#ZedShed Jim's Montreal 2.8 Build

[Lee]

Part 2 is now in full swing, we now have the time to give this Zed a good look over front and back. The back looks good still and it should seeing as we only did this 9 months ago.

The key jobs this time round are clutch & gearbox and to address some MOT advisories. What we’ve found so far has been really interesting.

First up we found the battery totally flat so we entered the garage under man power. Will see if we can get some life back in her.

Next Jim was complaining of submarine like conditions in his boot. This looks like the typical 3rd brake light seal as well as light seals.

soaking on the inside.

then it was time to empty the lights.

Light fittings starting to suffer.

First of the larger bits of hardware to come off. The lightest exhaust system I’ve ever come across for a Z3 and a crispy cross brace with holes in.

you’d be right to think that’s a small cat. Then if you look inside you’ll see why... it’s empty

It’s done 3 MOT’s in Jim’s ownership I reckon he’s got a good deal going or it might be the 1.9 vin number in the window

quick photo of the existing hardware we did in March all still looking smart.

we then thought we’d have a look up front. Jim said it did feel strange. We think we might have a good reason why. OEM lollipop bush one side and an powerflex (half fitted) the other side. We also notice one Meyle HD wishbone and a stock one the other side upsets my OCD

Another issue Jim noticed was it running a little lumpy so we quickly spotted a few holes in the intake boots, hopefully a quick fix there.

We also fitted @Mazza PROTOTYPE fuel tank straps to Jim’s Zed in March it’s worth noting these don’t reflect the finished article so will be changed for a fresh complete set.

you can tell they’re the prototype from the brush strokes.

Most parts have already arrived so Monday we’ll be removing the gearbox and odd wishbones. Be nice having everything matched again with fresh wheel alignment, we also have thicker rear spring pads to give her a bum lift

 

[Jjim]

Great work! Can’t wait to drive her after she’s had the ZedShed treatment.

 

[Lee]

We got the battery on the tester and all was well no dead cells and holding charge ok. She’s been left for 2 days on a trickle charger.

Next it was the big job and getting the gearbox out. Unlike the last one, this one went smoothly it was also nice being a single Vanos with all the extra room around the engine.

no manual handling for us, down to floor level nice & easy.

she’s a bit soggy at the back, weeping around the selector seal.

Some tired looking internals

we had a chuckle because some time ago someone lost a 10mm socket. It fell out when we lowered the gearbox.

We caught the clutch in good time, it was starting to come apart and chew the flywheel.

engine now waiting for its new clutch & flywheel kit.

We gave the gearbox a clean and did a stock take of all the goodies from BMW.

will keep me busy for an hour changing the shift pins and bushes.

next we decided to completely strip the front end and give Jim’s Zed a fresh start. We found quite a few miss matched parts so this made total sense. Both sides now empty of hardware.

two old wishbones two different brands with two different rear bushings.

shocks in good condition and recent top mounts by the looks of it.

we also couldn’t miss the size of these brakes. They’re 325mm front discs and still using the original hub. Turns out they’re from the 330Ci. Carriers and callipers fit the existing hub nicely.

grey callipers are stock blue are Jim’s.

Got a few bits to collect in the morning and she should be mostly back together tomorrow.

 

[Jjim]

More amazing work

Looks like the clutch was caught just in time.

 

[Lee]

Today we spent a lot of time driving around collecting parts, we can’t rely on the postal service so it actually saved us time collecting.

First we wanted to clear so many of the boxes laying around so we rebuilt the front and fitted all the shiny new bits.

It’s funny because the dust shields are smaller than the discs. Jim also wanted some fresh Yellow stuff pads, these will feel crazy in such a light car with such a big disc.

new Meyle HD drop links and tie rods

Cool under shot photo

We then fitted the new clutch n flywheel. This time we got supplied a Valeo flywheel, valeo and luk work closely and make the same stuff I’m told their products are comparable in quality.

little bit of a pointless photo but we replaced the dead 3rd brake light seal. Now everything’s dry in the boot we’re hoping it should now stay this way.

little job I never got to do earlier this year was the speed sensor bracket, the old one had fallen apart.

fell apart in my hands. Even the bolts had given up.

new O-ring

all back together.

Tomorrow will be the gearbox shift pins, brigades clutch line and some other small jobs.

 

[Jjim]

Loving all the new shiney bits

Can’t wait to test out the brake setup.

Fingers crossed on the boot brake light seal, and nothing else was letting in water.

 

[t-tony]

Valeo- LUK - same dog, different collar according to ECP. Both good brands.

Tony.

 

[Lee]

Valeo- LUK - same dog, different collar according to ECP. Both good brands.

Tony.

