BMW Z3 3.0 - Fiona

[pgunter]

Well on with the work. When I purchased little Fi, she had a problem with the instrument binnacle such as no clear front Perspex. A quick email to Andy @spurs fan in a coupe and a big kick from @Lee to get on with it seems to have worked lol..

First up was strip out and then dissecting the binnacle to swap the internals to keep the mileage and service information etc. Then all back with the new front and fingers crossed it all went well.

Photos below tell the tale.

 

[Low Rider]

Well on with the work. When I purchased little Fi, she had a problem with the instrument binnacle such as no clear front Perspex. A quick email to Andy @spurs fan in a coupe and a big kick from @Lee to get on with it seems to have worked lol..

First up was strip out and then dissecting the binnacle to swap the internals to keep the mileage and service information etc. Then all back with the new front and fingers crossed it all went well.

Photos below tell the tale. View attachment 46354View attachment 46355View attachment 46356View attachment 46357

How fun the perspex was missing but all the same it's another job done well.

 

[t-tony]

Good job done Paul, weird the front was missing. Nice easy job once you get it on the kitchen table !! My timing was off, it was almost teatime . . . . .

Tony.

 

[andyglym]

Just an update... thought you might like to see how far we have come..

View: https://youtu.be/BL97bMaOnCU

Most excellent mate, love the sound track.

 

[DavidM]

Great progress!

 

[mwpe]

Good job there Paul, are we going to meet her on Sunday?

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

Glad to have been able to help mate

 

[pgunter]

@mwpe All being well yes 'Fi' will be out with the pack... in the forest.

@spurs fan in a coupe Always good to see where your parts end up I would hope.

@DavidM She still has a long way to go to get to what I would call acceptable 'Forum' Standard...

Its all the fun when you get a good one to make better.

 

[Brian H]

Well on with the work. When I purchased little Fi, she had a problem with the instrument binnacle such as no clear front Perspex. A quick email to Andy @spurs fan in a coupe and a big kick from @Lee to get on with it seems to have worked lol..

First up was strip out and then dissecting the binnacle to swap the internals to keep the mileage and service information etc. Then all back with the new front and fingers crossed it all went well.

Photos below tell the tale. View attachment 46354View attachment 46355View attachment 46356View attachment 46357

Such a strange issue, wonder why it was removed?

Another thing ticked off the list though.

 

[pgunter]

@Brian H I think it might have been damaged in some way as the original had black mastic as a seal ... was a pain to pull the old one out.

Your brake dust shields are on the list when the rear bushes get looked at. Hopefully early next year. Rear window replacement is top, new one is sitting here at home, just awaiting a hand to get it swapped over.

 

[pgunter]

Well a little update,

A visit to the zedshed and a long overdue replacement of the CCV. Having been using excessive oil and @Lee noticing a little more smoke out the exhaust on heavy acceleration it was decided to replace the pipes and complete ccv. What we found was a very interesting issue and one I would recommend any M54 owner to check.

So covers removed and the foam insulation around the top pipe was well past it's best before. Engine stripped of air filter housing, MAF and other ancillaries to enable access to the ccv housing. Some pipes were hard due to age and even started to collapse when moved about. Plastic, oil and heat do not mix over age.

Lee doing his normal, not happy going deeper.... decided to make sure that the oil return into the dipstick housing was clear. It was not. So removal of the housing revealed it to be fully blocked. After a lot of flushing and using the end of a zip tie, the access was unblocked of the 'fudge' an slurry. So it might be a thought for any M54 owner with a high oil consumption to remove the dipstick housing (1 bolt), unclip the oil return pipe and make sure it's clear.

Assembled and back running sweet thanks to @Lee and all the zedshed.

Photos below... yes that fudge was from the pipe.

Insulation passed its best on the top pipe.

A very blocked oil return pipe.

Yes that came out of the pipe leading to the dipstick and sump.

 

[Grumps]

Bloody blimey that's mank mate. A well worth while job though. Good work.

 

[Dino D]

That's NOT fudge!

 

[pgunter]

I am expecting my MPG to drop now that I am not burning a petrol oil mix too

 

[Low Rider]

Excellent work.

 

[mwpe]

Well a little update,

A visit to the zedshed and a long overdue replacement of the CCV. Having been using excessive oil and @Lee noticing a little more smoke out the exhaust on heavy acceleration it was decided to replace the pipes and complete ccv. What we found was a very interesting issue and one I would recommend any M54 owner to check.

So covers removed and the foam insulation around the top pipe was well past it's best before. Engine stripped of air filter housing, MAF and other ancillaries to enable access to the ccv housing. Some pipes were hard due to age and even started to collapse when moved about. Plastic, oil and heat do not mix over age.

Lee doing his normal, not happy going deeper.... decided to make sure that the oil return into the dipstick housing was clear. It was not. So removal of the housing revealed it to be fully blocked. After a lot of flushing and using the end of a zip tie, the access was unblocked of the 'fudge' an slurry. So it might be a thought for any M54 owner with a high oil consumption to remove the dipstick housing (1 bolt), unclip the oil return pipe and make sure it's clear.

Assembled and back running sweet thanks to @Lee and all the zedshed.

Photos below... yes that fudge was from the pipe.

View attachment 60220

Insulation passed its best on the top pipe.

View attachment 60221

A very blocked oil return pipe.

View attachment 60222

Yes that came out of the pipe leading to the dipstick and sump.

This one is on my to do list, where did you buy the parts?

 

[pgunter]

@mwpe I purchased a complete set from eBay. This is a link to a similar set.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252373494332

Hope that helps. It lists the Z3 so ignore the title as it's all with the M54 engines.

 

[mwpe]

Thanks paul.

 

[DavidM]

Great work!

 

[t-tony]

Should also improve your HC reading at the next M.O.T. Emissions test too Paul. Just another aged related problem, well done to Lee for thinking it was a good shout!

Tony.