Z4 2.0 N46 Vale Stem Seals in London/South East?

Smartbear said:
Yes, i mentioned watching them. It looks like it needs a decent run to get everything nice & hot for a while - prolonged idling will just fill the exhaust with more water :cry:
Rob
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Thanks man, you're an absolute legend! I appreciate the reply.

I'll keep the thread updated once resolved!
 
I’m with Smartbear on this. Having now seen the videos, it certainly looks like water vapour, not smoke. It dissipates really quickly and doesn’t seem to hang around. I’m also pretty sure that wouldn’t fail an MOT. Why don’t you book an MOT, drive the long route so she gets a proper run (you are allowed to drive to a pre-booked MOT), and see what happens?
 
Zedebee said:
I’m with Smartbear on this. Having now seen the videos, it certainly looks like water vapour, not smoke. It dissipates really quickly and doesn’t seem to hang around. I’m also pretty sure that wouldn’t fail an MOT. Why don’t you book an MOT, drive the long route so she gets a proper run (you are allowed to drive to a pre-booked MOT), and see what happens?
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I think I might do that. I need to give it an oil service anyway so will do that, change the CCV and then take it down for it's MOT.

Thanks!!
 
Come this thread a little late,sorry been suffering with the dreaded covid..
Welcome to the 2.0l club..
Look at your videos,gotta agree it does look like water vapour from sitting for a prolonged period..
2.0l need a little more attention than the 6 pots.
If my one hasn't been driven for a while it will play up a little..
strangely they do benefit from being driven at high revs to clear them out...I find it does stop silly codes like PO420 popping up..
Also put higher octane fuel in these,..once again they run better..
Hope you got it sorted .if you did post the outcome,and the way it was rectified..
It all helps for us all on the site. :thumbsup:
 
bluepain said:
Come this thread a little late,sorry been suffering with the dreaded covid..
Welcome to the 2.0l club..
Look at your videos,gotta agree it does look like water vapour from sitting for a prolonged period..
2.0l need a little more attention than the 6 pots.
If my one hasn't been driven for a while it will play up a little..
strangely they do benefit from being driven at high revs to clear them out...I find it does stop silly codes like PO420 popping up..
Also put higher octane fuel in these,..once again they run better..
Hope you got it sorted .if you did post the outcome,and the way it was rectified..
It all helps for us all on the site. :thumbsup:
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Not sorted yet! Have remortgaged my house to buy 10l of optimax in my fuel can and put a shot of redex in there.

Am going to change the oil today or tomorrow and then take it for it's MOT on Wednesday. Will update thread once resolved.
 
Update as promised:

1. Changed the oil for 10W/40 and filter
Got both from the local BMW specialist (ex BMW mechanics) who recommended this oil. It's unbranded and just has a sticker on it that says it's for BMWs. I trust them. Mileage is 122k now so I'll probably stick to 10w/40.
I flushed the engine with Wynns Engine Flush and the oil that came out was actually not in bad condition. I was expecting sludge but the oil was actually quite smooth. I found the service history in the glovebox and it has been fairly regularly serviced.

Result: No change to the smoking but engine sounds sooooooo much smoother. At least majority of the condensation in the engine seems to have gone though.

2. Forte Seal Conditioner + Fresh Petrol
I let the engine run until the needle was near enough empty. The petrol in there has probably been in there for over a year.
Filled a 20l petrol can with Optimax from Shell (At £1.89 a litre!!), put a shot of Redex in there too.

Result: smoke has already reduced significantly. Not sure if the Forte did anything or if it was the Optimax mixed with the Redex shot. I should have really tested one after another but I was losing light and I didn't realise how long it takes for a 20l petrol can to empty into a car.

Going to drive it to the MOT centre on Wednesday where they've agreed to change over my CCV for me (I have run out of time and mechanic is only charging me £40 labour).

The brakes are a little spongy but I think that's because the discs are covered in rust so I'll be slamming the brakes quite a bit on the way there.

