Which 3.0 to avoid HVA and roof issues?

My issue was intermittent like most I believe, no rhyme or reason why it did it, except it was of course always from cold.

TBH I think if you got in your car and just drove you could miss it, but because I had to reverse out of the garage then get out to close the door etc it was easily apparent it was doing it.

Twice though I picked the car up from the dealer, drove the 1/2 mile home and stopped where upon I could hear the noise. So it could be that many are just not hearing it due to their driving situation.
 
I agree many probably dont hear it.

Personally I noticed it straight away, usually start the engine with the radio off to listen for any pecualar noises (anal I know) and always spotted it.
 
wegras said:
gookah said:
wegras said:
personally I would risk the HVA rather than pre post lift roof motor and get an AUC car and then extend the BMW insured warranty
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but why,?
the roof motor will cost you £300 if you can fix it yourself, Its a straightforward job that took me about 4 hours. Cant say the same for HVA's and a possible new cylinder head.

An inspection 2 will cost you more than the roof motor but that doesnt deter people from buying the car, so why worry about the roof, Also a lot of cars have now had the motors replaced and sealed better, How many have had a new head or HVA's fitted.


I would buy the older car and keep some pennies for a roof if it goes, rather than spending more and being skint for a HVA repair if that happens.
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Because I suspect the likely failure of an early roof motor is higher than having the HVA problem in a later car
I don't do crawling around under the internals any more
I didn't need to buy an old car and I use a main Dealer for all work

But thanks for the concern :wink:
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Not concerned at all as this wasn't directed to you, but was to offer a different option to your thoughts, I was just offering asked-for advice for the OP..
and as others have commented:

srhutch said:
As gookah has said the roof problem is small and easy to fix either yourself or via an Indi. My warranty bill was £3.5k for the head replacement on my last car so by far the worse option if it concerns you.
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If the OP is unlucky with the roof, and that is the more likely, it can be fixed for £300, and it is then unlikely to return again in his ownership. Or he could spend up to £3.5k on an HVA problem and it still come back..as some have experienced.
I know which risk I would prefer and advise against if this is a big concern to the OP.
:thumbsup:
 
Thanks all for your input everyone.

Good to know the cost difference between fixing the HVA and roof which has helped me decide to go for a late pre-facelift 3.0 or an Alpina, which is my slight preference.
 
johnbmwboy said:
srhutch said:
Go for the Alpina :wink:
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I think I'm going to.

I've been thinking about an Alpina for a while now.
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You obviously haven't heard about the ongoing problems on the Alpina, ......
with the under-head throttle body butter flap gimbal linkage then..... :D
 
Hi everyone

I am Brian and I have been coming on the site or a few weeks and reading all about these great Zeds, the good points and the bad points. Well I am more confused after reading these comments. To cut to the chase I am currently looking to buy a Zed Roadster and have a budget of around 11-13.5K so was thinking that I could get a 3.0si on a 06 or 07 plate with late 30’s to mid 40K on the clock. However from reading the various posts in this thread it would seem that my initial thoughts might be wrong and I should stay clear. I intend to use the Zed as my daily but my journey to work is only 4.5 miles each way of city driving, so guess I would be a prime candidate for the HVA issues. Also the car would be parked outside, so more possible issues with the roof motors. I really am slowly being turned off from buying a Zed.

My finances don’t allow me to go for an E89 as much as I would love one :D and I didn’t really want an older Zed, so would I be reasonably safe to buy a post facelift model or not, based on my low daily mileage?

Any CLEAR info you guys can offer me would be grateful.
 
Welcome BrianD.

Find a facelift Zed with documented head replacement. Check roof drains frequently, don't open roof if it has leaves or debris on it, don't park with the roof down (easier for leaves to enter). Take the scenic route home.
 
bcworkz said:
Welcome BrianD.

Find a facelift Zed with documented head replacement. Check roof drains frequently, don't open roof if it has leaves or debris on it, don't park with the roof down (easier for leaves to enter). Take the scenic route home.
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Thanks for the info, makes me feel slightly better about a purchase :)
 
Brian

The roof issue is easily addressed, as above just ensure your roof drains are cleared then it won't be an issue.

Regarding the HVA's find a car you like then try to establish if it's had any work regarding the HVA's. You can call BMW UK who will tell you which dealer the car visited and when, then you can call that dealer to find out what work they did.
 
As i understood the issue with HVA's.
If it had had any work done or not it was still prone to ticking?!

But a long journey or a proper drive would re fill the lifters and the problem would go away? BMW say it doesn't cause any long term problems?
I'm currently looking at buying a 2006-2008 Coupe and have ben worrying about the same issue
 
Rich-hill said:
As i understood the issue with HVA's.
If it had had any work done or not it was still prone to ticking?!

But a long journey or a proper drive would re fill the lifters and the problem would go away? BMW say it doesn't cause any long term problems?
I'm currently looking at buying a 2006-2008 Coupe and have ben worrying about the same issue
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That's interesting, can anyone else definitely confirm that if you hear ticking after short runs that this is an acceptable norm after short runs and that the ticking noise disappears after a good run. Also that no long term damage is done to the engine.
 
I bought a 2006 30si coupe and have no worries about ticking tappets, having experienced this on other cars usually a good long run sorts it out but if the problem persists, even after a long run you may need to replace the hyd tappets.
Having stripped a few heads down with this problem i have found that on some occasions one or two tappets have lost their ability to hold oil pressure, on other occasions there has been a mechanical problem "ie" broken retaining clip but this is not common," i have never found a problem with the cyl head itself "
The engines that i have seen this problem on are Rover 3.5 V8, Merc diesel, Mitsibishi petrol and GM petrol engines.
I have no experience with the Z4 engine at all and my information is based purely on whats written above.
Having known about the HVA issue i still went ahead with the purchase based on my experience as i have said above, can i stress though that this was my calculated judgement and i accept other people may need more reassurance than this but hope this is of some interest
 
Thanks guys for all your positive comments and advice, much appreciated. :thumbsup: I feel slightly more confident in buying a Zed now, although these issues will always be in the back of my mind, so fingers crossed with my purchase once I have found my dream car. Seen a few BMW approved ones, but they are either not the right colour combo I am seeking or lacking enough goodies :), so my search goes on!
 
How many N52 engined Z4's/3 series/5 series etc. do people think have actually had a new cylinder head on them? I'd guess not many at all; maybe 5% of the cars with the old style head? And it must be a problem with all N52 engines with the old head, I don't believe any of them don't tick occasionally.

Mine ticks from time to time, usually if i've done a couple of extremely short trips like round the corner to the shop, then up the road to a friends etc. (yes I am lazy :D )

There must be some cars with pretty big mileages on them now, particularly with the 3/5 series, and I've never read about any serious N52 failure relating to the HVA's (I think I've only actually read about 1 N52 failure and that was someone on the forum?). So personally I don't think it's too much of an issue.
 
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