Sapphire Black Z4C Project

enuff_zed said:
Got me thinking on that scissor lift, though i'd need a platform on the gravel drive I think.

Is it possible to fix it in position? Just thinking of the day I'm under it and a cat jumps on the bonnet! :D
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It's really handy, it comes with a safety lockout with a clevis pin, which does stop it rocking back and forward. If i'm only working under the front OR the rear i normally position it so that the lift is only lifting that end up, no chance of rocking back and forth. You can fix one end to the ground, then when you wind it up one end closes in on castor wheels so gravel wouldn't really work i don't think. You can use a hefty corded drill or the manual winder it comes with to lift/lower it.



JamieZ4C said:
Great update :thumbsup:

Very interesting to me for two reasons in particular. Firstly I've got the diff clunk you describe and I've been meaning for quite a while to do the grease job, so it's good to see it done DIY.

Secondly, I've been looking at all manor of ramps and lifts for years but never come across the one you have. Done a bit of research and looks like it's a CJAutos one. Correct?

I think this might be the one for me. However I would struggle to store it anywhere. Once collapsed, would you say it will lie low enough and compact enough to sit on the floor of my garage and me be able to park my lowered coupe over it?

Edit: my clearance is roughly 130mm, so not much room to work with :lol:
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Cheers! If you need any more info feel free to PM me and I can certainly try and help, it's a task but only a task if you need to sort the exhaust for the first time.... The actual diff issue is really straightforward!

This is the lift I got https://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/09013-adjustable-mobile-tilting-lift/, and if I had my way with a fixed garage I would go for this one https://www.automotechservices.co.uk/products/as-7530d-garage-scissor-lift/. Probably all made in the same factory in China, as i saw the CJ Autos one when i was looking.

You potentially could, although you can't drive over this one so you'd need to slide it under your car to store it. It does come with 3x different lengths of cross beams, so you can narrow the whole lift, or you can take the middle sections out and you'd just store it in bits.

I'm on Eibach pro springs, so probably similar clearance so I have to put some blocks of wood under the wheels before it'll slide under the car...


minimental said:
Love the little lift!
that diff oil looks horrid though, what sort of mileage is on it?
really like the bbs too!
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Cheers! The car has done around 75k miles, smelly stuff too! :thumbsdown:
 
dougie1142 said:
enuff_zed said:
Got me thinking on that scissor lift, though i'd need a platform on the gravel drive I think.
Is it possible to fix it in position? Just thinking of the day I'm under it and a cat jumps on the bonnet! :D
Click to expand...

It's really handy, it comes with a safety lockout with a clevis pin, which does stop it rocking back and forward. If i'm only working under the front OR the rear i normally position it so that the lift is only lifting that end up, no chance of rocking back and forth. You can fix one end to the ground, then when you wind it up one end closes in on castor wheels so gravel wouldn't really work i don't think. You can use a hefty corded drill or the manual winder it comes with to lift/lower it.
Click to expand...

So it will lock in the level position, all four wheels off the ground? That's good enough. I think if I tipped it I would have axle stands under as well to stop it rocking back.

And yes, I was thinking on a concrete pad in the drive to jack on. Gravel would be a no-no.

Showed wifey and she actually liked the idea........................not mentioned the drive modifications yet though. :roll:
 
enuff_zed said:
So it will lock in the level position, all four wheels off the ground? That's good enough. I think if I tipped it I would have axle stands under as well to stop it rocking back.

And yes, I was thinking on a concrete pad in the drive to jack on. Gravel would be a no-no.

Showed wifey and she actually liked the idea........................not mentioned the drive modifications yet though. :roll:
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Ideal! yeah you can lock it off in the middle position no bother, would recommend some axle stands under it or blocks just for peace of mind. It's built really well though, and they advertise it as "lightweight", but it's definitely not that which is both good and bad i guess.
 
Thought i'd chime in with another update, it's been a fair while since i last updated and for some reason or another i had a brief spell where i thought selling the Z4 was a good idea. Thankfully that passed, although i've been a bit pre-occupied buying my first house which is due to be complete in September this year.

