Complete Z4 scrap or fix?

H

hoffman6132

New member
2004 soft top.
Everything is fine with the car except:
EPS does not work - occasionally starts working again, but is mostly off. Could be something simple, but I do not know.
Head Gasget is leaking exaust gas into the collant system. Car has not been run with this problem - it occured on last journey and car was immediately stopped (causes you to lose coolant and the coolant warning light comes on).
Very small dent in NS front wing.

Silver
3.0i
18" split rim wheels (alloy not in good condition)
Sat Nav
Heated seats
Electronic seats
Great Stereo
Hood works fine etc
92,000 miles from memory (it is with the mechanic who has told be about the head gasget at the moment).

Nothing else wrong with car.

What is it worth for scrap as a complete car? Is there anywhere that might fix this cheaply? :(
 
you will probably only get a couple of hundred quid for scrap! alot beta either fixing it or if its going to be too much put it on ebay sayin whats wrong with it. Someone with mechanical skills will easily fit those problems
 
Christ almighty! fix that Ding throw it away :D ... a small dent and a head gasket. Have you had anyone check why the dsp is off or do you know? My airbag light was on in my old focus (t reg 130k) a £10 diagnostic told me it was the ecu. Some places wouldnt touch it saying main dealer others would but were expensive. In the end through a contact a guy called ' George the Greek' sorted it for 90 using an second hand ecu. Job done.

At worse chuck it on eBay! But don't throw it away. If youve not done any damage with the head gasket then even have a go at it yourself a head gasket set can't be that much?
 
domsz4 said:
Christ almighty! fix that Ding throw it away :D ... a small dent and a head gasket. Have you had anyone check why the dsp is off or do you know? My airbag light was on in my old focus (t reg 130k) a £10 diagnostic told me it was the ecu. Some places wouldnt touch it saying main dealer others would but were expensive. In the end through a contact a guy called ' George the Greek' sorted it for 90 using an second hand ecu. Job done.

At worse chuck it on eBay! But don't throw it away. If youve not done any damage with the head gasket then even have a go at it yourself a head gasket set can't be that much?
Click to expand...


Its the cost of the tools to do the cam timing that make it expensive .......unless you can hire them ?
 
slick said:
domsz4 said:
Christ almighty! fix that Ding throw it away :D ... a small dent and a head gasket. Have you had anyone check why the dsp is off or do you know? My airbag light was on in my old focus (t reg 130k) a £10 diagnostic told me it was the ecu. Some places wouldnt touch it saying main dealer others would but were expensive. In the end through a contact a guy called ' George the Greek' sorted it for 90 using an second hand ecu. Job done.

At worse chuck it on eBay! But don't throw it away. If youve not done any damage with the head gasket then even have a go at it yourself a head gasket set can't be that much?
Click to expand...


Its the cost of the tools to do the cam timing that make it expensive .......unless you can hire them ?
Click to expand...

is there no simple mechanism to lock the cams in place while you are doing it or are these tools the ones that are expensive.

TBF i have no idea and not looked into it, the only cams ive changed in the past were on a couple of zetec engines and these you could lock in place with a piece of flat bar.

even so at the very least of getting some garage to do the work a head gasket isnt rocket sience and shouldnt cost the earth. that car has to be worth at least 4.5K so an outlay of 2K which i would say is way too much would still be worth it.
 
Is this a serious question?

EPS - as you say could be something simple, very worst case full 2nd hand units sell for a few hundred

Head gasket - these units are not particularly prone to HG failure are you sure it's a head gasket? was an exhaust gas coolant test carried out? otherwise lots of other problems can give the same symptoms including leaking coolant tanks and water pump failure both of which are more likely as a starting point.

Dent - a small dent is a small dent FFS :roll:

I should calm down and get it all checked & some quotes, if they condemn it and offer to buy it off you real cheap assume things aren't that bad and go somewhere you trust, I knew a wily old MOT tester who was well known for 'helping out' gullible owners who's cars had failed. If not I might take a punt and buy it off you :wink:
 
Ewazix said:
Is this a serious question?

EPS - as you say could be something simple, very worst case full 2nd hand units sell for a few hundred

Head gasket - these units are not particularly prone to HG failure are you sure it's a head gasket? was an exhaust gas coolant test carried out? otherwise lots of other problems can give the same symptoms including leaking coolant tanks and water pump failure both of which are more likely as a starting point.

