E85 / E86 HIGH MILEAGE PARANOIA
- Thread starter TOMGREEN413
- Start date
Eindhoven NL
High mileage or not, the value for money of a z is just incredible. I can't think of many cars that have the looks, performance, reliability, build quality with fair economy and cheap insurance to boot. I plan to run up the mileage and enjoy my Coupe as best I can before the w@nk#rs in government have so much restricted legislation in place to make it impossible to have the fun and freedom we've loved and known for all our driving years. Unfortunately a Z no matter what model it is won't be able to fight the system SO.......get out an enjoy the last 7 years of freedom (government documents indicate that from 2030 onwards even more outrageous anti car legislation will be imposed)
Frank2003z4
Member
146k just chasing some sensor issues here and there and trying to figure out how to stop the water pooling in the rear quarter panels. But fun to drive.
9designs said:Not really all cars will need tyres, wheels will corrode and or get curbed, bushes age regardless. If I’d bought a car with 60k on it, it’s cam cover gasket would still probably be leaking, the lolly pop bushes needing replacing, the flog lights would still have been corroded.... etc etc. (Lucky someone had done discs and pads recently on mine)
Other option is to buy a car from some one like us fanatics who has done all the jobs and accept to pay more for it if you can’t fix yourself.
They are all a money pit because they are old and need TLC.....if not it would be boring...
Watch your language!
My flog lights are crystal clear after 18 years and 107k miles 
Lets not talk about bushes, suspension, brakes etc. Now saying that the flog lights on my mates 2005 mini have so much white stuff in them it would make Tony Montana proud
Pretty sure there is leak somewhere for that amount of salt to build up in them.TOMGREEN413 said:
I imagine there will be a day where we have to order our fuel off the interwebz in 25 or 50gallon drums similar to the way they sell race fuel online. I just hope the death of petrol makes it go cheap again. I would love to see it at >£1litre again my first tank of fuel was 74p per litre
Frank2003z4 said:
I assume yours is a roadster not a coupe? as the roadster comes with a pair of fish tanks just under the roof hinges. The roof gutter drains into these buckets behind the seats then drains out of a bung behind the sill near the trailing arm attachment point. These bungs get clogged up with mud and silt then the bucket fills with water and eventually kills the roof motor.
If you actually have water behind the quarter panels then im sure you have much bigger problems.
Frank2003z4
Member
Yup the roof motor dead, luckily an Allen key opens the latches, still can close by button. Just have to manually open top. Got the panels to drain after rain by manually pulling on the jack points under the frame. (Go figure that helped) can't wait to see what is hiding under the window cowl when I replace that and hopefully get the wipers working. Important thing is, it drives great otherwise and it's summer in the US. For only use when it's not going to rain.
Frank2003z4 said:
Get the rear jacked up and the back wheel off and you will see something like this (Stole it from a RTAB replacement thread) but if you look where the red circle is and then follow the ABS wire towards the centre of the photo you will see a rubber bit that looks a little damp. Remove and clean this and re fit it. You should have any water problems for a while. You can remove it completely its there to stop insects from crawling into the car so your judgement if you want to replace or not.
This is a better picture of the bits to clean out.
As for the roof motor im not sure where you would get help in the US, but quite a few people on here have guides on how to fish it out of its watery hole and drag it out into the boot (Trunk?) to keep it dry and easy to service when the time may come.
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Frank2003z4
Member
Great pics, thanks. Looks like my next fun project. I saw some of those roof motor videos, for now much more concerned with getting the unlatch to work rather than use the Allen key. Luckily the roof is light now that it moves.
The white dust in mine is the corroded coating fallen off...Feels worthy enough to necro this, wonder what updates people have 2 years later.
I bought my 3.0si on 90k, it has had check engine light on for the duration - 6 years, due to O2 sensors and still running at 192k
I have a lot of smallish jobs to fix though, but nothing fatal.
Water pump a few years back, one fuel injector last year, starter motor last month.
I bought my 3.0si on 90k, it has had check engine light on for the duration - 6 years, due to O2 sensors and still running at 192k
I have a lot of smallish jobs to fix though, but nothing fatal.
Water pump a few years back, one fuel injector last year, starter motor last month.
North West Surrey
