Z3 3.0 project

[bear2020]

After only owning the car for the last 4 days decided to start the project with taking the sills off to find what horrors his behind them. O/S was the worst and the inner sill needs some attention the N/S outer sill had a little hole but the inner sill was extremely clean. I was quite surprised!

Not sure if I should go with Fibreglass or OEM sills

 

[t-tony]

I would go with steel, just make sure you protect them well before fitting.

Tony.

 

[bear2020]

Tony

I am going to Zinc 182 the box section then waxoyl
The new sills ill 182 as well, waxoyl inside, stone chip the bottom, then spray the base coat than laquer and seal the edges like BMW did with some body sealer. Hopefully last another 20 years then!

 

[t-tony]

May even last longer that that!

Tony.

 

[bear2020]

Well finally got a couple of spare hours today before the rain came in again and managed to get her stripped, checked out the engine light (looks like oxygen sensor)
Now ready for a full clean down, wayoyl clear and any rust prep that needs doing which I was really surprised there was very little. After seeing the sill covers I feared the worst but one tiny spot! Happy Days

 

[bear2020]

Well its been a while since I have worked on the Z3 as been getting the Z4 ready for the summer (New decat exhaust, rocker cover gasket replaced, rear spoiler, interior refurbed)

So with a spare day today decided to replace the DISA with an X8R one and looking at it looked like it was time then discovered the back was cracked and luckily mate had another, then tackled the oil pump gasket job.
After reading some comments a lot of people had said the fan & shroud needed to come off. I couldn't workout why and did mine with it all in situ.

Spoke to BMW who advised 22nm for the six oil pump bolts & I found using a Torx 50 on the second tensioner (1 is removed from alternator) allowed me to put the belt on with no issues.

Alternator had a collection of leaves! And think I have finally found out why I am getting so many codes as the airbox was not connected at all and all the pipes were split.

I think it took me longer to clean up all the old oil then to do the actual job!

Next replace all the air box pipes and full VANOS rebuild.

 

[bear2020]

Did the VANOS rebuild today using the X8R replacement kit and did the cylinders as well. The movement on them was something else and did not realise the load banging on start up was actually coming from the VANOS unit. Also found 3 of the spark plugs saturated in oil and would appear who ever changed the cam cover before me forgot to put the centre gasket in for 3 of the cylinders so they had filled up with oil!

 

[bear2020]

Finally sorted out the DSC light which has been a PITA but found recalibrating the steering wheel angle sensor in Tools 32 worked and car now currently light free.
Next is the ABS ECU and then ready for the body shop to have the rear end sprayed!
New tyres ordered (Michelin Pilot 4) so it may just be on the road for the end of summer lol

 

[bear2020]

Refurbed wheels and new tyres back on the car (After one tyre went down after I got home and the weights fell off lol ) with 20mm spacers on the rear 10mm on the front. Looks Good. Pull off the drive and hear a horrible scraping noise. Turn around drive back on the drive to find one of the concentric parts to the spacer had snapped clean off! Wouldn't mind but at £46 expect them to last a little longer then about 15m!
This car is still putting up a fight and doesn't like to let me have an easy day on her!

 

[bear2020]

Finally got the old Zed in for an Mot..expecting the worse as its stood around for about 10months and after stripping it I was sure I would have forgotten something!
Failed on handbrake sticking (never used it yet!) and some numpty had wound in the lamda sensor in on the wonk so that was what the leak was from the exhaust. All fixed however a bit miffed they highlighted a slight oil leak considering there were no drips and it was old oil but it is what it is
Now ready to prep and go to the spray shop.
I think she might be letting me get somewhere now and has hopefully stopped fighting me....for now lol
It was great just to drive it back from the garage and give her a "spirited drive" and finally get a smile on my face!

 

[t-tony]

Some good news!

Tony.

 

[bear2020]

Some good news!

Tony.

Its been a long time coming Tony I did wonder what I had got myself into!

 

[bear2020]

Well the good news didn't last long!
On the way to the body shop the car decided to throw an absolute wobbly (literally) before throwing up ABS/traction lights/engine light. I ended up limping it into the body shop and wondering if I should drive it back home and break it for parts and throwing in the towel.

Needless to say I stripped the rear end so it could be prepped and sprayed which was 2 months ago and still waiting for it to come back ( think I am secretly hoping it catches fire so I can be rid lol)

The Z4 on the other hand has been great fun to drive throughout our limited summer and has behaved herself and passed through the MOT with no advisories and told it was a very clean example. Will the Z3 ever get to that stage? I guess it will be back to the drawing board over the winter and try to work out if I can ever get it on the road.

 

[t-tony]

Don’t let it beat you. Keep your chin up.

Tony.

 

[bear2020]

Don’t let it beat you. Keep your chin up.

Tony.

Cheers Tony its like having a petulant child, you love them but wish you could give them away

 

[bear2020]

After 3 months in the body shop finally got the zed back. It was covered in dust and washed it off when I got home to find the rear that was sprayed is abysmal. Pics don't really do it justice. Looks like a blind man mixed in sand with the spray paint and runs? wow it looks like it was attacked with a rattle can from 2" and they even managed to spray over my new tyres and wheels. Not impressed so looks like another battle on my hands to get this sorted.
Then on the short journey home had a new light appeared apart from the Engine light and DSC the EML light just for a change!
£2500 spent on it so far in a year and no further forward to having a running car. First time the missus has actually said maybe its time to call it a day and break the car for parts
On the upside just got a nice red sport interior for the z4 and the cruise control and strut brace are on order!

 

[MisterP007]

What a mess on the bodywork!

 

[andyglym]

That's just awful

 

[t-tony]

Who sprayed it Ray Charles? I can’t believe someone would turn out a job like that, it’s awful.

Tony.

 

[bear2020]

What a mess on the bodywork!

That's just awful

Who sprayed it Ray Charles? I can’t believe someone would turn out a job like that, it’s awful.

To be honest the pics do not reflect the poorness of it. I popped open the bonnet and it looks like talc has been thrown over it and the interior is filthy. The drivers mat and footwell are white (meant to be black) Odd thing is I used him to do the Z4 bumper and it was perfect. Think its a reflection that his business has grown and this is the result. Can hardly say he rushed it as he had it 3 months. Still waiting for him to reply to the pics I sent him asking for it to be sanded down and redone to the quality it should be or I will take it elsewhere let them rectify the work and than take him through the small claims court to pay for the rework. I do property renovations (my own business) and I would be ashamed if I turned something out like that, it would keep me up at night