Service Checklist Advice Needed :: high miler (E86)

[Z-4-FUN]

I recently became the proud owner of a Z4 Coupe 3.0si (2006 E86).

I’m about to put it through a service and wanted to get some advice. I’m going to take it to a trusted local independent garage, but I’m keen to get the opinions of this super knowledgable group about the specific things I should get checked/done.

It’s a high miler at 140k, but it has a full service history and I have no doubt it’s been well cared for in the past. According to the log book, it’s due an Inspection II service, but I’m also keen to make sure it gets a thorough checkover as a way of welcoming it into the “family” - everyone loves a bit of TLC, right!?

It’s already had the brake pipes changed to copper in Jan 2019, and the water pump was replaced at 100k.

Cheers!
:ilz4f:

 

[skelters]

Before you get anything done get the codes checked then cleared. Run the car again for a few days to see what might come up. Then get those codes looked at if there are any.

There's lots of us that have Carly and there'll be someone close that can help.

Service wise....
Air Filter
Oil Filter
Pollen Filter
Plugs
Perhaps a thicker Oil with the miles on it?
Gearbox Oil change
Diff Oil change
Brake Fluid change and brakes bled.
Get all the Bushes checked
Get an Alignment done

What are the Brake Disc looking like?
Brake Pads?

Some of us have changed over to Braided Brake Hoses so that might also be an option.

I'd get the rust looked at on the e86 asap!

 

[eddiemunster]

I recently became the proud owner of a Z4 Coupe 3.0si (2006 E86).

Just to add, if you use Carly/ODB to check for codes, it's worth "re-checking" those codes on here as often they'll be erroneous or a symptom of something else completely (often far less serious).

 

[Z-4-FUN]

Before you get anything done get the codes checked then cleared. Run the car again for a few days to see what might come up. Then get those codes looked at if there are any.

There's lots of us that have Carly and there'll be someone close that can help.

Service wise....
Air Filter
Oil Filter
Pollen Filter
Plugs
Perhaps a thicker Oil with the miles on it?
Gearbox Oil change
Diff Oil change
Brake Fluid change and brakes bled.
Get all the Bushes checked
Get an Alignment done

What are the Brake Disc looking like?
Brake Pads?

Some of us have changed over to Braided Brake Hoses so that might also be an option.

I'd get the rust looked at on the e86 asap!

It looks like step 1 is to get those codes checked and cleared then.

I've found the thread listing members who have Carly. Someone close-ish to me has NCS... Is there any difference, should I definitely try to go with Carly?

Will NCS pull off the same codes and mean stuff to the smart folk on here?

 

[eddiemunster]

I've found the thread listing members who have Carly. Someone close-ish to me has NCS... Is there any difference, should I definitely try to go with Carly?

Will NCS pull off the same codes and mean stuff to the smart folk on here?

I've never heard of NCS, but I do have Carly and Delphi, and I have to say that Delphi is about the most reliable and accurate on the market; that's why the motoring trade use it. I've tried most of the other ODB scanners, most of them don't pick up all the codes, and all of them, bar none, wrongly report codes too.

I'm not suggesting this, but, there are "knock off" Delphi scanners on eBay for about £50, I wouldn't think twice about buying one of those....

 

[Jl-c]

NCS is BMW's own coding software.

 

[Z-4-FUN]

NCS is BMW's own coding software.

I’m guessing that will do the trick nicely then

 

[Jl-c]

NCS is BMW's own coding software.

I’m guessing that will do the trick nicely then

surely will :wink: , it is however a bit of a bugger to learn how to use it. NCS expert and NCSdummy help, both "downloadable" :wink:

 

[skelters]

You could do a search on the Google for Mike’s Easy BMW Tools.

It has everything you require to read and reset codes along with real time info and programming capabilities.

So I heard from a guy in the street. Not that I've tried it or anything!

Get a cable from https://www.bcables.com/

 

[skelters]

We also need pics of this car.

Is it from a former owner on here?

Is the car known to the forum?

 

[Z-4-FUN]

You could do a search on the Google for Mike’s Easy BMW Tools.

It has everything you require to read and reset codes along with real time info and programming capabilities.

So I heard from a guy in the street. Not that I've tried it or anything!

Get a cable from https://www.bcables.com/

Thanks for the tips @skelters. Unfortunately the cheap bcables.com option would also require the purchase of a new computer (I use a mac and their software only works on Windows) so it would end up being rather expensive for a one-off read and reset.

I live in London so I've reached out to the 3 forum members who are listed as having Carly here. If they can't help, I'll expand the request to the neighbouring regions.

 

[skelters]

You could run a VM on the MAC for Windows XP / 7 / 10 and install the software on there.

Alternatively get a cheap code reader from Amazon or the eBay. It's good to check the car before and after any work is done on the car in case something needs fixed.

 

[Z-4-FUN]

Thanks for all the advice so far!

Yesterday I got a first introduction to Carly, thanks to forum member @nick_l

We successfully cleared the errors, so I'll now run the car for a few days and then read the codes again to see what’s currently being reported.

