#ZedShed Davesters crusty Sport Refresh

[Lee]

To start this winters Zedshed season we took in @Davester2.2sport

Dave was complaining about the normal wobbly rear end and odd handling characteristics and some rust

In the weeks leading to D-day we thrashed out a list of parts with rough costing so this build will replace the following:

* Rear Beam Bushes x2
* Rear Drop Links x2
* Rear shocks x2 (Sachs)
* Rear Top Mounts x2
* Diff Bush (Powerflex)
* Rear Back plates x2
* Handbrake cables x2
* Rear Discs + Pads + Handbrake Shoes x2 (Brembo)
* Front shocks x2 (Sacks)
* Front Wishbones (Meyle HD)
* Front Drop Links

So quite the list, I'll let the first day of pictures do most of the talking.

D-Day - Step 1 is to get the zed high enough to remove the wheels and wheel the other crap outside

First look underneath showed a very rusty looking zed. Think it must have been a sea side car. One side had a new shock and old spring, the other side had a new spring (not z3 spring) toast shock. Madness what people do with their cars. Also one side the back plate was rotten.

Can confirm the bushes were shot, they were both sat on the plate.

This car proved very testing, with all the corrosion most bolts snapped or heads rounded. The norm for us is 2/3hours to strip down this took 4/5 hours. (Photo brake lines blanked)

Finally everything removed, we had to opt for the separation method of removing each swing arm with shaft and diff with beam.

Can confirm the bushes were toast

Closer inspection showed the springs weren't the same.

Me and Gaz pulled some extra time in the garage today. This is what was left of the nearside backing plate.

See Part 2 for more

 

[pgunter]

That is a challenge. We going to do some after the rugby next Saturday then.. or will you and @GazHyde have it all finished.

 

[Lee]

So me and Gaz both had today off so we spent a couple of hours gaining some ground ready for this saturday (rugby world cup final)

Delaminating Diff bush

Old bushes removed

Very rusty diff

We decided to spent a little time removing some of the loose rust and giving some items a dusting of hammerite, luckily nothing was compromised it was all surface rust.

Today we got the new bushes in the beam and attached the diff to the subframe, should give us a head start next weekend.

Stay tuned for next next weekend ‍

 

[Rha]

Looking at the underneath and what you've done and what's left to do I would say you've saved another Z.
Hope all is well under the bonnet. Well done so far, looking forward to next instalment.

Roy..

 

[Stevo7682]

Great work as usual guys always like to read these threads you really have this whole rear end rebuild down to a tea
Stephen .

 

[GazHyde]

Crusty is the word, but my overuse of it on Saturday may have given @Davester2.2sport nightmares

Still enjoy doing these rebuilds as much as ever though, losing track but somewhere in the mid 30’s for sure.

As ever, spending time at the start of the job looking everything over and deciding on the action plan makes it a bit easier in the long run. Removing the rear subframe in pieces seems almost a quick now as removing it in one now we’ve done a dozen or so that way.

Despite joking about the crustiness, and in a bid to reduce poor Dave’s anxiety - its just another day in the garage for us. Seeing fewer Z3’s that don’t need the full monty these days.

 

[t-tony]

Shirl's dad, Reg used to say that an hour's worth of looking is worth several hours of struggling. He was right then and still is today. That was Army recovery training from when he was a "Tankie" @Rha.

Tony.

 

[Jjim]

Some great work there

Might have to book Blue in with you and have a visit down South

 

[Bazza]

Brilliant work as allways, great reading about car related topic ?

 

[Lee]

Some great work there

Might have to book Blue in with you and have a visit down South

Drop me PM with a date that suits you.

 

[Jjim]

Drop me PM with a date that suits you.

Great, will do. Many thanks

 

[Dino D]

That crust looks familiar!
My springs and diff probably worse!

 

[mrscalex]

Shirl's dad, Reg used to say that an hour's worth of looking is worth several hours of struggling. He was right then and still is today. That was Army recovery training from when he was a "Tankie" @Rha.

Tony.

I reckon the first time I do a job on a car I spend around 75% of the time researching/studying it and only 25% actually doing the job.

I've just started doing work on Peugeot 2008s (my daughter and other half have them). I spent something like 15 hours reading up on Peugeots and the specific area I was working on (front hubs). I think we spent only 2 or 3 hours doing the knuckle replacement itself.

 

[mrscalex]

Talking of new backplates. Has anyone used the aftermarket ones that are available? Or do people stick to genuine BMW items?

 

[Lee]

Talking of new backplates. Has anyone used the aftermarket ones that are available? Or do people stick to genuine BMW items?

Funny you should mention back plates because behind the scenes we're talking about a method of fitting without removing the hub. We've opted for a pattern part. I cut a slit in the old one and with gently bending managed to get it off over the hub. I'm guessing made easier with less of it to bend. The idea is to do the same with the new one as it just clamped under the handbrake cable guide at the bottom.

 

[t-tony]

I've used that option for years. It doesn't affect the backplate and you can tack weld it together once you feed it round the drive flange if you want to.

Tony.

 

[Lee]

I've used that option for years. It doesn't affect the backplate and you can tack weld it together once you feed it round the drive flange if you want to.

Tony.

Brill cheers for that Tony.

 

[mrscalex]

Funny you should mention back plates because behind the scenes we're talking about a method of fitting without removing the hub. We've opted for a pattern part. I cut a slit in the old one and with gently bending managed to get it off over the hub. I'm guessing made easier with less of it to bend. The idea is to do the same with the new one as it just clamped under the handbrake cable guide at the bottom.

I've got one pair of pattern and one pair of new genuine I managed to pick up on the cheap (bit expensive otherwise). I haven't used either yet or even compared the 2 as I wanted to keep them stored from harm in the packaging until I needed them.

My refresh (https://zroadster.org/threads/another-rear-end-refresh.32481/) is removing the hubs, driveshafts and bearings so the trailing arms can go for shot-blasting and powder coating. So actually mounting the back plates in this instance is not an issue. But I'm sure we'd all welcome an-situ way of doing this. New bearings are £25 per side and rarely knackered so there's a £50 price-tag associated with complete dismantling. Not to mention the fight you might end up with to get the driveshaft out. Pulling the hub out I find to be realtively easy but it destroys the bearing. And bearing removal itself is fine too. Both achieved with reasonably priced tools.

It does look pretty all refurbished though

 

[Nodzed]

He will certainly feel the difference once its done, its quite astonishing how bad they get when the bushings / suspension gives out, you don't realise how well the Z3 handles until its all replaced.

 

[Lee]

Small update: With Rugby on the Saturday morning it was a delayed start but we still managed to make some good progress between 11-4

We started off refitting the rear beam with the diff attached and torqued up the bolts.

It's at this stage you can really see how the Beam bushes should sit, they should be pert and raised off the plate.

We couldn't source a single Sport rear spring and BMW wanted £200+ plus they were on back order, because of this we opted for Eibach so the car will be 15mm lower. While we waited for them to arrive we reattached the brake lines one side and supported the arms with the new shocks while Dave was inbound with the new backing plates.

That was the back end done till we got the last few bits. Me n Gaz turnt our attention to the front shocks and wishbones. Nearly removing everything, within an hour the front was totally split. We sped up the offside wishbone removal by dropping the roll bar those of you that know, know how difficult that nut is to access.

By this time Dave arrived and we got to see how bad the back plate was compared to the new one.

So close to finishing now, next weekend will be installing all the shinny new bits and test drive. Someone asked for some engine bay shots, Dave had this tidied up by a paint shop recently, it looks so clean.

Watch this space.