Not a huge amount has changed, primarily i've just been servicing the car and more recently driving it a lot more (using it almost daily now). Also, had some good fun in the snow around the house, while we were all locked up over Xmas.

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Back around Christmas time i got an offer on my BBS CH wheels that i couldn't really refuse, and in all honesty i wanted to change them as although they looked cool i wasn't a fan of having 19's on my car, with such low profile tires and very slight rubbing up front. So they went, and i um'd and ah'd over what i should replace them with. I considered everything from Apex, to Rota and everything in between but in the end i couldn't see passed the OEM BBS 108's. I love the design of them, and always wanted a set as my car was spec'd on them originally.

So i found a great recently refurb'd set on Ebay that i thankfully got shipped to me, then graced them in some new Michelin PS4's. Amazing the difference in driving dynamics with the smaller wheels and vastly improved tires. Although i was aware this would make a mighty change having had Mini's all my life and swapping them all to 10" wheels where possible. Small wheel gang forever!

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Next on the agenda was to get the car MOT'd. I thought this would be simple, i couldn't see anything obvious that it would fail on. Over winter i replaced the rear top mounts with Meyle HD units, which annoyingly didn't get rid of the offside rear top mount rattle. I also replaced the brake pad wear sensors as although they had pads with plenty of life left, the previous owner had tied up the front sensor with a cable tie and it had worn through - bizarre.

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Onto MOT time, and annoyingly it failed. A couple of simple fixes like the headlamp level sensor needing re-seated were fine, but then it turned out my offside rear damper was a different - non lowered Bilstein unit which had obviously put more load on the spring which in turn had snapped it right at the top. This would explain the rattle i mentioned earlier. Well thanks to this forum i picked up some spare rear springs, and then ordered a new correct Bilstein lowered damper. The new damper took ages to arrive which in turn made me miss my free 10-day retest :headbang: but eventually having forked out another £50 for an MOT i got it through with no advisories. :driving:

Finally, i inspected the air filter to see if it had any dates stamped on it which would correlate with the dates the previous owner told me it had been serviced. I wasn't wholly convinced so last weekend I ordered everything i needed from Opie Oils to change the oil, filters and plugs. For this oil change i decided to use an engine flush which you pour into the filler cap and run for 20mins. Not sure if it made any difference internally, but for the sake of £6 i thought it was worth a shot. I then opted to use Millers Trident oil, and Bosch oil filter. I used a Mann air filter as i've had no issues with these before, and finally some Bosch OEM spec spark plugs (to replace the NGK plugs that were in there - does anyone know what these had fitted originally?)

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Finally i fitted some 12mm front and 15mm rear spacers, just to fill the arches a little more without having to worry about any rubbing being on lowered springs.

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Apologies for the lack of a good update, this is all pretty remedial stuff for most folk! Next on my list is to paint the brake calipers as they are utterly disgusting! While i'm there i might replace all the discs and pads with some good quality items as i can't tell what's in there just now. I'll likely ceramic coat the wheels, and i need to paint the drivers side seat runner.

Finally, i'm considering fitting an LSD - well not considering, i will fit one just need to see if the budget allows pre-house move!
 
coupe159 said:
nice project :thumbsup: im doing something very similar with my coupe.

After re-greasing the diff, did it get rid of the clunk?
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Cheers!

Definitely improved it, I could've been a bit more liberal with the application of the grease but yeah it resolved the majority of it.
 
What size is the big nut on the diff flange? How is the process? is it just the grease, a new retaining washer and bolts that's needed?
 
Sorry to be another lift rather than car comment!

How heavy is the lift and would I be right that it has to slide in from the side not back/front?
 
Just catching up on your great topic. The link to the classic Mini, and the photo at Braemar (where ours has been many times) as well as of course being another Scottish based Z4C got my interest, but the level of attention you're giving your car makes me feel bad for neglecting ours. There's nothing like doing it yourself, properly.

Agree on the 108s, although they are hassle to look after and get refurbished properly, I also think they look great on this car.
 
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