Not a Project but...

[Mr Tidy]

It's a shame they dont work anymore but I am glad its not just me. I'll keep trying and see what happens. Ah! I wasn't aware it was only post 2009, even better.

I'd seen some xenon bulbs (I think) that didn't look expensive but not sure if they'd fit in the current housing without needing extra wiring, electronics etc. I've seen some LED kits that look fairly cheap and I think they fit fairly easily so might just go that route eventually. I had a quick run out tonight and to be fair, the normal headlights weren't as bad as what I'd read on here. They aren't great by any standards but I could see where I was going so it's probably a mod for later down the line.

Speaking of mods, before I went out I did the sound generator mod. blimey this thing howls! I only took out the bulkhead foam and it's loud enough for me. Might even be too loud! It's quite boomy at motorway speeds when you just want to nip out of traffic but I'll see if I get used to it before chopping up bits of foam.

I bought my MC with a low washer fluid level warning light on. Filled it up after I got home and found all the fluid on the ground the next day because one of the jets was leaking. Got that fixed then took out Fuse 40 to stop them working!

All they seem to do is obscure your vision when they operate at night and put streaks up the wings! It's passed every MOT test without them.

I don't know about fitting Xenons or LEDs in Halogen fittings, but to be honest I could see where I was going in my 2nd E86 that had Halogens. Better bulbs like Osram Nightbreakers, etc. and clean lenses probably help.

I never experimented with the sound generator though. My 2nd E86 had a custom Cat-back system that gave it a lovely sound-track anyway.

 

[enuff_zed]

Congrats.
I would suggest a half cover. It will stop water ingress but not damage the paint.
The door issue is most likely a stretched cable from the handle linkage to the lock assembly.
Fairly easy fix if you have small hands.
Still waiting on those photos

When I open the door I have to simultaneously pull the handle and push the door in and then it opens. Is that typical of a stretched cable? Seems strange to have to shorten the route from the handle to the mechanism by pressing the door in to get it to open. I'm no motor fitter or mechanic so I'm more than happy to be educated on the subject :lol: .

I've struggled with VIN decoders for a couple of years now.

I'm pretty sure all 3 litre Z4s had headlamp washers as standard but Xenons as an option, although you don't actually need the washers for cars registered before 2009 even with Xenons fitted. But buying a pair may be expensive!

It's a shame they dont work anymore but I am glad its not just me. I'll keep trying and see what happens. Ah! I wasn't aware it was only post 2009, even better.

I'd seen some xenon bulbs (I think) that didn't look expensive but not sure if they'd fit in the current housing without needing extra wiring, electronics etc. I've seen some LED kits that look fairly cheap and I think they fit fairly easily so might just go that route eventually. I had a quick run out tonight and to be fair, the normal headlights weren't as bad as what I'd read on here. They aren't great by any standards but I could see where I was going so it's probably a mod for later down the line.

Speaking of mods, before I went out I did the sound generator mod. blimey this thing howls! I only took out the bulkhead foam and it's loud enough for me. Might even be too loud! It's quite boomy at motorway speeds when you just want to nip out of traffic but I'll see if I get used to it before chopping up bits of foam.

That is exactly the symptoms of a stretched cable. Did one only last week. Bit fiddly to get at but an easy fix.

 

[Andrew J]

Congrats.
I would suggest a half cover. It will stop water ingress but not damage the paint.
The door issue is most likely a stretched cable from the handle linkage to the lock assembly.
Fairly easy fix if you have small hands.
Still waiting on those photos

When I open the door I have to simultaneously pull the handle and push the door in and then it opens. Is that typical of a stretched cable? Seems strange to have to shorten the route from the handle to the mechanism by pressing the door in to get it to open. I'm no motor fitter or mechanic so I'm more than happy to be educated on the subject :lol: .

I've struggled with VIN decoders for a couple of years now.

I'm pretty sure all 3 litre Z4s had headlamp washers as standard but Xenons as an option, although you don't actually need the washers for cars registered before 2009 even with Xenons fitted. But buying a pair may be expensive!

It's a shame they dont work anymore but I am glad its not just me. I'll keep trying and see what happens. Ah! I wasn't aware it was only post 2009, even better.

