Uh oh. Bennys' first tantrum! WAYHAAAY We're back in business! :) EDIT: 2000 mile update.

Machine monkey said:
I will post the picture tomorrow (still struggle on my phone!!) but mine looks very similar to yours and I would say your ok :thumbsup:
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Nice one MM thx.
But I know you and Mrs Machinemonkey are expecting anytime now so don't go out of your way!
Pictures the scene:
'Mat darling, I don't want to be a pain but my waters have broken, when you're done taking pictures do you think you might be able to whisk me over to the maternity ward please? thanks'
:lol:

Good luck buddy!
Hope it's a boy or a girl!
 
Ha ha I think she is exspecting me yo be elbow deep in working on cars when the time comes!!

I have taken the picture it's posting hear on my phone that's the problem. I am not great with technologie!! Not as good as a almost 35 year old should be!!
 
Hears a picture of mine.


Looks the same as your to me. Like i say the plastic panel will have flex between bolt holes. The gasket obviously allows for that.
 
Machine monkey said:
Hears a picture of mine.


Looks the same as your to me. Like i say the plastic panel will have flex between bolt holes. The gasket obviously allows for that.
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Nice one MM, cheers for that. Final stage trepidation allayed!
Will be tightening down the cover later this morning.
Next job: CCV system replacement. Even more fun, lost knuckle skin, contortion but not as many bolts to overtighten... :lol:
 
Machine monkey said:
Its ok you have your extractor set now :rofl: :thumbsup:
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Haha yes I do. I'm making it my solemn intention to never put myself in a position to have to use them.
Theyre sitting amongst the other parts on the kitchen table. It's like theyre taunting me everytime i walk past; 'you'll be using us soon you silly tw@t. You will. Just you wait....'
Photo 16-09-2016 10 07 59.jpg
 
Damn!
Still smoking/steaming.
Suspecting head gasket failure at this point. It's definitely more of a whitish smoke/steam, rather than oil burning off exhaust manifold perhaps.
Thoughts?
[youtube]HjJ1bMMQpGY[/youtube]
 
Not much else it could be but others may have a better opinion.
I did suggest earlier in this thread that you could try a reputable head gasket sealant. I have never used the pour in type of repair myself but you could try it as a cheapish test before you strip down ie if it stops that leak temporarily then it must be the head gasket.
 
Mmmmm if it is head gasket I can't think why steam is coming from the bottom of the engine area?
Is there an engine breather somewhere there?
If it's 'oily' then you should be able to smell it if you stick your snout down there, same again for water related.
One assumes there's no loss of water?

Interesting!
 
Another thought...............if it is a head gasket, these modern bods/mechanics/engineers [or whatever] have a device that 'sniffs' the water then turns green [?] if it's knackered? A good Indie should help you.
 
You did suggest that earlier Mike and thx, i'm open to all suggestions but just for now would prefer not to go pouring all sorts of potions and lotions in the engine.
Fox, i saw scotty wilkins using one of those head gasket test kit things on youtube and it was my initial thought to get one once i saw the steam/smoke again. Great minds :thumbsup:
However, i was in touch with igeak691 here a while back, he runs his zed4me youtube channel and had exactly the same issue as i'm having- smoke back even though gasket replaced. His fix was to re-seat the gasket and make sure bolts were torqued properly. He made a vid too:
[youtube]rXXzsVah6UM[/youtube]
Hoping this is the same phenomenon as in my case so will look at taking off to reseat and reseal gasket and retighten bolts. I was a bit shy of tightening the bolts recently as i thought i'd overtightened, so maybei need to torque down a bit more before they bottom out on the head pins.
Becoming a pita trying to sort this. I will NOT be beaten however!
 
w1ndsurfnut said:
I would lay money on that being just oil. Your rocker cover gasket is leaking.
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Hope so.
Spent a LOT of time replacing it and thought I'd covered all the bases and steps as required. Maybe not enough gasket maker on the rear half moons or gasket not seated well enough or bolts torqued correctly. Will be re-trying on Monday....
 
