Z4 Repairs

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yg54sg

Active member
Hi all, long no speak and hope you are all well , I’m currently using the lockdown to get round to all the major things the z4 has been needing the last couple of years (she’s been garaged last 6 months and things built up ) here’s the list:

- Cam cover gasket (done)
- New front bumper , new wing (done)
- refurb of headlights get rid of ballasts below and put some Phillips ones i have spare inside the headlight (done)
- Water pump (knuckles raw, done)
- Oil filter housing gasket (done)
- Dust sheilds on front brakes (done, new discs, pads too and bearings with the ABS rings)
- Oil level sensor (done)
- Steering angle sensor (dreading it)
- Oil pan gasket (and check oil pump bolts)
- Clutch and DMF ( dmf is good but replace anyway 130k miles it’s on now ? Slipping in 6th currently)
- fix rain issue inside car , have cleaned all drains, maybe reseal door membranes , not sure if anywhere else could be culprit?

Today I have dropped the front subframe todo the oil pan gasket , I never knew the electric steering motor was inside the car always thought it was upfront in the rack lol, I have a bit of play on the steering , I think I read years back on here that it’s the universal joints need a tighten? Something occurred to me that with the motor being up in the cabin does this not put more stress on all these joints since usually the steering rack itself is power assisted on a normal pump like the Z4M , and the steering wheel input to the rack would have lighter work on the u joints ?

The next task is the steering angle sensor as mine is def knackered (inpa shows it jumping around) so I thought while I’m there with everything off might as well address the play issue any tips appreciated.

Also if anyone has any other ‘while you have it off’ thoughts on the above list do let me know ... e.g someone mentioned in the m54 worth checking the oil pump bolts while oil pan is off will get to that tomorrow so Much appreciated :-) Determined to get her back to how she was in 2004!!

Thanks ,

Shane
 
Good effort on the maintenance, this CO19 is allowing a lot of time to get stuff done on our cars :rofl:
What made you want to change the oil pan gasket? Routine or was there a leak?
 
Thanks mate , I had an oil leak on the cam cover which was dripping onto exhaust , I fixed that and noticed more dripping on the other side , traces it to the oil filter housing gasket , fixed that and cleaned everything up so it’s spotless then noticed weeping from the oil sump/pan gasket , every rubber gasket I’ve touched so far has been rock hard / brittle so no wonder they all leak.
 
Was going to buy this already drilled oil pump nut: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-1999-2005-Oil-Pump-Nut-Lock-Plate-No-wire/113698108568?hash=item1a78ef7498:g:jBkAAOSw7speSPYw I am afraid it may come with an aluminium hat for putting it on :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: never seen an ebay auction like it!
 
the bill so far for anyone thats interested.... onto the fun stuff next 108 alloy refurb! Looking at CJeepers thread in detail :)

Sachs front coil spring £52 13/09/2019
Elring Rocker cover gasket £32 13/09/2019
Front wing & painted £175 11/10/2019
D2s connectors headlight (used own Phillips ballasts to replace crappy OEM design) £7.34 11/11/2019
Led indicators bulbs front £10.99 23/02/20
H7 LED - main beams £16.99 23/02/2020
Water pump meyle HD £38.16 26/02/2020
FAG wheel bearings , brake cleaner , aluminium spray £114.14 06/03/20
Elring Sump gasket , brake cleaner , blue roll 45.6£ 20/03/20
Steering Angle sensor refurb kit £77 14/04/20
Air Chisel tool remove rust £14.93 21/04/2020
Zinc spray paint £12.99 21/04/2020
BMW OE Clutch fork pin £8.26 06/05/2020
LUK DMF £381.21 06/05
LUK Clutch kit SAC X3 £141.64 06/05
LUK Flywheel bolts £12.67 06/05/20
Rear main seal £13.47 06/05/20
Thread locker £2.94 06/05/2020
Hex Allen key socket set £7.99 06/05/2020
Rear main seal housing gasket £7.77 06/05/2020
Penny washers for heat shields £2.36 06/05/2020
T60 socket - flywheel bolts £5.94 06/05/2020
Leather repair dye - Dream red £17.95 16/05/2020
Clutch slave cylinder £22.48 16/05/2020
Leather repair kit £7.85 17/05/2020
Butyl tape £7.99 18/05/2020
Ajusa Exhaust gaskets £22.68 22/05/2020
Bolt extractor set (broken bolt on rear LH under brace) £10.9 23/05/2020
Rear brake handbrake shoes £19.95 24/05/2020
Backing plates rear brakes £21.71 24/05/2020
2x LED Indicators front £10 14/11/2020
Bmw OE - front brake pads kit, sealing ring , bots, oil gasket £110.63 28/02/2020
46mm socket for front wheel bearing £16.79 08/03/2020
o ring oil return pipe 2.21 17/04/2020
Engine oil 5L, gloves, gasket sealant £29.16 02/03/2020
Antifreeze £3.99 02/03/2020
oil filter, fully synth oil £30.59 02/03/2020
aux drive belts, front discs, wear sensor, brake fluid, caliper paint, brake cleaner, wd40 £153.62 27/02/2020
 
Good for you. Must be so satisfying, especially when you've owned it since new.

