Z4 E85 2.0L Engne Head Gasket & Other Problems?

[WoodDronesOn]

Hi All I am new to this forum and never owned a BMW before.

I am looking for a Z4 but unsure if the more available 2.0L engines should be considered? Is the 2.0L OK or does it have design faults? I have read somewhere that the head gasket can be an issue at 80,000 miles, but on searching again I cannot see any issues with the 2.0L engine.

I am happy with a 2.0L engine in terms of speed, anything faster would probably end up killing me I am more interested in reliability

If someone has a link to the best engine to choose and the pros and cons that would be really useful and appreciated

Just a bit about me:

Family Man in mid 50's with wife and a young daughter.

I currently own a PUG 208 2016 plate 1.2L which has served me well as a family / short commute car, the wife has a family car and as I am getting close to that age where I am having a old age man crisis thing, I want a more interesting car to drive on a daily basis and for fun on weekends.

I am OK with virtually anything mechanical in terms of repair, so I am not worried if I have to replace suspension parts etc, the engine is more of a problem, mainly because although I can, maybe just, maybe if it went badly wrong I could not be assed to do a massive repair if it involved taking the engine out fully, those days are hopefully gone! A clutch on a BMW Z4 is probably still a possability even for a 50+ old man

Cheers

Woody

 

[05_3.0i_zoom]

The oil pan gasket, oil filter gasket, valve cover gasket needs replacement. The plastics in the engine bay are pretty brittle in my personal experience. The convertible is added maintenance. Water leaks in passenger compartment is common as well. I just bought a 05 3.0i manual back in August 2020.

 

[tug]

Hello Woody, and welcome along. A lot of members on here will probably tell you to stay well clear of the 2.0L N46 but i have had mine for 7 years now & is my daily & can honestly say its the best car i have ever owned.

There are things that can go wrong with the N46 that is well documented on the forum and elsewhere. But in my experience whatever goes wrong which it inevitably will given the age of these cars is never super expensive & parts are easy to come by whether oem or otherwise.

If you do decide to go for the 4 potter here are a few things to initially bear in mind.

1) Roof motor, ask if it has been relocated, and does it work in a proper fashion. If it has not been relocated then there are a few members on here that can do this for you.

2) Check for oil leaks, especially down the back of the engine, the vacuum pump is a little expensive to replace. On the front there is always a gathering of oil/dust where the vanos solenoids are, on mine all the gaskets are good especially the oil filter gasket & no leaks, but it still gathers there. :idunno:

3) On start up from cold, is there a slight rattle for a second or two, this would mean the timing chain tensioner will need replacing although not very common, worth checking.

4) Check as many rubber hoses around the block as possible for splits/leaks.

5) Feel how the idle is when warm, it is quite common on the N46 for it to be a bit 'lumpy', but if quite harsh then this points to Valvetronic issues, which can be sorted. Using software such has Inpa or Ista, the adaptations can be cleared which in many cases can remedy this.

6) There has always been issues with the emission light randomly coming on (on these cars it is the yellow engine symbol) Which in most cases does not point to any serious issues. Although there have been rare cases of the manifold cracking but not very often. A cheap code reader can clear the fault.

These are just a few things i would initially have in mind when deciding on the 4 potter. But if it is properly maintained it will serve you well like mine has.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, tug

 

[maxman]

Save yourself a lot of hassle and go for the 6 pot 2.5 or 3.0 ,you won’t regret it.

 

[Bristolcot90]

Hello Woody, and welcome along. A lot of members on here will probably tell you to stay well clear of the 2.0L N46 but i have had mine for 7 years now & is my daily & can honestly say its the best car i have ever owned.

There are things that can go wrong with the N46 that is well documented on the forum and elsewhere. But in my experience whatever goes wrong which it inevitably will given the age of these cars is never super expensive & parts are easy to come by whether oem or otherwise.

If you do decide to go for the 4 potter here are a few things to initially bear in mind.

1) Roof motor, ask if it has been relocated, and does it work in a proper fashion. If it has not been relocated then there are a few members on here that can do this for you.

2) Check for oil leaks, especially down the back of the engine, the vacuum pump is a little expensive to replace. On the front there is always a gathering of oil/dust where the vanos solenoids are, on mine all the gaskets are good especially the oil filter gasket & no leaks, but it still gathers there. :idunno:

3) On start up from cold, is there a slight rattle for a second or two, this would mean the timing chain tensioner will need replacing although not very common, worth checking.

4) Check as many rubber hoses around the block as possible for splits/leaks.