I'd seen some xenon bulbs (I think) that didn't look expensive but not sure if they'd fit in the current housing without needing extra wiring, electronics etc. I've seen some LED kits that look fairly cheap and I think they fit fairly easily so might just go that route eventually. I had a quick run out tonight and to be fair, the normal headlights weren't as bad as what I'd read on here. They aren't great by any standards but I could see where I was going so it's probably a mod for later down the line.

Speaking of mods, before I went out I did the sound generator mod. blimey this thing howls! I only took out the bulkhead foam and it's loud enough for me. Might even be too loud! It's quite boomy at motorway speeds when you just want to nip out of traffic but I'll see if I get used to it before chopping up bits of foam.

That is exactly the symptoms of a stretched cable. Did one only last week. Bit fiddly to get at but an easy fix.

Thanks for that. Did a quick search and found some YouTube videos showing the procedure. Does seem fiddly but for the sake of a couple of hours and a 10p washer I'll definitely give it a go. Are sticky door handles MOT failures?

Another thing I noticed on my drive yesterday was that I couldn't heel and toe. Whenever I pressed the brake the car would not apply throttle at all. Another search of the forum yielded some results and I think my vacuum hose is perished. Showing cracks along it so I guess this is leaking air into the intake. Another job to the list pre mot in April.

 

[enuff_zed]

Why faff about? Fit a new door cable

 

[Andrew J]

Why faff about? Fit a new door cable

I'd read it was a right royal pita to do the door cable instead of just the washer spacer fix. A new cable it is.

 

[enuff_zed]

Why faff about? Fit a new door cable

I'd read it was a right royal pita to do the door cable instead of just the washer spacer fix. A new cable it is.

Door card off, handle off, carefully fold the membrane upwards, unbolt carrier and lock assembly and pull them out of the door. Fit new cable and put it all back together.

 

[Andrew J]

Why faff about? Fit a new door cable

I'd read it was a right royal pita to do the door cable instead of just the washer spacer fix. A new cable it is.

Door card off, handle off, carefully fold the membrane upwards, unbolt carrier and lock assembly and pull them out of the door. Fit new cable and put it all back together.

If its that easy I'll have to give it a go

 

[Andrew J]

I'm going to start using this thread as a progress log so I can actually document what I've done.

Progress report:

Disa valve has been rebuilt and idle control valve has been cleaned. Not suprised it hunted on idle as the icv was solid. A few squirts of brake cleaner and a shake or two has sorted it out. X8r kit for the DISA has sorted that one too. What pita the yellow plastic flap holder bit is to get out. Anyway, both done and back on the car now. Just the rocker cover gasket to replace to get it back running again but I've got the full vanos rebuild kit from x8r as well so that'll be going on soon. Might be able to drive it soon .

 

[Andrew J]

I thought I'd give the vin decoders a last try today and mdecoder has worked finally!

So it turns out the car was specc'd with m sport suspension and smoker package (no idea what this gets me but I'm not a smoker :| ).

It doesn't mention the wind deflector so maybe this is aftermarket too. If it is someone has done a decent job of the install and has lined up the holes to well (this was a thing I was going to do if the Z I eventually got didn't come with one).

I was going to wait until I'd got some pictures of my own but because it's been off the road for some work here's some pictures of the car from the sales add. I will add some more of my own once I can get it on the open road.

 

[Andrew J]

I thought I'd give the vin decoders a last try today and mdecoder has worked finally!

So it turns out the car was specc'd with m sport suspension and smoker package (no idea what this gets me but I'm not a smoker :| ).

It doesn't mention the wind deflector so maybe this is aftermarket too. If it is someone has done a decent job of the install and has lined up the holes well (this was a thing I was going to do if the Z I eventually got didn't come with one).

I was going to wait until I'd got some pictures of my own but because it's been off the road for some work here's some pictures of the car from the sales add. I will add some more of my own once I can get it on the open road.

 

[Andrew J]

A little bit more work done (nearly). Got the vanos unit off the car and stripped the unit. Was a bit fiddly getting past the slam panel but my bmw special vanos removal tool did the trick (not block of wood and a big heave ho, honest guv!). I've seen posts where people have dropped the lower radiator hose but we didn't need to. We did try extracting the left most stud but couldn't get the second nut tight enough.

The x8r kit seems very good quality apart from the vanos piston cover bolts. They look a bit screwfix special but I didn't have time to get some from bmw so have used them for now.

