What have you done to your car today?

[Papa_Zee]

Hi new to the forum, had my Z project just over a month and since I’m on furlough I’ve been making use of my time... last week I fitted new rear springs, shocks, and top mounts, relocated and repaired the roof motor, fitted poly arb bushes, and done the oil and filters. Got new front springs and top mounts to go on this week just need shocks to arrive.

Heck! Is that all?

 

[enuff_zed]

Removed washer bottle and flters and gave everything a good clean. 16 years of gunk removed. Jets of fluid on to windscreen and headlights seem a lot more powerful now.
After.JPGBefore.JPG

Now you know what we'll all be doing this weekend!!

Novice question.....................does the bottle come out easily? I confess I've yet to look.

 

[McTyke]

Pretty much. One 10mm bolt and then a bit of jiggling. Pull pumps out and leave wiring attached. That leaves the 2 sealing washers and filters in the bottle. I took them out and cleaned seperately. Filled a big bucket with water and a bit of bleach and submerged bottle. Bit of agitation and flushing with hose and inside bottle was like new.
Note of caution: Washer jets packed in afterwards - suspect some disturbed gunk had blocked nozzles. Pulled each one in and out from bumper a few times which seemed to pump the liquid back to the bottle and cleared blockage.

 

[ARCS]

Got an update on the progress from the body shop.

 

[bz4kev]

Got a bargain today I know I don't have an alpina but just love how it looks and would be rude not to use it

 

[sbryantgb]

Replaced the tatty, torn and boring Gear shift gator

Took a good 90mins as the new leather is way thicker, but I thnk it was worth it

 

[Kevoz4]

Replaced the tatty, torn and boring Gear shift gator

Took a good 90mins as the new leather is way thicker, but I thnk it was worth it

Hi, where did you get it from and did it come with the plastic clip thingy?
Oh and it looks great

 

[sbryantgb]

Hi, where did you get it from and did it come with the plastic clip thingy?
Oh and it looks great

Ebay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gear-Handbrake-Gaiter-For-BMW-Z4-2002-08-without-Armrest-Leather-Red-Stitching/303709967574?fits=Model%3AZ4%7CPlat_Gen%3AE85&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item46b68654d6:g:fx4AAOSwcItau5VS&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkpFtSR0CGv%252Bh98r8Yb9quS3QQWlbTUPXwUmZuMjgz%252BI%252B3VW1rKc8K%252F6tTqRtEthX4VtnYQulMcpfqPi9fmgyljDS3%252BhKtd4OX4Dt2CeNRxH5P4lwZ3n8h0CUCBkS4%252B9%252FUMZPr%252B%252BFz27BStwMLWWaeUqPzFqPKOXe3SzXIhi9%252B%252F%252FXYGYRdZ7FViTKAgvhjJ%252FfCFIkQdaeNhi0PbocCB2eftqVG2BSL2y1q7b7ilNGX07O3S7Xjo3sQVpTn5KEvvVNI1HQ0UhRo88%252BjYMayCDlbCJSMzTLm9tjx1oLwChbvsXE4X9LbkMHVO7PyGyCodmhEdHsBEpFQIG29frXYaafZ8%252BrthtKPCfjK9qfMpiqqzOhszHyyW4YlbJI%252FOfdigdX0FcDLlrw7T4ts0H3nZJTDzEPFWzG3F6LoY7msDWrrCK6cRsCeEbUCzViw0iKMMRkPx8gz%252F6kouIdRlR4UMA1nymHb%252Bsou7EWHh1ashoJ1Jb7YNtxRyFCdWrBgnvhjMCk3p5qiNpUGcKMHqK%252BGQrZWxI7Bqe2l4lNA3wjk9W19SnUFaCFKGl5KUJxgj8TqIJhADCVLLbunfl4nvHIAqq2herQZLVOtUGYsNERYhW0ZZCR2a%252BC7crImg%252BKgSMfWyTtcMjpXh1ViHiXEAEJ2MP6X0T4E2v%252Fh62Z3iPve2tJnY5Bw63ZI0seNzc0qmiKgel%252BABEWwZvk5pRGeo2Uhvx3mf%252BCH2umoidR%252B53CZHB0AaHvV7XZwgszAQ6dMcGB7uGkgrDGLQXG1AXlYh4tsKJaz9w%253D%253D%7Ccksum%3A3037099675745dd2e6c618ba4b598a185cdb375ddb0c%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