Bit off topic but seeing as how this post was started with a pic of my lovely laydeefriend Laura I thought I'd post this pic she sent me last night, sitting atop the Grand Canyon. She's on a flight to the US atm. What a lucky lucky lady!
IMG_3477.jpeg
 
Nutcase doing that. Look at that crack in the rock just below her right thigh (calm down) and she is not far from meeting her maker.
 
Mike6 said:
Nutcase doing that. Look at that crack in the rock just below her right thigh (calm down) and she is not far from meeting her maker.
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Well she did end up taking a tumble. Not over the edge fortunately, but still looks painful. Tsk, silly sausage!
IMG_1734.jpeg
 
Quick update for anyone interested enough, or bored/mad enough to be following this thread...

Back from a weekends' biking (360km total!) in the hilly south of Holland and intended to crack on with the CCV system replacement today as well as re-seating the crankcase gasket. However, on opening the Febi Bilstein CCV kit I realised I've only gone and ordered the non-cold weather kit! What a tosser. :cry:
ccv non-cold weather kit.jpg
ccv cold weather kit.jpg
I know I could certainly use the delivered kit and to all intents and purposes it's easier to fit due to the lack of insulating material but I want to do things properly and also reduce the risks of the hoses and valve failing in the future, so will re-order the cold climate kit.
Taking advantage of this unexpected delay, and on reading various forum threads I've also decided to replace the 'Distribution Piece' item 5 on realOEM: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BT52-EUR-09-2003-E85-BMW-Z4_30i&diagId=11_2879
which sits on top of the inlet manifold. This has 6 connecting O rings which can harden and fail and compromise the vacuum system as well as the manifold itself gunking up so maybe it's not absolutely necessary but why not go the whole hog eh?

For anyone thinking about attempting this procedure and like me is not a trained mechanic, it's well worth doing a bit of research online. There are a LOT of forum threads hither and thither as well as a veritable plethora of youtube videos, all with varying quality and aptitude displayed by the posters, but so far the best guides I have come accross and will be following are as follows:

CCV Replacement FYI - M54
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1376457-CCV-Replacement-FYI-M54
BMW 330i 325i E46 CCV Replace

[youtube]ZDP8Dma0nUs[/youtube]
(I won't be removing the intake/fuel rail however)

And there are numerous other guides and instructions around the interwebs I'll be referencing too.
Progress to follow...

By the way, I know there's a few keen road cyclists on here and I just wanted to recommend sticking triathlon bars on your bike. Bloody hell- I got up to 85km/h coming down one hill at the weekend! My eyes were out on stalks before I chickened out and pulled on the brakes. Bonkers.
On the flat, in triathlon riding position, hunched over the bars and pushing back and down instead of just down on the crank I'm gaining an average of 10-15km/h overall due to the better aero.
I just need to reduce my fat belly a bit more to accomodate the riding position better :lol:
IMG_5154.JPG
 
Progress to report this week:
There is no progress to report this week.
:oops:
Still waiting for the cold-climate version ccv kit to arrive, hence another week enduring driving around in what we have now come to appropriately and somewhat affectionately nickname 'tuktuk'....
IMG_4665.JPG
 
So, 10 days after ordering the cold-climate ccv kit received an email to say its finally on the way. Yipee!
Jeez, saving a few Euros by buying from the cheapest-price online retailer has ultimately cost me more in waiting for delivery and hence having to rent the Fiat for longer than anticipated.
A false economy in the purest sense!
When online retailers quote '3-5 day delivery' that needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt these days. :x
But the Fiat is kind of fun and it can take my bike rack. And it's pretty economical. And it has 2 more seats than the zed. And it's easier to get in and out of than the zed. And you dont get so many East European truckers driving up your backside as much as you do in the zed. And dare i say the seats are a smidge more comfy than the zed.
Come to think of it- why the sh!t did i buy the zed??
image.jpeg
 
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