What was wrong with the wing and bumper?
 
yg54sg said:
- fix rain issue inside car , have cleaned all drains, maybe reseal door membranes , not sure if anywhere else could be culprit?
Click to expand...
Check front scuttle clips. If any are broken/loose/missing this will prevent a firm seal against the windscreen and induce water ingress.
 
steve_naive said:
What was wrong with the wing and bumper?
Click to expand...

Thanks , Steve! A guy swerved into me to avoid another guy swerving into him (80 odd year old man setting off from traffic lights) just a dent and a scratch , I got fed up waiting for the insurance company to sort it all out so rang his insurance company , they offered me a cheque to settle it there and then so I took it. Bought a new wing off eBay that was the right colour and spotless (original BMW paint) and bolted it on! I don't know about anyone else but everything I have ever had painted at bodyshops years later never looks as good as original Bmw paint. I am not sure why!

By the way I would not recommend ever doing that with insurance companies, in future I will leave them to sort it out themselves no matter how long it takes , the reason being the accident is still showing on the insurance database as me at fault despite having a letter from their insurance admitting liability. The problem lies with my insurance company , I suspect this is a game they play with people who go around them.
 
Chris_D said:
Check front scuttle clips. If any are broken/loose/missing this will prevent a firm seal against the windscreen and induce water ingress.
Click to expand...

Back the drawing board with the leak, rained today and under the pedals when I lift the carpet up as far as I can is wet.Luckily have not put the seats back in yet. It is not the door membrane and I cant see where it can get in on the scuttle area, all drains are unclogged. hmmmm starting to think it could be the windscreen that has been fitted badly.
 
What I have discovered from all this work is rust certainly is the enemy , broken a bleed nipple on rear calliper, broken a large bolt that connects the rear brace from the rear to the side on the brace , bought all sorts of tools to reverse thread drill it out but its in there solid. I might have to re tap the thread, nightmare.

I would advise anyone with a Z of same age to pull off all the rear underside covers (the ones that go over the diff) and sort out any rust there , on an older car like mine I'm not sure I'll be leaving these covers on, it seems they have kept the rear subframe area damp over the years and stopped me seeing and treating the rust. Nothing is structurally bad, just surface rust which I have chiseled off and now working out what to spray on there yearly to keep it at bay.
 
If you clean up the rust and treat it with inhibitor and then under-seal or waxoyl all the parts and refit the undertrays, it should last a few years before any more work is required. The trays are there to protect the bodywork from damage and they have aerodynamic and cooling features, so I would not leave them off (just my opinion?).

Excellent work though. Very impressed with your attention to detail. :thumbsup:
 
yg54sg said:
Chris_D said:
Check front scuttle clips. If any are broken/loose/missing this will prevent a firm seal against the windscreen and induce water ingress.
Click to expand...

Is this the piece at the bottom that has glue between it and the windscreen? That would make sense as pretty much all of it was not glued , I have used roofing butyl on it which seems to make a nice seal causing the rain to run over the plastic instead of under it. Thanks for that!
Click to expand...

If you see glue then someone has been there before you! I.e. it relies only on the 8 clips to form the seal, no glue.

I used 2 strips of small-dia weatherseal strip on the lower edge of the windscreen glass and underside of the scuttle which mate when the scuttle is offered up, as well as repair and replace the 8 clips and have managed to solve my own ingress issue.
 
yg54sg said:
Was going to buy this already drilled oil pump nut: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-1999-2005-Oil-Pump-Nut-Lock-Plate-No-wire/113698108568?hash=item1a78ef7498:g:jBkAAOSw7speSPYw I am afraid it may come with an aluminium hat for putting it on :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: never seen an ebay auction like it!
Click to expand...

That is a weird as hell ad!

The plate idea for locking the nut is interesting.. though I wonder if the added mass of the plate and balancing tolerance might make things worse. I've read (rumors) that even adding the wired nut has caused the shaft to snap.

Curious to know whether your pump nut was loose at all when you dropped the pan?
 
Nope my nut was very tight , all good. I ended removing it , putting some red thread locker on it and drilling a small hole in it and used some thin Bowden cable super strong but very lightweight and hard work to cut. Peace of mind I guess but I think the saying unless you spend a lot of time above 6k then all is well and this is not needed. I dont intend spending lots of time above it but I was in there anyway and thought why not? :)
 
Just thought id say... she's back on the road since August feels great to be driving it again its not until you dont drive the z4 for several months you realise just how different a personality and feel it has to say a 1 or 3 series ... seems to have an urgency about it hahaha :driving: :driving: :driving: :driving: :driving: :driving:

One thing that is driving me crazy though is a high pitched sound when flooring it between 4k and 6k sounds as if its coming from the sound generator area in the cabin. I actually like the sound just want to be sure its nothing on its way out. Kind of a high pitched wine. I'll have to youtube it.
 
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