Took the Z3 out of the garage today as it was dry and popped the Z4 in to sort the door handle out.
Took the door card off and peeled back the membrane, unbolted the side airbag but didn't disconnect it turned it and popped one of the bolts back in to hold it clear of the access hole behind its normal position, quick look inside revealed the outer handle cable was still intact and connected, removed the outer handle and checked its condition, looked ok, the teeth that mesh with the inside bit that pulls the cable were intact, no signs of wear. Decided to pull the whole door lock activator out of the door to inspect it, also removed the handle support bracket that contains the key barrel and the mesh wheel that connects with the outer door handle cable. No visible wear on that part, the teeth on the cable connection lookd ok. Once out connected them all up with the new outer handle cable I had bought and tested the operation, It was hit and miss with the outer handle operating so adjusted the cable support tab on the actuator body by bending it a little so the cable pull was made shorter. Having done that the outer handle was more positive and unlatched every time, I am assuming the original cable had streatched over time. I have spotted other people packing out their cables with a couple of washers where they are retained to take up any slack that has developed. I went with bending the metal tab where the cable is retained on the actuator.
Before reinstalling I removed the lock barrel as this needs to be put in from outside the car so the actuating pivot pin slips into the main body of the actuator when it is bolted back in place. Leaving it in place on the carrier would cause problems getting it in place due to the space available between the two units.
Then installed both the actuator and the inner door handle attached to its carrier as a complete unit, once retained by the screws I then fitted the outer handle and before sliding the locking plate in, did a test shut and open making sure I held the outer handle in tight by hand. Found it worked every time so then tapped the sliding retaining plate into the locked position that holds the outer handle into the door. Ensured the new cable was still routed correctly which it was and then went about refitting the lock barrel from the outside, used some copper grease on its outside and with the key in it pressed and turned it to latch it in place, it will only go in one way due to the different sizes of the locating webs and their corresponding cutouts in the plastic mounting hole, the copperslip aided it being pressed in and a few wiggles of the key ensured the lock pivot pin slotted into its hole in the main acutator unit. Replaced the locking screw for the barrel, it dosn't have to be taken all the way out when taking it out, just undone enough to allow the barral to be turned so the tabs line up with the cutouts to allow it to be extracted. All this done with a long hex key through the small oblong hole in the inside edge of the door. Worth noting that instead of using a bent hook to pull the outer handle retaining plate to lock the handle in place I used a long flat blade screwdriver through the large inner door frame to tap the slider back to its locked position.
A few more test open and closings and window up and down and central locking test it was time to stick the airbag back in position and tape up the door membrane followed by refitting the door card and the interior door pull handle. Once buttoned up another full test of locking,unlocking both manual with the key and central locking using key buttons as well , all proved ok. Quick clean up of tools and fingerprints then a quick fault scan using BMW Scanner which came out fine. Put the Z3 back in the garage and the Z4 on the drive, retreated indoors for a hot shower and a warm up, been a bit chilly in the garage event with my little heater on.
Still got to fit my stainless brake pipes but far too cold to do that at the moment.
Quite a few Youtube vidos on Z4 door lock fixing if you want more info.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7fjX-Zq6AQ&t=2s
