Manual seats on Electric base?

[Vindaloo]

First off - hello all. New member and first time post ...

I bought a Sapphire Black 2003 Z4 3.0 on Sunday and drove it home from Essex to Belfast. It has a few niggles which I'll need to sort out over time but first it's booked in for new engine, gearbox and diff oil with a local specialist.

I'm really happy with the car, despite it needing attention in some areas and I'm happy to spend on it over time to bring it up to a good standard. It's a great machine and to my eye, one of the best looking cars ever designed.

My to do list ...

• Wind noise from driver's window - I have a set of (used) replacement rubbers on the way. Hopefully will get me sorted.

• Parking sensors, one long beep then nothing. The separate reverse bong was driving me nuts, so I've disconnected that wire.

• No sound from front speakers (non amp version I believe). Only the speakers behind the seats do anything.

• Vibration over 80mph. I'll have the mechanic check this when the fluids get addressed.

• Handbrake needs tightened.

• Passenger door lock plays ball less than 50% of the time (doesn't matter if I press unlock numerous times). Driver side is fine and the passenger door immediately unlatches from the inside when I reach over and half pull the handle.

• Weak boot struts - cheap and easy fix, replacement struts should arrive today.

And the one that has me posting for advice: the driver's seat has seen much better days. It's well worn and the back panel is completely missing. Oregon beige, heated, electric adjust.

My question is - if I source a manual-adjust seat, is it an easy job to swap this to the electric base, or is the base an integral part of the seat?

Thanks for any feedback on this. I'm looking forward to being active here as I work through my list. I'm sure more will get added in time.

Iain

 

[enuff_zed]

Welcome aboard.
[ref]Usel[/ref], has done all manner of things with seats and hopefully he can advise on that issue.

Drivers window:- before you invest in new rubbers, check to see if the glass is aligned properly. There is a 10mm nut under the bottom of the door, near the rear corner, hidden by an oval rubber blank. Loosen the nut and push it as far outrboard as you can then tighten it. This tips the top of the glass inwards towards the rubber. If this doesn't cure it then the glass may be too far forward in the frame. Check the rubber around the rear edge and you should be able to see a 'dent' where the glass should sit. If it's too far forwards, remove the door card and carefully lift the membrane away at the lower rear corner. You will find a hole in the metal. Motor the glass down until you casn see a Torx 40 bolt. Loosen this and you can move the glass up, down, forward and back. Do not loosen very much as this bolt holds the glass to the runner and you don't want it coming right out. Adjust the glass, wind it back up and check how it sits. May take a bit of trial and error.

Speakers:- if you have storage cubbies behind the seats then you only have the basic speaker system and the grilles in the doors are blanks. Plenty of info on here about fitting speakers and splicing into the tweeter wires.

Passenger lock could well be the GM5 on its way out. You can get these refurbished with new relays.

Anyway, there's a starter while we wait for the obligatory photos.

 

[Vindaloo]

Thank you enuff_zed, that's really useful feedback.

I'd seen the window adjust method online and had a look, but that avenue seems already maxed out. I did also move the door latch in a little bit but this had no effect other than making the door more difficult to open. I found seals at a decent price, so happy to see if that resolves things when they arrive. Fingers crossed on that one, it'd be nice to get something ticked off the list.

I do have the cubbies (very useful) so that helps me understand the audio setup better. That's an area where I'm pretty clueless and reading through forum posts on audio had only confused me further. I'll take a look behind the head unit to see whether things look as they should re. wiring. Curiously in the pile of receipts that came with the car there is reference to an amp and quite some money spent on audio. I've a feeling that this might have been reverted to standard at some point, but I need to poke about further.

Thanks for the door lock info. Any contacts re. the mentioned refurb?

• If I remove the GM5 to send it off, is the car unlockable in the meantime?

 

[enuff_zed]

Thank you enuff_zed, that's really useful feedback.

I'd seen the window adjust method online and had a look, but that avenue seems already maxed out. I did also move the door latch in a little bit but this had no effect other than making the door more difficult to open. I found seals at a decent price, so happy to see if that resolves things when they arrive. Fingers crossed on that one, it'd be nice to get something ticked off the list.

I do have the cubbies (very useful) so that helps me understand the audio setup better. That's an area where I'm pretty clueless and reading through forum posts on audio had only confused me further. I'll take a look behind the head unit to see whether things look as they should re. wiring. Curiously in the pile of receipts that came with the car there is reference to an amp and quite some money spent on audio. I've a feeling that this might have been reverted to standard at some point, but I need to poke about further.

Thanks for the door lock info. Any contacts re. the mentioned refurb?

• If I remove the GM5 to send it off, is the car unlockable in the meantime?

You've done both the window adjust methods?

Speaker wise, you should have two behind the seats, two tweeters on the front of the doors, and two bigger ones in the footwells.

If you remove the GM5 you can still use the car, but opening manually with the key. The wipers won't work either. Can't remember what else.
You need to find out if your GM5 is a '5RD' or a 'Star 12 Low'. Depending which one it is will dictate where you have to send it.
Alternatively, you can find a compatible replacement one and swap it in. Then you need to pair your keys to it which is fairly easy to do.
To know which GM5 you have, you need to lower it from behind the glove box so you can read the label which is helpfully stuck on the top, completely out of sight!

 

[Vindaloo]

If it's too far forwards, remove the door card and carefully lift the membrane away at the lower rear corner. You will find a hole in the metal. Motor the glass down until you casn see a Torx 40 bolt. Loosen this and you can move the glass up, down, forward and back. Do not loosen very much as this bolt holds the glass to the runner and you don't want it coming right out. Adjust the glass, wind it back up and check how it sits. May take a bit of trial and error.

Actually reading this again, I haven't done both. I'll take another look thanks!

 

[Usel]

Yes, the seat foam and leather is interchangeable between manual and electric seat bases.

 

[Vindaloo]

Thanks Usel - I've ordered the replacement seat I found. I have a good local guy who can do a professional job on the swap-out.

 

[enuff_zed]

If it's too far forwards, remove the door card and carefully lift the membrane away at the lower rear corner. You will find a hole in the metal. Motor the glass down until you casn see a Torx 40 bolt. Loosen this and you can move the glass up, down, forward and back. Do not loosen very much as this bolt holds the glass to the runner and you don't want it coming right out. Adjust the glass, wind it back up and check how it sits. May take a bit of trial and error.

Actually reading this again, I haven't done both. I'll take another look thanks!

Glad to see on another thread that this second method seems to have worked for you.

 

[Vindaloo]

Yes! Thank you enuff_zedd. YouTube was my friend in terms of access. Easy enough on and off, once I figured out relatching the door handle to the cable. Was a real faff until I realised I could easily detach it from the latch end.