The early Z4 (well, some of them) will be heading the same way at 20 years old.
Tony.
Tony.
#ZedShed Minty’s Moon Mile 2.2
- Thread starter Lee
- Start date
Luckily they are a better designed subframe assembly, the trailing arms have a series of holes throughout. Even our very rusty Z4 came up so well.
So @Dave has had some tough decisions to make with his Zed build. The last item to come out last Saturday was the gearbox and boy did she throw us a curve ball.
At this stage of the build and no previous knowledge the clutch had been changed Dave wanted it replaced and rightly so with 203,000 on the clock. The lower bolts on the box removed with no issues, all the top bolts however all fought us.
The main bolt at 12 o’clock fought so much we ended up with a 1/2” bar and a 4foot scaff tube trying to undo it. Finally it snapped. Problem we then had was no access to extract the old bolt and two others also snapped. So the gearbox was stuck on
As a team in the shed and how much this car means to Dave we collectively came to the conclusion we were happy to remove the engine but Dave had to make the decision financially.
So the last two days on my Tod I removed the engine
I didn’t take a huge amount of photos but enough to get the gist.
Inlet manifold removed. This then allows access to the rear lifting eye
front clam spot welds drilled out.
Quick peak at the valves.
Relatively new alternator
Front removed. And this concluded day 1 in this crazy heat.
parts building up.
day two was another fiddlery day. Aircon pump removed so we don’t have to open the system. Same with the power steering.
Bit of swearing and puffing she’s out.
looks like a right mess
finally onto the main event. After some swearing I managed to get the start motor bolts to move and she was off.
close up showing this clutch assembly is not 203,000 years old.
Plenty of meat on the disc
pressure plate
flywheel
Next I tried to weld a nut onto the broken bolt and it was having none of it. Still a little warm in this photo, so it will need to be drilled out.
We also have a repair to do to the engine casing, one of the bolts got upset on the way out. Luckily both guys here can ally weld.
before I left for comedy value I thought I would see the condition of the pivot arm. Not much life left in that.
how I left her for the day. I’ll pop in on my way home from work tomorrow. The exhausts are also now removed.
Exciting
At this stage of the build and no previous knowledge the clutch had been changed Dave wanted it replaced and rightly so with 203,000 on the clock. The lower bolts on the box removed with no issues, all the top bolts however all fought us.
The main bolt at 12 o’clock fought so much we ended up with a 1/2” bar and a 4foot scaff tube trying to undo it. Finally it snapped. Problem we then had was no access to extract the old bolt and two others also snapped. So the gearbox was stuck on
As a team in the shed and how much this car means to Dave we collectively came to the conclusion we were happy to remove the engine but Dave had to make the decision financially.
So the last two days on my Tod I removed the engine
I didn’t take a huge amount of photos but enough to get the gist.Inlet manifold removed. This then allows access to the rear lifting eye
front clam spot welds drilled out.
Quick peak at the valves.
Relatively new alternator
Front removed. And this concluded day 1 in this crazy heat.
parts building up.
day two was another fiddlery day. Aircon pump removed so we don’t have to open the system. Same with the power steering.
Bit of swearing and puffing she’s out.
looks like a right mess
finally onto the main event. After some swearing I managed to get the start motor bolts to move and she was off.
close up showing this clutch assembly is not 203,000 years old.
Plenty of meat on the disc
pressure plate
flywheel
Next I tried to weld a nut onto the broken bolt and it was having none of it. Still a little warm in this photo, so it will need to be drilled out.
We also have a repair to do to the engine casing, one of the bolts got upset on the way out. Luckily both guys here can ally weld.
before I left for comedy value I thought I would see the condition of the pivot arm. Not much life left in that.
how I left her for the day. I’ll pop in on my way home from work tomorrow. The exhausts are also now removed.
Exciting
Some work going into this 'refresh' , which makes me wonder if he could have bought another donor car with better mechanicals , but poor body etc,that would have enabled an easier restoration.