5) Feel how the idle is when warm, it is quite common on the N46 for it to be a bit 'lumpy', but if quite harsh then this points to Valvetronic issues, which can be sorted. Using software such has Inpa or Ista, the adaptations can be cleared which in many cases can remedy this.

6) There has always been issues with the emission light randomly coming on (on these cars it is the yellow engine symbol) Which in most cases does not point to any serious issues. Although there have been rare cases of the manifold cracking but not very often. A cheap code reader can clear the fault.

These are just a few things i would initially have in mind when deciding on the 4 potter. But if it is properly maintained it will serve you well like mine has.

Hope this helps,

Cheers, tug

I also have the N46 engine, replaced the rocker cover gasket and oil filler cap gasket which sorted all of the leaks. It’s enough power for me for what I use it for which is an occasional work vehicle when I fancy it and the odd drive to football, other than that it sits looking pretty on the driveway.

For what I use it for the 4 pot works for me nuts it’s down to personal preference, I will probably get a 6 cylinder one day but it will probably be in the form of a 3 series .

 

[jock156]

Ditto above!

I bought mine with blue smoke issues and threw a bit of money at it to get it sorted.

Now it’s a keeper as said above any other jobs needing doing haven’t been expensive

Where are you based and someone may offer you a test drive and a look round theirs

I’m in Norfolk if it helps

 

[WoodDronesOn]

Thanks, guys for your detailed replies, very useful. I don't mind throwing some money at it if I find a fairly good example to start with, I have had one year old cars for the last few times, but this time I thought why waste money on something that will just lose money every year when I could drive something a bit more exciting and keep an older car on the road for less financial outlay.

I am not yet in the market for electric or hybrid cars and do not necessarily trust the technology as well as the ridiculous cost of repairs when they go wrong. My previous Boss had Hybrid Merc, it was super fast until the mechanism that switches between the electric to petrol broke at less than 1 year old!

I will keep looking at what is available and to be honest, I think I would prefer the 6 cylinder engines from what I have read, just a bit harder to find compared to the 2.0L

I am from Birmingham

Woody

 

[colb]

I had a 4pot Z3 1999 facelift badged as a 1.8 and once got it to where I wanted it needed something else to tinker with, went looking for a Z4. Looked at a few before finding a 2003 6pot 2.5 that despite a few faults with the engine (oil leaks) was in good condition and had a unique interior. I did plug it in to my laptop and scan the car before deciding to buy it, knocking the price down because of the faults I found. Oil leaks fixed by fitting new cam cover gaskets, a full service with new plugs and all oils engine, gearbox and diff. Brake pads checked all round, these were all good so no replacements required. I did adjust the handbrake. I also moved the roof motor to the boot and found that the motor had already been replaced in its lifetime and was still dry and working. As the car lives outside this was a good job to do to prevent future problems cropping up. I did replace the ccv system pipes, all plastic again as preventative maintenance. Sourced a set of 17inch wheels to replace the tatty 16inch ones that came with the car and gave the engine bay a good clean, the amount of dust it sucks into the bay over time really builds up and makes the bay look really dirty. The bay cleaned up very well using a jet washer followed by treatment of the plastic covers with tyre shine. I keep it very clean now. Fitted some DRL's to the front lower grill so it stands out against the road, the car is silver and blends into the road colour, the DRL's allows other drivers to see the car which makes me feel safer. The car runs on normal tyres, not a fan of runflats so I did find a E46 skinny spare to carry in the boot, still got room for small bags and shopping.
Fitted heated seat pads to the seats, ebay kit, seats out and stripped to fit them, kit wiring used and switches located in the gearstick plastic surround. Fitted braided brake hoses all round following MOT advisory on rear left brake pipe corrossion. After that next MOT was passed with no advisories, well happy with the current state of the car its got 94k on the clock now but you wouldn't know it from how it drives.
I would suggest you get a code reader, I use all the laptop diagnostics INPA and NCS Expert but also use a Creator 310+ handheld which is a very good diagnostic scanner for circa £50 ebay and Amazon, suggest you equip yourself with one when you go car hunting and scan prospective purchases, if the seller won't agree to using it then walk away.

 

[WoodDronesOn]

Just to say thanks to you all for your help

I have found and am now the proud owner of a very well preserved 2006 BMW Z4 2.5i SE with only 34k on the clock, it is almost perfect inside and out and drives very well. I will not be scaring pedestrians with it as compared to my 2016 Pug 208 3-cylinder, 82 BHP engine it is actually super quiet when leaving traffic lights

I now have a totally impractical car to not drive the family around on weekends!!! good job the wife has the family car :wink:

I'll be on here again seeking some help with some finishing touches like Roundels Seems BMW did not make them too last that many years!

Cheers

Paul