What have you done to your car today?
- Thread starter Buckz
- Start date
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South Lanarkshire
Dave 2 dogs
Senior member
Thanks mack 
Dave 2 dogs
Senior member
wash , polish , and new 3rd light replacement
I'm starting to think you post pictures upside down on purpose nowDave 2 dogs
Senior member
Philbo909
Are they upside down ???? When I look on the forum on my phone they are right way up W.T.F.!!!
Are they upside down ???? When I look on the forum on my phone they are right way up W.T.F.!!!
So, after struggling with a failing head gasket since I was sold my 3.0si roadster 18 months ago (with 35k or so on the clock), it had an engine swap a couple of weeks ago. So far, so good and it no longer has a thirst for coolant and isn't massively over pressuring my coolant system any more. Maybe I can finally trust it...
It is a long story btw. I'm based in NI and bought it from a dealer in England. They refused to accept a return and legal action would have cost me more than the repair. Bad luck and a lesson learned, but found a good local mechanic to fix it in the end.
About £1600 for an engine swap (with approximately the same mileage as of now), service and MOT. Not bad considering and at least I knew the head wouldn't be warped and the threads in the block wouldn't strip.
I'm hoping this Christmas present can finally let me bond with the car and get some decent miles under the wheels (it was my second/summer car fortunately)!
It is a long story btw. I'm based in NI and bought it from a dealer in England. They refused to accept a return and legal action would have cost me more than the repair. Bad luck and a lesson learned, but found a good local mechanic to fix it in the end.
About £1600 for an engine swap (with approximately the same mileage as of now), service and MOT. Not bad considering and at least I knew the head wouldn't be warped and the threads in the block wouldn't strip.
I'm hoping this Christmas present can finally let me bond with the car and get some decent miles under the wheels (it was my second/summer car fortunately)!
Smartbear said:
Sadly, I shall never know. The previous owner had the car from new, full service history, etc. I suspect they had a pump failure, got it repaired, but then realised damage had been done (warped head perhaps) and punted it on. The pump was fine since I had it, but a sniff test finally uncovered the head gasket leak.
Still, I got about 7k on it before getting the engine swapped and could probably have got a few more. However, I knew I was driving a ticking time bomb and thought it could cause a more catastrophic failure in the end.
The car is in good condition otherwise, so I'm hoping I can enjoy it now. Took the wife out in it for the first time yesterday (we have kids!), after she had built up a loathing for it (understandably!). It didn't miss a beat and she even enjoyed having the top down on the mild winter's day! Looking forward to a fresh start with the car!
Good luck with it and enjoy now its finally fixed. Its pretty impressive you managed to get 7k on it in that state, that's nearly 2 years worth on mine.Traktion1 said:Smartbear said:
Sadly, I shall never know. The previous owner had the car from new, full service history, etc. I suspect they had a pump failure, got it repaired, but then realised damage had been done (warped head perhaps) and punted it on. The pump was fine since I had it, but a sniff test finally uncovered the head gasket leak.
Still, I got about 7k on it before getting the engine swapped and could probably have got a few more. However, I knew I was driving a ticking time bomb and thought it could cause a more catastrophic failure in the end.
The car is in good condition otherwise, so I'm hoping I can enjoy it now. Took the wife out in it for the first time yesterday (we have kids!), after she had built up a loathing for it (understandably!). It didn't miss a beat and she even enjoyed having the top down on the mild winter's day! Looking forward to a fresh start with the car!
MACK said:
Yes, the symptoms were relatively mild for a head gasket failure, but I'm sure they would have got worse had I tried putting big miles in it. I had a HG failure on an old Vauxhall Astra and that needed urgent attention within a week or so of symptoms showing.
There was no mixing of fluids and the main problem was air locks forming in the cooling system. As I understand it, exhaust fumes were being blown into the coolant, which added pressure, which then caused coolant to be vented. I couldn't open the overflow tank without coolant pothering out, even days after a drive. So, I had a routine of bleeding, releasing pressure, refilling, every 200 miles or so. If I didn't, the coolant light would be on and (because of the above) you couldn't easily top it up.
Still, I managed to avoid the engine overheating. It only once started heading north of 90 and I pulled over immediately and performed my routine. Sadly, it was snowing and sub zero and the battery was drained in the process! The AA man helped me get on my way that night though! :lol:
Anyway, I was expecting a mixing of fluids as the situation deteriorated, but it stayed remarkably consistent. In the end I was more concerned about the coolant system, the exhaust/cats, hot spots in engine, etc. It had been into Belfast's main BMW dealer and they had misdiagnosed it (and fixed the wrong thing!) despite me detailing the symptoms carefully via email. So, I resigned to letting the symptoms becoming more obvious, but figured a sniff test would be easy to do (literally 5 mins with, 10 quid device off Amazon!).
Finding the right person to trust with the job wasn't so easy though, but it has come good in the end I think (hope!). It does make you wonder whether these fancy light weight engines are as maintainable as the steel blocked ones though.
Replaced the 3rd brake light (strip) on my E86, nearly 160,000 miles and counting 
Instruction links here if anyone need the same at some point..
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69402
Instruction links here if anyone need the same at some point..
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69402
Bambough castle Mr wilksmr wilks said:Drove it 170"miles from our overnight stay in the Scottish Borders through Northumberland to the edge of the Dales (which will be tomorrow's drive home
Great touring car the auto Si coupe though I did miss being able to drop the top
Pressed a couple of Z4M lollipop bushes into a spare set of carriers, ready for a full front wishbone and bush replacement. Thought I'd weigh them - they are under half the weight of aftermarket non-M/E46 items. That's 400g difference... for two bushes! 