They do not come with any kind of retaining clip (plastic, you have to reuse the original). They are way thicker than the original. (which you have to peel and scrape off.) Mines a base level car and the quality is superior to the original, but maybe not so on other models. I still have to do the handbrake, which I know is going to take even longer. I haven't driven the car since installing and the clips are quite stressed and the boot may pop out. If it does a few small tapping screws around the the outer shell and the plastic insert will probably sort this without any other major modification, and which will be hidden from view.

Hope this helps.

 

[rays545i]

Changed my ccv system took longer to take off old brittle ones
So snapped them off in the end
Top tip
If new ones aren’t bending into place
Run the under very hot running water to soften new plastic pipes

 

[Jameszy]

Fitted the standard sound deadening + Hertz mid range speakers to the doors today. Big big upgrade in terms of sound.

Also finished hard wiring the dash cam in. Pretty happy with it.

Don’t want to see another scotch box again for a while though!!

 

[Jameszy]

Removed washer bottle and flters and gave everything a good clean. 16 years of gunk removed. Jets of fluid on to windscreen and headlights seem a lot more powerful now.
After.JPGBefore.JPG

I did this too a few weeks back - what a difference eh? Did you give the reservoir a clean out too? That was tricky given the awkward shape

 

[Deleted member 32480]

Busy week.

Rear and Back windows tinted today. Reflector sorted (horrible job, lots of swear words) new back for a leaky headlight.

Midweek new front window and rubber. (I broke it when trying to replace the rubber window surround)

Last weekend- plugged a few leaks. New oil caps, valve gaskets, valvetronic and eccentric shaft gaskets.

Other than new wheels I am pretty much where I want to be with the Z now.

 

[Zedebee]

Finally fitted my cruise control today. Thanks to SRHUTCH for the loom and instructions. Being a relative novice, I didn’t find anything easy about this job, but did have a great sense of satisfaction when I reconnected the battery and the car didn’t explode. Just need a break in the weather before I can test it.

 

[TheDan]

Finally fitted my cruise control today. Thanks to SRHUTCH for the loom and instructions. Being a relative novice, I didn’t find anything easy about this job, but did have a great sense of satisfaction when I reconnected the battery and the car didn’t explode. Just need a break in the weather before I can test it.

Good job! Looks like you've done a nice neat cut on the steering column cowl or did you buy a new one with the cut out? I had to hack at mine as the dremel died... ended up filing it to a decent finish though.

 

[Jameszy]

Busy week.

Rear and Back windows tinted today. Reflector sorted (horrible job, lots of swear words) new back for a leaky headlight.

Midweek new front window and rubber. (I broke it when trying to replace the rubber window surround)

Last weekend- plugged a few leaks. New oil caps, valve gaskets, valvetronic and eccentric shaft gaskets.

Other than new wheels I am pretty much where I want to be with the Z now.

Where did you get your headlight covers from, and how much did you pay? Need to do the same job myself

 

[Zedebee]

Finally fitted my cruise control today. Thanks to SRHUTCH for the loom and instructions. Being a relative novice, I didn’t find anything easy about this job, but did have a great sense of satisfaction when I reconnected the battery and the car didn’t explode. Just need a break in the weather before I can test it.

Good job! Looks like you've done a nice neat cut on the steering column cowl or did you buy a new one with the cut out? I had to hack at mine as the dremel died... ended up filing it to a decent finish though.

Thanks! Funnily enough, that was the easy bit. I put the cowl in a vice (lots of cloth padding) and used a jigsaw for the cut-out, then filed down the edges. Really pleased with how it fit back together.

 

[Deleted member 32480]

Busy week.

Rear and Back windows tinted today. Reflector sorted (horrible job, lots of swear words) new back for a leaky headlight.

Midweek new front window and rubber. (I broke it when trying to replace the rubber window surround)

Last weekend- plugged a few leaks. New oil caps, valve gaskets, valvetronic and eccentric shaft gaskets.