Wish me luck! :)
 
With a little luck the worse the mot will throw up is 'discs slightly pitted / corroded' - just from sitting for months.
:thumbsup:
 
bluepain said:
Hope it all went ok..
How did the mot go?
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The garage I dropped the car off at broke one of the new CCV pipes during installation and now gotta wait for Monday for the MOT 😂. The old pipes were full of sludge so it did need doing.

The smoke was totally gone by the time I got there but I noticed the traction control randomly kicking in so looks like new reluctor rings required soon.
 
After for stiong so long you may have a hit ipod funk on the rings or the sensors..
I had this issue last year..
Took my sensors out and cleaned them..
This seemed to cure that issue..
It's a well documented fault on this site
 
bluepain said:
After for stiong so long you may have a hit ipod funk on the rings or the sensors..
I had this issue last year..
Took my sensors out and cleaned them..
This seemed to cure that issue..
It's a well documented fault on this site
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Yeah the mechanic said something similar. He was going to clean the sensors and take a wire brush to the rings as well. It wasn't persistent and just occasional.

Best weather we've had all year, it's a shame I don't have the car. Bet it rains all next week 😂
 
I'm surprised you understood any of that..
Predictive text.. :headbang:
Cleaned out the sensors on my chariot ,that seemed to cure the issue for me...
You may have a rust spot..
It is a common issue..
 
bluepain said:
I'm surprised you understood any of that..
Predictive text.. :headbang:
Cleaned out the sensors on my chariot ,that seemed to cure the issue for me...
You may have a rust spot..
It is a common issue..
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Possibly! At the moment I have a more pressing issue - still no MOT!

The brakes are very spongy and go to the floor so I bought discs and pads all round and fit them, tried to bleed the car and the front right driver side nipple is totally ruined so have had to order a new caliper.
 
Jeez youve had a shed load of issues with this one. Why to manufacturers use so poor quality metal on bleed nipples..they allways break or snap..
I had a similar issue on.my motorbike,I ended up drilling it out..carefully..then replaced nipple with a decent steel one..
I'm looking to replace my pads this summer. So I'll probably have the same issue as you..
Hope you get some luck with yours..
You Seem to be an uphill battle
 
bluepain said:
Jeez youve had a shed load of issues with this one. Why to manufacturers use so poor quality metal on bleed nipples..they allways break or snap..
I had a similar issue on.my motorbike,I ended up drilling it out..carefully..then replaced nipple with a decent steel one..
I'm looking to replace my pads this summer. So I'll probably have the same issue as you..
Hope you get some luck with yours..
You Seem to be an uphill battle
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Yeah the nipple was totally rotten away as the car has just been sat for ages outside. I got a brand new caliper for £27 online from some company called Energized Customs which was just less hassle than drilling it out. I know Eurocarparts/GSF expect you to return your caliper to get some money back but they only accept it if it's serviceable so didn't want to take the risk.

I bled and bled the brakes and still it feels like there's air in there.
Bled with a pressure bleeder
Bled with INPA
Used INPA to activate the ABS pump
Bled with the engine running
Pedal is a bit better now but the still travels about 30-40% of the way before the brakes start to engage.

Decided to just take it to a BMW specialist for them to bleed it now and then on the way the front left wheel speed sensor decided to die on me so add that to the list of gremlins in this car lol

BUT at least there is NO smoke at all now when I drive it after the CCV change.

I feel like I'm almost there - would have been nice to have it in that 1 week of sunshine we had especially since it's going to be snowing or raining the next week!!
 
Hi sorry this might be a bit late replying :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for you but I have exactly the same car with exactly the same issue and it passed its mot no problem, it usually smokes from under the bonnet on start up for 5 mins and then it’s absolutely fine but not sure if the problem May be less or worse than yours.
Good luck
 
Kev653 said:
Hi sorry this might be a bit late replying :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: for you but I have exactly the same car with exactly the same issue and it passed its mot no problem, it usually smokes from under the bonnet on start up for 5 mins and then it’s absolutely fine but not sure if the problem May be less or worse than yours.
Good luck
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Same scenario here. A tiny tiny bit of smoke for a minute or two and then it's fine.

But car failed MOT on a heap of other things that I'm working through as per my other post 😂
 
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