Preventative maintenance

[plenty]

My Z4MR let me down for the first time when the starter motor failed in Brittany.

As it spends most of its time on European road trips, I'm keen to reduce future breakdown risk.

I know about Vanos, cooling hoses, guibo, engine mounts. The rod bearings have been done twice and aren't due again for a while.

I'm particularly interested in parts (like a starter) that could suddenly fail and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Is it worth preventatively replacing water pump, rad, fuel pump, anything else?

 

[TomK]

I'm particularly interested in parts (like a starter) that could suddenly fail and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere.

I always have a spare tps with me, not that it will hault complete progress but its no fun to drive with a failed one and they're easy change, particularly the top one.
Pre cat 02 sensors and cam and crank position sensors might be worth having in the boot, but you'd need a few tools along with them.
I'm wary of swapping out functioning original parts with seemingly inferior replacements available these days.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I had rod bearing shells and engine mounts replaced soon after I bought mine but on a car approaching 20 years of age I can't see the point of changing other things as a preventative measure.

Even though most of my mileage tends to be trips at least 300 miles from home I'll just deal with anything that crops up - probably by calling the RAC!

 

[Justino]

My Z4MR let me down for the first time when the starter motor failed in Brittany.

As it spends most of its time on European road trips, I'm keen to reduce future breakdown risk.

I know about Vanos, cooling hoses, guibo, engine mounts. The rod bearings have been done twice and aren't due again for a while.

I'm particularly interested in parts (like a starter) that could suddenly fail and leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere. Is it worth preventatively replacing water pump, rad, fuel pump, anything else?

My starter went in Turin of all places. I got home by getting my pals to bump start me. I fitted a new one, not BMW but OE - Valeo I think (half the price of BMW), was meticulous cleaning all the terminals - 3 years on the speed at which the engine spins on starting is impressive - I think my original was failing for a while and getting slower.

 

[pvr]

At least a starter can be bypassed on an M with pushing to start as there are no automatics. I had a fair long warning time on the SI when it was clear that the starter was going to die as well.

 

[colb]

Starter motors fail often without any prior warning, had that on a 2.5 I had, fine then failed next time I started the car, replaced that wit an RTX one sourced from Carparts4less on line. Quite easy to change it out on the 2.5. Also had Alternators fail on mine and other members cars I look after, last one I did kept giving a code for the variable charging rate. If that goes bad in the diode pack in the back of the alternator the car will still charge but at its optimal rate. the connection to it is the single plug in wire on the back of the alternator. In that case I fitted a reconditioned unit I had in my spares stash which got rid of the code it had been setting. I do get alternators reconditioned by an old school Starter and alternator workshop for reasonable cost. These places are getting few and far between these days your lucky if you can find one.
For extended trips abroad I would carry a spare starter motor, alternator and a couple of coil packs and spark plugs and drive belts as a minimum. Don't forget a socket set and a few spanners!