Sorry I've been a bit quiet, been on hols on a campsite with very limited WiFi and no Mobile signal. I have been chatting with Lee about how far this build goes.
Anyway, superb work by the ZedShed team, I can't thank Lee & co enough for all their time and effort they are putting into my 'refresh'. It's looking more and more like a rebuild now, but as the advert goes 'she's worth it'. She'll never be sold, she'll be in the family forever.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the underside after all the new/powdercoated bits go back on.
Cheers guys
Anyway, superb work by the ZedShed team, I can't thank Lee & co enough for all their time and effort they are putting into my 'refresh'. It's looking more and more like a rebuild now, but as the advert goes 'she's worth it'. She'll never be sold, she'll be in the family forever.
I'm really looking forward to seeing the underside after all the new/powdercoated bits go back on.
Cheers guys
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Well, with the benefit of hindsight you may be right, however we didn't know all of this at the start of the project. All I knew was the bushes and shocks were shot and there was a clicking noise from the front of the car which I why I suspected the engine mounts.
Wow, just wow That's some effort chaps, mighty impressive stuff indeed!
That's some effort chaps, mighty impressive stuff indeed!
Quite right , you probably didn't appreciate quite how corroded some parts were before the strip down Dave, but I don't understand your 'dislike'. I would have thought that some parts could be sourced from a crashed/ scrapped car that would make your rebuild easier. It looks like some parts are beyond a refurb. I'm sure when finished it will be superb and can't believe the work that the Zedshed crew put in to these jobs.
Been a tough week tackling broken bolts and the heat. But we made it and finally got the engine back in place today. The gearbox is now all bolted together with all bolts present. The gearbox had a refresh aswell, new seals front and back, new bushes along with pivot pin and clutch arm.
New clutch and flywheel also went on.
Clutch disc
Next pressure plate
You’ll also notice the snapped bolt gone at the top, freshly tapped ready for the gearbox.
after a bit of swearing we got her back in. This time we decided to leave off the exhaust manifolds to make things easier but later we regretted this decision. You can’t get the manifolds back in without lifting the engine up again.
so the steering rack came out and steering linkage to make room. This allowed the rear manifold but the front still didn’t have enough room.
Just aswell we removed the steering linkage we found it very stiff to move by hand. We also found another casualty of the guys who welded on the exhaust flanges. The rack is no longer keeping the dirt out looks like it got melted during welding.
we also need to give Dave a slap on the wrist, there was way to much water in his cooling system so much so we found limescale
so today felt tough but we did make good progress. All the snapped bolts now dealt with we can button up the front. We’ve also finally managed to source a new diff from a fellow member.
Progress!!
New clutch and flywheel also went on.
Next pressure plate
after a bit of swearing we got her back in. This time we decided to leave off the exhaust manifolds to make things easier but later we regretted this decision. You can’t get the manifolds back in without lifting the engine up again.
so the steering rack came out and steering linkage to make room. This allowed the rear manifold but the front still didn’t have enough room.
we also need to give Dave a slap on the wrist, there was way to much water in his cooling system so much so we found limescale
so today felt tough but we did make good progress. All the snapped bolts now dealt with we can button up the front. We’ve also finally managed to source a new diff from a fellow member.
Progress!!
You deserve some after working on it in the heat of this week Lee.
Tony.
Tony.
Yeah, mans water not like that soft stuff down south, eh Dave? Not bad after all those miles really.
Tony.
Not bad after all those miles really.Tony.
Only a small update for Daves car. We’ve been waiting 4 weeks for the shocks to arrive and even longer trying to find a suitable diff. Luckily the shocks arrived last Friday after a 28 day wait, starting to get silly now sourcing parts. We also built the rear arms and shock assemblies.
Sourcing a diff has been a complete nightmare. So far we’ve had two delivered both being wrong. Both diffs actually look like E30 units and small case units. I’ve personally never seen a small case unit fitted to a 2.2. (Not to say it’s not the norm)
small case 4 bolts
medium case 6
after a chat with the guys we think it could be a non sport spec thing. We think we’ve come up with a solution so should have a diff very soon, Spursfan be to the rescue again.
