2003 Z4 3.0: Project Eggzy

[Bigwinn]

Hi all

I'll pop some stuff in to detail what I've done already since buying my new project in April 2021.

Not a Z4 virgin having had a 2.2 04 plate previously... but when that went I promised to be sensible. Then spotted a local 3 litre on Ebay, 2 hours later it was home.

Being an 03, I was worried about the further deterioration. But so far there is nothing horrific.

See the original bill of sale- it was a 40k car and as far as I can tell, its 66k miles have been pampered: new Goodyear non run flats all round, stainless steel exhaust, brand new roof motor. The list goes on.

Today:

Rain stopped play. But before that I managed to:

Change the rear shocks- one was bad the other ok. Refitted with reinforcing plates.
Replaced the drop links- see pic
Replaced the ARB bushes- yuk they were bad

Cant recall who it was who recommended last time I changed them using longer ARB bolts but dug those out and saved a lot of swearing- cheers!

Was about to move onto the rear discs and pads but the rain intervention meant I spent a few mins sorting my bolt/clip tin out (been putting it off for ages) and found some rear shelf clips I'd been looking for (yes!). As its carried on raining I've headed in to watch the footy.

Finally, I hope that there is a place reserved in hell for anyone who over tightens the disc retaining bolt. Both are proper tight so I am sure I will strip those tomorrow making a 1 hr job 5.

Onwards

Stuart

 

[Bigwinn]

And here is what's happened in the last month or so:

16/4/21 High level brake light replace


17/4/21 Lights polish


17/4/21 Diff oil change


17/4/21 DISA check and replace


18/4/21 Drains


19/4/21 Stubby fit!


21/4/21 GM5 module fixed


21/4/21 Light strip boot


21/4 21 Seat dyeing


21/4/21 Fuel cap seal


25/4/21 Mirror changed from blue to black


28/4/21 Pollen filter


28/4/21 Gaptech fitted


28/4/21 Battery replaced


6/5/21 aircon regas


6/5/21 air filter


9/5/21 front arb bushes and drop links


9/5/21 new front pads, brake pipe protect


10/5/21 bluetooth fixed


11/5/21 wipers clean motor and replaced


13/5/21 roof motor relocated to boot


15/5/21 rear shocks, top mounts, ARB bush and drop links, rear brake pipe protect

 

[Bigwinn]

And there is still a pile of parts in the garage to do...

Vanos rebuild
Engine service
water pump/thermostat/oil thermostat/expansion tank
light repair kit (got a broken bracket)

After that- I might drive it!

 

[Bigwinn]

Today- rear discs and pads. Not as arduous as expected

a great weekend done!

 

[t-tony]

Hi all

I'll pop some stuff in to detail what I've done already since buying my new project in April 2021.

Not a Z4 virgin having had a 2.2 04 plate previously... but when that went I promised to be sensible. Then spotted a local 3 litre on Ebay, 2 hours later it was home.

Being an 03, I was worried about the further deterioration. But so far there is nothing horrific.

See the original bill of sale- it was a 40k car and as far as I can tell, its 66k miles have been pampered: new Goodyear non run flats all round, stainless steel exhaust, brand new roof motor. The list goes on.

Today:

Rain stopped play. But before that I managed to:

Change the rear shocks- one was bad the other ok. Refitted with reinforcing plates.
Replaced the drop links- see pic
Replaced the ARB bushes- yuk they were bad

Cant recall who it was who recommended last time I changed them using longer ARB bolts but dug those out and saved a lot of swearing- cheers!

Was about to move onto the rear discs and pads but the rain intervention meant I spent a few mins sorting my bolt/clip tin out (been putting it off for ages) and found some rear shelf clips I'd been looking for (yes!). As its carried on raining I've headed in to watch the footy.

Finally, I hope that there is a place reserved in hell for anyone who over tightens the disc retaining bolt. Both are proper tight so I am sure I will strip those tomorrow making a 1 hr job 5.

Onwards

Stuart

View attachment 182355View attachment 182357

Try smacking the area around the disc screw with a decent sized hammer, and then use an impact driver and hammer.

Tony.

ps. I have a couple of new screws if you need some Stuart.(Should’ve read through the whole post!).

 

[Bigwinn]

To be fair- there was a forehead slap moment

I was attempting to free up the retaining screw at the end of the day with the handbrake on- they undid ‘ok’ on day two with a little effort

didn’t need the impact driver this time

and- had a spare disc retaining screw in my newly sorted tin of spare bolts/clips

winner winner

now hoping the weather holds for bank holiday weekend when I plan to do the engine end stuff including the vanos

one question Tony- do you have an impact driver and vice in your set up?

i was only planning besian seals when I overhaul the vanos, but I feel I should do the rattle rings as it’s a 3.0- never bothered on the 2.2…

 

[t-tony]

To be fair- there was a forehead slap moment

I was attempting to free up the retaining screw at the end of the day with the handbrake on- they undid ‘ok’ on day two with a little effort

didn’t need the impact driver this time

and- had a spare disc retaining screw in my newly sorted tin of spare bolts/clips

winner winner

now hoping the weather holds for bank holiday weekend when I plan to do the engine end stuff including the vanos

one question Tony- do you have an impact driver and vice in your set up?

i was only planning besian seals when I overhaul the vanos, but I feel I should do the rattle rings as it’s a 3.0- never bothered on the 2.2…

Yes I have an 1/2" Impact Driver and a heavy duty 6" Record vice which was ex RAF. I have a pretty good range of tools as it was my profession. Since I retired I sold off some stuff but still have a spring compressor (manual) 3 trolley jacks, 4 axle stands, a small portable compressor and now the lift.