Same meat different gravy

 

[Lee]

Spent today doing lots of little jobs. First up was rear spring pads. When she left in March the car was level since coming back she’s got a really saggy bum and that’s not good for the handling characteristics.

Old springs pads were 3mm drivers side and 5mm passenger side. To get us somewhere near level we’ve stuck a 10mm both sides plus a 5mm we’ll measure the ride height after a test drive and go from there.

It was then time to finish up the jobs on the gearbox. First to change was the selector seal.

new seal going on

Next up was the big shift pin job. I started with the smaller pins gears 1-4

New bush

all 3 done in 15mins with new caps.

Then it was the big boys. They actually gave me some trouble this time, the old sleeve wouldn’t fold. We got there in the end though. Full house of old indent pins

new caps and clips with fresh gearbox oil.

another little job at the request of Jim was a fresh fuel filter. Not sure on the age of the one We removed as it was covered in waxoil.

We also did a bit more stripping on the manifold. Just to make sure everything is buttoned up ok and no air leaks. I also checked the Throttle body to see if it had been bored out, this one is standard.

This is a bored out TB quite a difference.

When fitting the gearbox we also fitted the braided clutch line. These are a great little mod we also removed the clutch delay valve so the bite will be a bit more instantaneous.

now with braided line.

she’s very nearly done now. Just tank straps, exhaust and spare wheel to go on. Will also need to get the tracking done. Looking forward to the test drive.

 

[Mazza]

I hope that’s just a typo and you don’t really think the straps are rank ....

Better bin the ones I just had made

 

[t-tony]

I spotted that too Malc. A bit mean I thought mate.

Tony.

 

[Jjim]

Fingers crossed for a level rear suspension now

Were the gear pins worn much? The seal looks well past it.

At least I know now that the TB is standard. I’ll probably look to get an enlarged one in the near future.

Does removing the clutch delay valve make a noticeable difference? Read about this in other forums and always wondered about it.

Looks fantastic work and can’t wait to see the next instalment.

 

[Lee]

Fingers crossed for a level rear suspension now

Were the gear pins worn much? The seal looks well past it.

At least I know now that the TB is standard. I’ll probably look to get an enlarged one in the near future.

Does removing the clutch delay valve make a noticeable difference? Read about this in other forums and always wondered about it.

Looks fantastic work and can’t wait to see the next instalment.

Strangely the 5th gear pin was pretty free moving, normally they don't move without mechanical intervention

The guy who does throttle bodies does an exchange service so can be done pretty quickly.... if you can find him.

The clutch delay valve just stops it engaging too quickly if you were to dump the clutch, I prefer the feel personally, feels more bity.

 

[Jjim]

Strangely the 5th gear pin was pretty free moving, normally they don't move without mechanical intervention

The guy who does throttle bodies does an exchange service so can be done pretty quickly.... if you can find him.

The clutch delay valve just stops it engaging too quickly if you were to dump the clutch, I prefer the feel personally, feels more bity.

If I do the throttle body, are there any other bits that need doing at the same time?

 

[Lee]

If I do the throttle body, are there any other bits that need doing at the same time?

Should be good with that, It's only the internals that get machined away and a bigger flap fitted.

 

[Jjim]

Should be good with that, It's only the internals that get machined away and a bigger flap fitted.

Great. I’ll look into that and then I’ll hopefully be ready for a custom map.

 

[Mazza]

This is a custom map .....

 

[Dino D]

If I do the throttle body, are there any other bits that need doing at the same time?

I used this guy:

sneakapeak99 on eBay

Follow sneakapeak99 on eBay. Buying, Selling, Collecting on eBay has never been more exciting!

ebay.co.uk

I had the ASC body done at the same time.

 

[Lee]

Final bits on Jim’s Zed went smoothly. We started with fitting the exhaust and cross brace making the underside look all shinny, new nuts on the exhaust to make future work a lot easier.

We also gave the discs a coat of paint to freshen them up.

Also fitted a powdercoated spare wheel carrier.

Last thing left was a strip down of the manifold. There was a vacuum leak and oil leaking from the CCV. We also found the Idle control valve ICV stuck solid.

we also found the leak to be the large hose connecting to the CCV body, worth noting this unit is from the E36 but still works the same.

Next we needed to clean everything, so much oil and grime.

We also gave the engine bay a quick wipe over.

The cleaning got carried away. We gave the headlights a quick buff.

Before

After

Next was the test drive. When we lowered the car we first noticed the rear to be much higher. She sits so much better without the wheels up in the arches.

Only things to report on the test drive were the front brakes. They were awful, offside front is juddering while the near side is binding. There’s also lots of air in the system the pedal on bites near the bottom. I’ve ordered a rebuild kit for both fronts and we’ll go from there.

 

[Lee]

I’ve just ordered the new discs and refurb kit for Jim. Hope he likes it.