maksimizer
Member
Picked up my 2003 Z4, 3.0i manual in March.
This is a general post / some troubleshooting and advice thread.
You are looking at the above photo.... like.... "Wtf did this kid put on his front windshield...."
I took the above photo out of a second car, thru the rear view mirror.
Got it? Im out in Canada, LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING.
Found out my amplifier is toast, 4 main speakers dont work due to a corroded amp. 1300$ from BMW, NO THANKS. Waiting for someone locally to total their car.
Removed my top first week of owning the car, would not do it again... what a pain in the ass. Especially the two far end clips holding the U shaped brace..... did not even bother trying to get them back on when re-installing the top.
Youtube video to actually test the motor (out of car)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJiS6lOtlM
Just an idea, if any of you do remove the top in the future, here is a simple solution the water problem.
Make a cover around the drain. It is VERY EASY for it to re-clog, a single leaf, and game over.
The reason why I simply did not put a piece of mesh right over the hole, is because what happens when the mesh gets covered in dirt? or a leaf? Hence why i made it 2" wide, by 1" tall, that way, the entire surface area needs to clogged for it to not drain.
It is kind of a gamble to do this, but in my opinion its worth it.
Make sure you DO NOT make it too high, as the motor for the roof does sit roughly 2" above the drain.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/rUN2yM]
All of you have heard "Dont park your car uphill"
Here is an explanation for why you can not park your BMW Z4 uphill.
FLAT SURFACE.
1. Red is the soft top lower boot that runs all the way around your car. Any water caught on the roof comes down the sides / rear, and then runs to the front, where (black #2) is.
2. The water runs around the motor / drips over the motor (all depending what condition / if you have moved your motor / etcetc) and runs down to the bottom of (blue #3)
and out the bottom drain.
CAR PARKED UPHILL.
1. Self explanatory, follow the green lines, my drawings are not exact (before people post "Hey thats not how gravity works!")
2. You can see at the far right side of (Blue #2) it only has a 1/2" to 1" lip on it, so once the water is high enough, it simply flows right over and into your trunk.
NOTE
Your battery / amplifier in the trunk, DOES NOT HAVE A DRAIN AT THE BOTTOM. At least mine does not.
One day i noticed a full 2" of water in there! I use to park it uphill. Amp was SOAKED.
Solution? Drill some holes! (Red marks in next photo)
FYI, the case that holds the battery & amplifier is all plastic. There is NO METAL SUBFRAME underneath. I was hesitant to drill holes knowing i would have the drill the the subframe right under the plastic case (as most cars you have to) and then developing rust (even if its primed / painted over) but you do not need to worry, if you even look under the car, you can see the plastic case right there!
Recently my car would not start. So i drove it around by roll starting it off my hill for a week.... LOL
Had to get gas once, after filling I started to push it, guy says "hey you need a hand?!" i reply "no thanks, gonna drop the clutch in a few second" I hop in, pop it in first, drop the clutch, and roll off, i could hear the guy laughing in the backround.
Back on point..... I checked the Ignition switch, made sure i had fuel, and my battery was giving enough juice, did not bother with relays as thats too uncommon.
So i ripped the starter out. I did it from the top, and im glad I did, looks WAY easier doing it from the top.
PS. there is a DIY starter removal thread. You need #12 INVERTED TORX. NOT #10.
I read the thread, drove out, bought a T10 inverted bit, and it was wrong size. so i drove out again...... sigh
TAKE PHOTOS OF ALL STEPS UPON REMOVAL.
That black pile on the left side..... is what came out of my starter. H O L Y S H ....... Never have i seen that much (carbon build up? we can call it?)
Clean it out!
1. Re grease #1,
2. Clean out all the slots in #2 end rotor. You can also remove the entire assembly from the shell, just pull hard enough, its held in place by magnetism. There is a silver round cover on the other side of #2 ( dont have photo) when i took mine out, i did not notice exactly how it sat in place, so when re-assembling, i had no idea how it sat originally...... i shoved it back in...... and it worked upon start up...
3. Make sure #3 is clean, and when re-inserting it back onto the end rotor, MAKE SURE the brushes (#3) are touching / slug fit, if it a loose fit. Go buy a new starter.
Put the starter back into the car. Fired first time. Saved myself 750$ part from dealership / 280$ Lordco.
Reccomendations for owners, if you do your own maintenance.
1. First week of owning my car, one day my car would die / lights flash / electronics go wild. Turned out to be loose Negative and Pos connections on the battery. MAKE SURE THEY ARE TIGHT!
2. REMOVE YOUR STARTER AND CLEAN IT! My car has 100Kms on it. I have read MANY BMWs, being stranded, worst, when you are far from home. Took me a total of 4Hrs. I could do it in under 2hrs a second time.
3. Clean out your roof drains, my motor was rusty, but it still worked. (top removal)
4. Drill holes in the plastic case for battery / amp. EVEN IF you do not park uphill.
5. Check the DISA valve (youtube)
Question for all you owners.
These seats are THE MOST uncomfotorable seats i have EVER HAD, and this is my 15th car. Im 6'3. Its the lower arch of the seat i believe is where the issue is.
I have read a few threads about "perfect seating position, knees same height as hips, etcetc. but i never had this issue in my DelSol where my legs were in same position.
Solutions? No i do not want to raise my seat so my head pokes out 3".
Iv seen S2000 seat install?
Comments / negative / positive, help yourself.