Tony.

 

[Bigwinn]

Yes I have an 1/2" Impact Driver and a heavy duty 6" Record vice which was ex RAF. I have a pretty good range of tools as it was my profession. Since I retired I sold off some stuff but still have a spring compressor (manual) 3 trolley jacks, 4 axle stands, a small portable compressor and now the lift.

Tony.

Thanks Tony I’ll drop you a line!

 

[Bigwinn]

Just received my Mewant steering wheel cover- not done one of these before so will let you know how easy (or not) it is to fit.

I went with brown stitching to go with the trim in the car (beige leather and wooden dash)

In the last car I had the fortune to get a brand new steering wheel from Ian (IDJ) local to me, which was a nice upgrade to the old knackered wheel, but I always wanted a thicker feel... so will feedback how this goes on!

 

[gookah]

Just received my Mewant steering wheel cover- not done one of these before so will let you know how easy (or not) it is to fit.

I decided to take a punt on a Mewant one :

This was the original wheel with a few scratches and marks on the shadow chrome:

It was also quite thin feeling, in comparison the the Royals wheel I had recovered in my Z3,


After 2-3 hours of positioning, and sewing with M- coloured threads (everything is in the kit)

then a satin spray job to the buttons, it now looks like this:

some in-progress photo's:

 

[Dakar Z3]

I decided to take a punt on a Mewant one :

This was the original wheel with a few scratches and marks on the shadow chrome:

View attachment 182843

It was also quite thin feeling, in comparison the the Royals wheel I had recovered in my Z3,


After 2-3 hours of positioning, and sewing with M- coloured threads (everything is in the kit)

then a satin spray job to the buttons, it now looks like this:

View attachment 182845

View attachment 182847

View attachment 182849

some in-progress photo's:

View attachment 182851

View attachment 182853

Great job, you should be well pleased

 

[Bigwinn]

I decided to take a punt on a Mewant one :

This was the original wheel with a few scratches and marks on the shadow chrome:

View attachment 182843

It was also quite thin feeling, in comparison the the Royals wheel I had recovered in my Z3,


After 2-3 hours of positioning, and sewing with M- coloured threads (everything is in the kit)

then a satin spray job to the buttons, it now looks like this:

View attachment 182845

View attachment 182847

View attachment 182849

some in-progress photo's:

View attachment 182851

View attachment 182853

That looks great

I was thinking take the wheel and trim off to make life easier?

 

[Bigwinn]

Replaced old wheel centre caps

 

[Bigwinn]

And as there was a break in the rain

started to remove the vanos

got as far as getting the top cover off- deffo found the source of the oil leak dripping onto the exhaust, the gasket broke up in my fingers

a good evenings work

 

[Bigwinn]

Get out!

Vanos off
Water pump off
Thermostat off

Vanos opened up and wow- anyone in doubt of whether this job is worth it or not…

The crud around the vanos pistons was unreal- the gaskets around the valve cover were like glass and the seating of the pistons was so sloppy

that’s the second vanos I’ve done that needed minimal persuasion to come out of situ- tilt and remove!

Off to get the bearings undone now- off to T-Tony’s!!!!

 

[Bigwinn]

This afternoon:

Opened the vanos up

Seals were pooped!

I popped over to T-Tony @t-tony who let me use his vice and impact wrench (lovely to meet you buddy- thanks again!!!)

That allowed me to replace the needle bearings and change the rattle rings- I didn’t do this on the 2.2 but saw this as a preventative on the bigger engine- I also recall seeing it being more prevalent on the 3.0

Home- old cylinder seals off and new ones on- rebuilt the vanos

Then popped the ns engine bolt off, new pump and thermostat on. This surprised me- the pump was the original from 2003 (as the car had only done 66k that’s not unusual I suppose) as the impeller was plastic???

Replaced with a metal impeller pump

Vanos back on, those t30’s slowed me a bit due to that damn cross member

New gaskets all round, rocker cover back on after fitting new sparks- the old ones looked fairly good

Then a general tidy up and clean round

The missus stopped play saying I was an antisocial git- but a solid six hours and it’s all back together

Not started it yet as tomorrow is

Finish cooling system with expansion tank and bleed
Oil and filter change

I’ll let you know if it runs!!!

 

[t-tony]

Good progress Stuart and you would've been a bit sooner if we hadn't gone Shed shopping.
Nice to meet you too mate.

Tony.

 

[Bigwinn]

With most of the vanos work done yesterday, today was all about tidy up, check and a few small bits

Expansion tank- was looking tired, needed doing, I took advice from Enuff Zed who said when he did his, the oil thermostat under it pinged off- which mine predictably did the same! Cheers Martin.

All sorted.

Refilled coolant, checked everything again... put airbox etc back

and started it: ran a bit lumpy but settled quickly and- thats a wrap!

Gave it a blast once i was sure there were no leaks etc; much much better- runs smoothly instead of a grumpy idle before. No oil leaks etc.

Had a few mins left in the day to do the front and rear brake pad wear sensors I'd forgotten to do, checked all the fuses which I'd been meaning to do and reinstalled the boot strip light I ripped off when IN the boot doing the roof motor relocate

I'm sad now there is no pile of parts in the garage- what to do next?

 

[t-tony]

Ramair kit ?

Tony.

 

[Bigwinn]

Ramair kit ?

Tony.

I like your style!