Dent - a small dent is a small dent FFS :roll:

I should calm down and get it all checked & some quotes, if they condemn it and offer to buy it off you real cheap assume things aren't that bad and go somewhere you trust, I knew a wily old MOT tester who was well known for 'helping out' gullible owners who's cars had failed. If not I might take a punt and buy it off you :wink:
Click to expand...

exactly dont throw it away for a small dent and a few problems that could be potentially fixed easy.
 
domsz4 said:
slick said:
domsz4 said:
Christ almighty! fix that Ding throw it away :D ... a small dent and a head gasket. Have you had anyone check why the dsp is off or do you know? My airbag light was on in my old focus (t reg 130k) a £10 diagnostic told me it was the ecu. Some places wouldnt touch it saying main dealer others would but were expensive. In the end through a contact a guy called ' George the Greek' sorted it for 90 using an second hand ecu. Job done.

At worse chuck it on eBay! But don't throw it away. If youve not done any damage with the head gasket then even have a go at it yourself a head gasket set can't be that much?
Click to expand...


Its the cost of the tools to do the cam timing that make it expensive .......unless you can hire them ?
Click to expand...

is there no simple mechanism to lock the cams in place while you are doing it or are these tools the ones that are expensive.

TBF i have no idea and not looked into it, the only cams ive changed in the past were on a couple of zetec engines and these you could lock in place with a piece of flat bar.

even so at the very least of getting some garage to do the work a head gasket isnt rocket sience and shouldnt cost the earth. that car has to be worth at least 4.5K so an outlay of 2K which i would say is way too much would still be worth it.
Click to expand...


no, the Vanos makes it very hit and miss without the proper tools
 
Well I am not going to do anything in a rush. I love this car, and I sincerely hope that it as simple to fix as some of you suggest. I have a friend who is checking it out with the someone who runs the service department of a big BMW dealer (just checking the scale of the problem!).

Apparently my mechanic friend has looked at a site online that advises the times for different job to make garages lives easy to put estimates together. He says the advice on that site is that it takes 20 hours to do a Z4 head gasget. Because of the time, you should always get the head skimmed (flattened) to make sure the new head gasget will work properly. He has also been told by someone else that it is always touch and go if all the bolts come out without stripping the thread (steel in alloy catalytic effect creating corrosion). All of this can be expensive if you pay other people to do it (I do not have the time myself).

Putting a second hand steering column in is fine, but I am slighlty worried that the second hand unti might be on its last legs. I spoke to http://www.bba-reman.com/content.aspx?content=BMW-Z4-EPS to see if they could fix the old EPS but they do not do this anymore - they are supposed to be quite good, but have been defeated by this part. Are there any other places that can fix my existing unit? (I do not know what the issue is - it could be a simple connection that needs fixing (based on the face that it has started working again twice) - but I am assuming the worst at the moment).

It will need a couple of new tyres to get it through its next MOT. The wheels need to be refurbished / replaced. So the amount I will have to spend will be somewhere between £2200 and £3000 to get it fixed up to how it should be.

Wheels £500
Tyres £400
Steering colummn in and out £240
2nd hand Steering column £300
20 hours labour on head gasget £500 (@ £25/hour) to £1000 (@ £50 /hour)
Head gasget £100
Oil etc £120

If I spend £3000, on a car worth £4500, and I could sell it as a project for £1500 then I should consider this option before launching on getting it fixed. A couple of bolts stripping tread or shearing off could make it a whole lot more expensive.

If I was going to do the work myself (I could possbily do so, but it would be the biggest thing by far that I would have ever tried, and I am not keen to do so) then I could obviously save a lot of this money.

But I do love my car....

Fingers crossed for some good news from this service manager. I will keep you posted!

By the way - someone who is a good DIY mechanic could fix this for £1500 - surely as a project it would be worth £1500? If not I will definitely fix unless other options present themselves....
 
look at it a different way. if this is a second car and therfore your hobby/fun drive etc. is it worth doing? of couse it is esp if you love the car. i hope it all works out.

my westfield is prob worth about 8-9K tops, i have bever added it up to see how much it has cost me. i dont want to its my fun thing to play with. the 18 months it took me to build can never be be replicated. im sure i spent way more that on it. the engine managment and injection system was 2K alone :). if your zed is like this then its worth it even if it costs you 4.5K life is too short to worry about certain things enjoy it while you can.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom