Z4 Gaz' E85

[Z4 Gaz]

Knowing how bad the lollipop and front ARB bushes were I decided to replace the RTABs the other weekend, then had 4 wheel alignment done.
I went with strongflex and thankfully don't have any squeaking, which I was slightly concerned about.


Having changed the belts ages ago i finally got round to replacing the 2 tensioners and idler pulley. Nice easy job that needed doing, 1 of the tensioners and the idlers bearing were out of grease and span way too freely.


Whilst getting the car ready for its MOT, which is due next month, I noticed the front headlight washers weren't working. For some reason the lower part of the hose was missing and the top half had a stick jammed up it. I can only assume it must have been leaking at some point and was bodged.
Got hold of a second hand pipe from a member on here and replaced it today. Annoyingly I snapped the output from the motor whilst faffing with the pipe work. Gorilla glue didn't work so I got out the soldering iron and tried my hand at plastic welding. Worked perfectly and the washers are now fully functioning.
This was a good time to remove the washer bottle and give it a good clean inside and out.

Also took a quick vid of the engine.












[youtube]MeDtHBZQ90k[/youtube]

 

[kis]

I'd be a bit worried about how long the weld would hold up, not that the washer jet is that important. I assume the pumps themselves are pretty cheep and many other models like the e46 will work? But otherwise the car seems to be progressing nicely! Have you had a chance to drive it much? Can you feel the difference before and after?

 

[Z4 Gaz]

As soon as the MOT has been done the headlight washer is being unplugged anyway :wink:
You can get cheap ones for less than £13 on ebay, so no loss if it does break off again.

Not driven it that much, mostly locally, however it does feel more accurate now, and the front end irons out the bumps much better. There is still a slight shimmy from the rear when you hit a bump/rut mid corner, so going to replace the other 4 bushes either side, arb bushes and drop links and it should then handle as new/better thanks to all the polyurethane.

 

[Z4 Gaz]

A month on and the plastic weld has held.

Replaced the rear shocks with B4. Both were dead and wouldn't rebound on their own.

Changed the outer rear bushes. The top rose joints had a small amount of play which was causing the rear end mid corner bump shimmy. Read somewhere that the bottom outer bushes can be replaced with rose joints too as an upgrade, so did that, Meyle top and bottom.

Did the inner bushes on the drivers side only to find the passenger side can't be done without moving the diff. Not exactly sure what needs doing to move the diff enough to get the bolts out, so have left it as is for the time being.

Replaced the 3rd brake light.

Bought a strut brace for an E46. Fitted it. Couldn't close bonnet. Removed it. :x

Blacked up the engine plastics when doing the strut brace earlier whilst the bonnet was up.

 

[Z4 Gaz]

Been chasing a problem where the car pulls left under braking at higher speeds.

Think I have narrowed it down to one front caliper not working as hard as the other side, despite the piston being rust free.

Decided it would be a good time to upgrade, so bought some used 330 E46 calipers, gave them a good wire wheel on a drill treatment, followed by some acid etch and silver paint and lacquer. Ferodo Premier Eco pads and Ferodo discs. Despite their name the pads are supposedly between 10-17% better than normal OEM pads in 100kph braking tests. They are also cheap at £37 a set for the fronts. Thanks to the rain I am yet to take the car out for a test run.

Changed the front wishbones too as there was a very small knock which is now gone.

I still haven't needed to add any more oil since doing the o2 pilot mod some 3.5-4k miles ago. There has been quite a lot of high speed driving and a few flat out sections of autobahns with 140+ indicated speeds, so it has worked wonders for my oil consumption.

As usual the forum thinks it knows best and has rotated one of the photos upside down.

 

[RROB]

Were the seat alterations difficult ?

 

[Z4 Gaz]

Went in to a bit more detail here.

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=100386&hilit=s2000+seats

 

[RustyZ4]

Wow, well impressed, lots of nice work there, you have been busy

 

[Keet]

Great looking car!