I will be updating every now and then, this car is only here till the end of summer. NSX next year <3
This is a general post / some troubleshooting and advice thread.
You are looking at the above photo.... like.... "Wtf did this kid put on his front windshield...."
I took the above photo out of a second car, thru the rear view mirror.
Got it? Im out in Canada, LEFT LANE IS FOR PASSING.
Found out my amplifier is toast, 4 main speakers dont work due to a corroded amp. 1300$ from BMW, NO THANKS. Waiting for someone locally to total their car.
Removed my top first week of owning the car, would not do it again... what a pain in the ass. Especially the two far end clips holding the U shaped brace..... did not even bother trying to get them back on when re-installing the top.
Youtube video to actually test the motor (out of car)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSJiS6lOtlM
Just an idea, if any of you do remove the top in the future, here is a simple solution the water problem.
Make a cover around the drain. It is VERY EASY for it to re-clog, a single leaf, and game over.
The reason why I simply did not put a piece of mesh right over the hole, is because what happens when the mesh gets covered in dirt? or a leaf? Hence why i made it 2" wide, by 1" tall, that way, the entire surface area needs to clogged for it to not drain.
It is kind of a gamble to do this, but in my opinion its worth it.
Make sure you DO NOT make it too high, as the motor for the roof does sit roughly 2" above the drain.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/rUN2yM]
All of you have heard "Dont park your car uphill"
Here is an explanation for why you can not park your BMW Z4 uphill.
FLAT SURFACE.
1. Red is the soft top lower boot that runs all the way around your car. Any water caught on the roof comes down the sides / rear, and then runs to the front, where (black #2) is.
2. The water runs around the motor / drips over the motor (all depending what condition / if you have moved your motor / etcetc) and runs down to the bottom of (blue #3)
and out the bottom drain.
CAR PARKED UPHILL.
1. Self explanatory, follow the green lines, my drawings are not exact (before people post "Hey thats not how gravity works!")
2. You can see at the far right side of (Blue #2) it only has a 1/2" to 1" lip on it, so once the water is high enough, it simply flows right over and into your trunk.
NOTE
Your battery / amplifier in the trunk, DOES NOT HAVE A DRAIN AT THE BOTTOM. At least mine does not.
One day i noticed a full 2" of water in there! I use to park it uphill. Amp was SOAKED.
Solution? Drill some holes! (Red marks in next photo)
FYI, the case that holds the battery & amplifier is all plastic. There is NO METAL SUBFRAME underneath. I was hesitant to drill holes knowing i would have the drill the the subframe right under the plastic case (as most cars you have to) and then developing rust (even if its primed / painted over) but you do not need to worry, if you even look under the car, you can see the plastic case right there!
Recently my car would not start. So i drove it around by roll starting it off my hill for a week.... LOL
Had to get gas once, after filling I started to push it, guy says "hey you need a hand?!" i reply "no thanks, gonna drop the clutch in a few second" I hop in, pop it in first, drop the clutch, and roll off, i could hear the guy laughing in the backround.
Back on point..... I checked the Ignition switch, made sure i had fuel, and my battery was giving enough juice, did not bother with relays as thats too uncommon.
So i ripped the starter out. I did it from the top, and im glad I did, looks WAY easier doing it from the top.
PS. there is a DIY starter removal thread. You need #12 INVERTED TORX. NOT #10.
I read the thread, drove out, bought a T10 inverted bit, and it was wrong size. so i drove out again...... sigh
TAKE PHOTOS OF ALL STEPS UPON REMOVAL.
That black pile on the left side..... is what came out of my starter. H O L Y S H ....... Never have i seen that much (carbon build up? we can call it?)
Clean it out!
1. Re grease #1,
2. Clean out all the slots in #2 end rotor. You can also remove the entire assembly from the shell, just pull hard enough, its held in place by magnetism. There is a silver round cover on the other side of #2 ( dont have photo) when i took mine out, i did not notice exactly how it sat in place, so when re-assembling, i had no idea how it sat originally...... i shoved it back in...... and it worked upon start up...
3. Make sure #3 is clean, and when re-inserting it back onto the end rotor, MAKE SURE the brushes (#3) are touching / slug fit, if it a loose fit. Go buy a new starter.
Put the starter back into the car. Fired first time. Saved myself 750$ part from dealership / 280$ Lordco.
Reccomendations for owners, if you do your own maintenance.
1. First week of owning my car, one day my car would die / lights flash / electronics go wild. Turned out to be loose Negative and Pos connections on the battery. MAKE SURE THEY ARE TIGHT!
2. REMOVE YOUR STARTER AND CLEAN IT! My car has 100Kms on it. I have read MANY BMWs, being stranded, worst, when you are far from home. Took me a total of 4Hrs. I could do it in under 2hrs a second time.
3. Clean out your roof drains, my motor was rusty, but it still worked. (top removal)
4. Drill holes in the plastic case for battery / amp. EVEN IF you do not park uphill.
5. Check the DISA valve (youtube)
Question for all you owners.
These seats are THE MOST uncomfotorable seats i have EVER HAD, and this is my 15th car. Im 6'3. Its the lower arch of the seat i believe is where the issue is.
I have read a few threads about "perfect seating position, knees same height as hips, etcetc. but i never had this issue in my DelSol where my legs were in same position.
Solutions? No i do not want to raise my seat so my head pokes out 3".
Iv seen S2000 seat install?
Comments / negative / positive, help yourself.
I will be updating every now and then, this car is only here till the end of summer. NSX next year <3