Another small issue is the new drive shafts, these are a new thing as no one makes them for the Z3, we’ve tried so many suppliers and all don’t fit. We’ve got so close with this latest design they need a few MM skimmed off the face to fit inside the arm.
makes the shaft sit proud. Not allowing the abs ring to fully engage.
also not enough thread showing.
so once we have a diff she will go together quickly.
Sourcing a diff has been a complete nightmare. So far we’ve had two delivered both being wrong. Both diffs actually look like E30 units and small case units. I’ve personally never seen a small case unit fitted to a 2.2. (Not to say it’s not the norm)
small case 4 bolts
medium case 6
after a chat with the guys we think it could be a non sport spec thing. We think we’ve come up with a solution so should have a diff very soon, Spursfan be to the rescue again.
Another small issue is the new drive shafts, these are a new thing as no one makes them for the Z3, we’ve tried so many suppliers and all don’t fit. We’ve got so close with this latest design they need a few MM skimmed off the face to fit inside the arm.
makes the shaft sit proud. Not allowing the abs ring to fully engage.
also not enough thread showing.
so once we have a diff she will go together quickly.
Another good first day on Daves Zed, now the sprint to the finish. With the engine back in I’ve spent all day finishing off the assembly @Oldguysrule was cleaning up the underside and sealing it in, very nearly there I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Lots of swearing trying to get the room fitting the manifolds. Worth noting the exhaust manifolds can’t be fitted with the engine mount in the way.
Mount removed, new gasket n shields
engine supported
this took well over two hours to get them all torqued. Access was pants.
All looking tidy from above
next I installed the aircon, rad and power steering cooling loop.
ready for when I refit the rack
fitted the front end wiring loom, lots of snapped bolts and broken rubber mounts to fix. One by one getting them all sorted was really time consuming.
Continued refitting the front so the lights went on next. Starting to look like a car again
Gearbox linkages refitted all with new bushes
Back end now looking so much better. All taken back to bare metal and sealed in ready for the subframe assembly.
The diff saga continues. Another diff delivered (the third) another diff not suitable, I’ve given in and paid for a direct replacement 2.2 LSD unit and will sell the old LSD to offset the cost for Dave. I completely forgot that crown gears and pinions were matched pairs so changing the ratio wouldn’t work without the old pinion which went out in the last scrap pile. Doh!
after this weekend she will be only waiting on the diff then she has everything needed. Next weekend could see her going through sea trials.
Lots of swearing trying to get the room fitting the manifolds. Worth noting the exhaust manifolds can’t be fitted with the engine mount in the way.
Mount removed, new gasket n shields
engine supported
this took well over two hours to get them all torqued. Access was pants.
All looking tidy from above
next I installed the aircon, rad and power steering cooling loop.
ready for when I refit the rack
fitted the front end wiring loom, lots of snapped bolts and broken rubber mounts to fix. One by one getting them all sorted was really time consuming.
Continued refitting the front so the lights went on next. Starting to look like a car again
Gearbox linkages refitted all with new bushes
Back end now looking so much better. All taken back to bare metal and sealed in ready for the subframe assembly.
The diff saga continues. Another diff delivered (the third) another diff not suitable, I’ve given in and paid for a direct replacement 2.2 LSD unit and will sell the old LSD to offset the cost for Dave. I completely forgot that crown gears and pinions were matched pairs so changing the ratio wouldn’t work without the old pinion which went out in the last scrap pile. Doh!
after this weekend she will be only waiting on the diff then she has everything needed. Next weekend could see her going through sea trials.
Lots of hours of hard work…. Well done Lee (and Trev)… its going to be one to remember !!!!
It'll be good for another 200k Dave!
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2014
- Points
- 181
- Model of Z
- Z4 coupe sport.
Mind boggling what what you've found on this car but as usual you've dealt with it, well done Lee and team.