The one issue major-ish issue I am aware of is it currently suffers from tram lining, and a horrible “self-correcting” of the steering during light cornering at speed (60mph+) - it kind of feels like the car intermittently wants to steer the other way/straighten up.

I’ve trawled through the countless threads on here and realise these complaints are quite common and normally attributed to a combination of Run Flat Tyres, suspension and bushes being in poor condition, poor wheel alignment, or the “sticky” steering issue. It's reassuring to think this can be fixed...

RFT’s can be discounted from the equation as the car’s currently running on a set of 17 inch Michelin CrossClimate 225/45 R17 94W, which seem to come well reviewed as a set of winter tyres on here, without anyone raising any specific issues. [I will hopefully upgrade the wheels soon, but let’s first see how much other fixes cost!]

In terms of the suspension, this was refreshed relatively recently: Bilstein B4 struts and OEM bushes/top mounts were replaced in Oct 2017 (at 120k), and Suplex springs slightly later in May 2018 (at 124k miles), after the previous owner decided he was unhappy with the Eibach Pro Kit which he initially had fitted along with the new struts. Hopefully none of this is worn our already, but you never know I guess!

My plan of attack with the steering issue is therefore:

[ 1 ] Ask the garage to thoroughly inspect all suspension for play / excessive wear and replace as necessary.
[ 2 ] Get a 4-wheel Hunter alignment done - including resetting of the steering angle sensor.
[ 3 ] Get the steering column tension checked by a fellow forum member who is experienced in adjusting these.

Questions I have for the forum are…

A) Does this sound like the right approach? Am I missing anything?

B) Is there specific aspects of the suspension to pay attention to? I read that worn lollipop bushes can have a big impact impact on the EPAS on these car, and then there’s stuff about RTABs, RTALs, ARBs etc, which all starts to go over my head. So any specifics would be great!

C) Pre-empting that I’m going to need to replace some of the mounting hardware and suspension bushes, what’s the common wisdom about the best choice for the various components? There’s a lot of references to Meyle HD and power flex - again, not knowing much about this, I’d appreciate anyone that could share what they consider to be the best choices.

D) With the 4 wheel alignment, the debate appears to be between Z4M or M3 CSL. Thoughts?

:sos:

 

[skelters]

Get a free Hunter Alignment check done as that'll show up any issues with the bushes etc.

You might be lucky and it only needs the alignment done as it's out a good bit.

You can also post the results here as we need some comedy!

I'd recommend you get the alignment / possible suspension etc. issues sorted out first and then see how it drives on the standard settings before messing about with adjustments for M / CSL etc. for the alignment

 

[Z-4-FUN]

Get a free Hunter Alignment check done as that'll show up any issues with the bushes etc.

Do you mean I should get the alignment check done pre-service, but don't go ahead with getting any corrections done initially?

My assumption would be it's best to get the actual alignment done after the mechanics have finished bashing anything else around.

 

[skelters]

Yes.

 

[skelters]

If they check everything then you'll know what's required before getting any work done on the car.

If it's the same garage it'll probably not matter but it's a bit of a risk telling a garage to look at the suspension and replace whatever is required to get it driving properly.

 

[eddiemunster]

My assumption would be it's best to get the actual alignment done after the mechanics have finished bashing anything else around.

You're correct; a car is generally setup at full sag, i.e. how it sits on the floor (or on a ramp), and so worn bushes/ball joints that have deteriorated and moved won't stop the car being setup properly. However, it means the instant you introduce torsional forces the geometry will change and the car won't handle correctly.

Occasionally I'd setup a car just to see what's out, before I did suspension work, but if you know you're going to replace shocks/springs/bushes then it makes no economic sense whatsoever to do a setup first.

 

[Z-4-FUN]

Alignment check done... twice!

Having read lots of people complaining about receiving bad alignments despite going to places with Hunter equipment, I thought I'd have 2 places check it out to see if their findings correlated. Checks were free, so why not :wink: Although both places did try a hard sell on making adjustments whilst I was there

It seems the 2 checks show different results, or is that just my miscomprehension of the data?

Also, remembering the reason I got this done now was to assess if I might need any work done on suspension etc when I take it in for a service... currently when driving around gentle corners at 60+mph it feels like the steering intermittently pulses to straighten up/fight to go the other way, plus some good old tram lining (non RFT fitted). Does this data show anything of interest? There also seems to be a few little clunks and groans from the suspension (B4 struts on M-Sport Suplex Springs - fitted less than 20k miles ago), but as a new owner I have little reference point to what's expected with these cars.

• Garage 1 said the necessary adjustments were relatively minor and they had a knock around under the car and said all looked fine.

• Garage 2 didn't look at the state of the suspension at all and were reluctant to let me leave without having adjustments made - which I ignored.


Garage 1

.


Garage 2

 

[Z-4-FUN]

Oh, and here's a picture of the car. It needs a clean!!!