As it stands I've got the vanos back on the car and a few bolts holding it in, just need to finish the re install and change the oil. Might change the spark plugs whilst the top and coils are off (more expense :| - I suppose O was warned when I first posted about getting it :lol: ).

Edit: apologies my photos are in the wrong order below but I can't work out how to get them to sit within the post above.

 

[Andrew J]

On another note, the x8r disa kit comes with a seal for the unit however I made the mistake of removing the red/orange Silicon seal that seals it against the inlet manifold. The small seal that came with the kit did fit over the valve to get in the groove but didn't seem big enough to fill the groove and seal it if that makes sense. I installed the disa and it felt snug to tighten up so I presume it's sealed but we'll see how that goes. Anybody dug the orange seal out and used the x8r kit seal with success? If it doesn't work I'll have to source a bigger seal from somewhere.

 

[Andrew J]

It's took about a year but its finally done...I'm now the proud owner of a 2005 Z4 3.0i! Pictures or it didn't happen I know but haven't had chance yet (will update in due course). So its a 3.0i, sapphire black, heated seats, business stereo (not sure if these are standard fitment or not?), wind deflector, aftermarket Bluetooth connectivity with music stream functionality, 106k miles so has some age related scars but nothing drastic or rust inducing. Engine runs sweet as a nut as far as I can see and roof works too. Oh it also has a drivers side cup holder .

Plans for it: drive it! I do need to fix the drivers door as to get in you have to press the door and pull the handle. Weird but hopefully it's a simple fix. If anyone has any ideas on what the issue might be, I'd be all ears .

What I am in need of is a car cover. It will eventually go in the garage but that needs sorting so for the time being, she'll have to a drive queen. Anybody have any good recommendations for a cover? I've never used one before so I haven't the foggiest of ideas which brands are good, bad or ugly.

Anyway, looking forward to getting miles in it with the roof down even in the cold weather. Cheers.

Edit: I'm going to use this thread as a document of what I've done to the car. I won't say project thread as I'm not planning on changing much (famous last words!).

 

[Joez4]

I used the x8r disa kit and the instructions i had said to remove that orange molded gasket and replace with the black o ring supplied which I did and it does provide a very tight seal in my experience.

I agree about the vanos piston caps in the x8r kit been poor,I couldn't get them to fit with enough confidence that they would stay in place so I took the o rings off them and put them on the old caps and got a much better fit

 

[Andrew J]

I used the x8r disa kit and the instructions i had said to remove that orange molded gasket and replace with the black o ring supplied which I did and it does provide a very tight seal in my experience.

I agree about the vanos piston caps in the x8r kit been poor,I couldn't get them to fit with enough confidence that they would stay in place so I took the o rings off them and put them on the old caps and got a much better fit

I watched the video on the website and it didn't mention scraping the seal out, they just add the new seal onto the unit. It did on other videos and the disa came out pretty easily so I'm guessing it wasn't sealing well. Glad to know others have done it and not seen an issue.

I haven't tried the piston caps yet. It was the bolts that hold down the cover that I thought looked a bit screwfix. Thinking back the new piston caps didn't seem as robust as the ones that came out. I'll see how it looks when I try to get them on but I might re use the old ones.

 

[enuff_zed]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

 

[Andrew J]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

Thanks for the advice. Will do this when I come to to fitting them hopefully at the weekend.

 

[Joez4]

Piston caps have always fitted well enough for me. Done quite a few now. Best way to fit them is to find a socket the same diameter as the cap, stick the cap to the socket with a blob of grease, then push it squarely in.

Wish I knew that tip when I did mine, I used the right angle pliers to put my caps back in

 

[Andrew J]

Tonight's job, remove the rocker cover gasket. Once you get the hang of getting the gasket out of the crevice, it's fairly easy. I can imagine it's a lot harder if it's not to supple. I managed to get 3/4 out in one go. Now I just need to clean the inside. I'm going to rinse it with water to remove any shards of gasket but then give it a decent clean. I've only ever cleaned metal rocker covers, does engine degreaser attack the plastic on these?

 

[Andrew J]

So rolled the car back today and the alarm starts to go off. The door managed to unlock but now I have nothing when I try and turn the ignition on in the car. The alarm started with short blast then it did two rounds with a long blast at the start and now nothing. I'm thinking a flat battery as it hasn't been started in over a month and I've been working on it recently. Hopefully it's nothing worse .