Other than new wheels I am pretty much where I want to be with the Z now.

Where did you get your headlight covers from, and how much did you pay? Need to do the same job myself

Soper Lincoln BMW. They have a forum discount.

I believe they were just under 14 quid each.

I found these guys gave a decent quote to when I emailed them but I had ready spoken with Soper and put in an order.
[email protected]

 

[Zedebee]

Finally fitted my cruise control today. Thanks to SRHUTCH for the loom and instructions. Being a relative novice, I didn’t find anything easy about this job, but did have a great sense of satisfaction when I reconnected the battery and the car didn’t explode. Just need a break in the weather before I can test it.

Managed a test drive today while the sun was out briefly. Cruise control works perfectly, definitely no programming required. If anyone is nervous about doing this retrofit themselves, don’t be. The hardest part is “routing the blue wire through to the black box”, nothing technical!

 

[Beefy]

Fitted some winter wheels today, picked these up on eBay, style 388 from a 2 series. they’re a squared set up which I’m not convinced about but as I hardly use the car in the winter and they’re mainly to sit it on until I can get my 108’s fixed, they’ll do.

 

[Kevoz4]

Hi, where did you get it from and did it come with the plastic clip thingy?
Oh and it looks great

Ebay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gear-Handbrake-Gaiter-For-BMW-Z4-2002-08-without-Armrest-Leather-Red-Stitching/303709967574?fits=Model%3AZ4%7CPlat_Gen%3AE85&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item46b68654d6:g:fx4AAOSwcItau5VS&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%252Fn%252BzU5L90Z278x5ickkpFtSR0CGv%252Bh98r8Yb9quS3QQWlbTUPXwUmZuMjgz%252BI%252B3VW1rKc8K%252F6tTqRtEthX4VtnYQulMcpfqPi9fmgyljDS3%252BhKtd4OX4Dt2CeNRxH5P4lwZ3n8h0CUCBkS4%252B9%252FUMZPr%252B%252BFz27BStwMLWWaeUqPzFqPKOXe3SzXIhi9%252B%252F%252FXYGYRdZ7FViTKAgvhjJ%252FfCFIkQdaeNhi0PbocCB2eftqVG2BSL2y1q7b7ilNGX07O3S7Xjo3sQVpTn5KEvvVNI1HQ0UhRo88%252BjYMayCDlbCJSMzTLm9tjx1oLwChbvsXE4X9LbkMHVO7PyGyCodmhEdHsBEpFQIG29frXYaafZ8%252BrthtKPCfjK9qfMpiqqzOhszHyyW4YlbJI%252FOfdigdX0FcDLlrw7T4ts0H3nZJTDzEPFWzG3F6LoY7msDWrrCK6cRsCeEbUCzViw0iKMMRkPx8gz%252F6kouIdRlR4UMA1nymHb%252Bsou7EWHh1ashoJ1Jb7YNtxRyFCdWrBgnvhjMCk3p5qiNpUGcKMHqK%252BGQrZWxI7Bqe2l4lNA3wjk9W19SnUFaCFKGl5KUJxgj8TqIJhADCVLLbunfl4nvHIAqq2herQZLVOtUGYsNERYhW0ZZCR2a%252BC7crImg%252BKgSMfWyTtcMjpXh1ViHiXEAEJ2MP6X0T4E2v%252Fh62Z3iPve2tJnY5Bw63ZI0seNzc0qmiKgel%252BABEWwZvk5pRGeo2Uhvx3mf%252BCH2umoidR%252B53CZHB0AaHvV7XZwgszAQ6dMcGB7uGkgrDGLQXG1AXlYh4tsKJaz9w%253D%253D%7Ccksum%3A3037099675745dd2e6c618ba4b598a185cdb375ddb0c%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

They do not come with any kind of retaining clip (plastic, you have to reuse the original). They are way thicker than the original. (which you have to peel and scrape off.) Mines a base level car and the quality is superior to the original, but maybe not so on other models. I still have to do the handbrake, which I know is going to take even longer. I haven't driven the car since installing and the clips are quite stressed and the boot may pop out. If it does a few small tapping screws around the the outer shell and the plastic insert will probably sort this without any other major modification, and which will be hidden from view.

Hope this helps.