]

1/4 clean.

 

[pr117]

SMG actuator started to leak, gears not engaging correctly anymore . New oem part was €€€€. Got refurbed part from SMG Society for less than 1/10 of the price! Now installed and going like new. Also gearbox and differential oil changed.

Next things repainting the car, brake and suspension overhaul.

 

[pr117]

Can someone with SMG gearbox please help me out, i have been searching for the correct amperage of the pump fuse for hours and nothing. 30A keeps popping after a few seconds of pump working.. can also be an issue of pump gone bad. E46 and E60 are using 40A as i have seen from various pictures in google. Located under the hood, on the left side.

 

[pr117]

3 years have passed. SMG issue was with pump not only fuse. Got a new pump from SMG Society.
Car got all new paint after a small accident with a truck backing into my rear bumper. Also new rear quarterpanels with no rust and in perfect shape.



Got new rims and refurbished them. Also all new concerning suspension and brakes.



But as the car has been standing still most of the time last two years it has started to develop the leak from rocker cover gasket again.. Next summer i promise to use this car again.