1999 Z3 2.0 Manual

[AussieAbroad]

AusieAbroad,

Love the car, she looks near as dammit mint, and the paint work looks pretty darn good after correction! A couple of questions about your rear window.......

1. Where did you source your new one from?
2. What did you use to reseal the window back in place it when you zipped her in?

Looking forward to your next posts.

CW

Thanks! I’m pretty happy with it.. such a beautiful looking design!

I got my window from http://www.emiata.com/BMW.htm

The kit comes with some contact adhesive to glue around the “seal” once installed. The instructions are really quite good, and it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I was expecting. Otherwise, I guess some good canvas glue from a tent shop would do the trick too? Mine’s completely watertight, so I’m very happy, especially for the cost.

I don’t think it’s really worth spending the beat part of £200 for a genuine rear window on an almost 20 year old roof when you can get an entire new roof for under £400..! At this price though, I think it’s worth it, and a thorough clean and protection had my roof looking like new.

Good luck!

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

Love those wheels

 

[AussieAbroad]

Well, thought I’d update this thread given it’s been over a year of happy motoring with the Z!

Too many of these, now that they’re cheap, end up filtering through a succession of owners who only hang onto them a few months before moving on!

I’ve been very busy on the car, but it’s at a point now where I’m really enjoying the ownership experience!

I also replaced the top mounts front and rear (Meyle fronts, Bimmertune urethane in the rear) at the same time, and replaced the front shock dust boots and bump stops with Monroe ones too (Koni’s didn’t come with any boots standard).

I also changed all the fluids (coolant, engine oil, gearbox and diff) for peace of mind.. not sure when they were done last, as I didn’t get any history with the car!

Next job is to replace the VANOS seals, as I’m sure mine are beyond their best. I’ve ordered all the parts, so hopefully they’re here in the coming days and I can let you all know how that goes.. happy to do a walkthrough guide if anyone feels there’s a need?

 

[Ianmc]

Dark wheels with the green body look fantastic.

 

[AussieAbroad]

Dark wheels with the green body look fantastic.

I think so!

 

[t-tony]

Love those wheels

I like the wheels too Andy, just not the colour.

Tony.

 

[Slam]

Looking really good.

 

[AussieAbroad]

Well, I’ve finished the VANOS rebuild.. and I took the time to do a few other odd jobs while I was there!

Removal was straightforward but time consuming.. I had to remove the dreaded viscous fan again, not too bad with the removal tool, but absolutely impossible otherwise. From here, standard disassembly of the valve cover, and then the VANOS unit.



I also replaced the water pump and thermostat again, as the thermostat housing broke when I removed the fan.. I must have knocked it. Still, it was only a year old.. disappointing! I bought a better quality one this time around! The water pump was the original.. not bad considering all the horror stories you hear about the plastic impeller pumps!

I replaced the pulley too, as you hear bad things about those as they age, and the original alternator/water pump belt was past its best, so I replaced that too.



The rebuilding of the VANOS unit was fiddly but straightforward. I did have to soak the new seals in boiling water for a few minutes to expand them enough to fit over the VANOS pistons, but otherwise it was simple.



I then replaced the valve cover gasket and VANOS housing gasket along with all the valve cover rubber grommets and put her back together..

They say it takes up to 200mi to be the maximum benefit from the VANOS seals as they reseat properly, and it does feel better already. The most noticeable change is the lack of flat spot when it’s cold, and torque below 3000rpm has improved which is nice. All in all, a worthwhile bit of maintenance and she’ll be good for another 165,000 miles of fun!

 

[ktnez99]

For your info when you decide to change the roof at the moment Jack Trimmers of Swansea £300 and Softops Crydon £395 all in sewn in window though but at those prices can change a roof every five years. Several members have had them done at both and been happy customers.

Agree paint work looks great.

What did you use on the headlights polish-up?

 

[AussieAbroad]

What did you use on the headlights polish-up?

Well, I used mostly stuff I had, but a lot like this:

https://www.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/compa...313+8709338+8711017+8711413+3293240875&rt=rud

Most the work is done with the wet sanding of different grades and then polishing with a few different compounds of lessening abrasiveness as you go. I finished off with meguiars PlastX for the final polish. The important part is to keep the lens cool as you’re polishing otherwise you’ll get bad crazing and burning!

 

[AussieAbroad]

Hmmmm.. so today, my central locking has stopped working on the drivers side door.

It almost seems like the solenoid itself has finally given up! Anyone else had this problem? I’ve never had a worn out door locking solenoid before...

 

[ktnez99]

Hmmmm.. so today, my central locking has stopped working on the drivers side door.

It almost seems like the solenoid itself has finally given up! Anyone else had this problem? I’ve never had a worn out door locking solenoid before...

I don’t know...
but I know a man who might @t-tony - any idea Tony?

 

[t-tony]

Had exactly that on my Z3 passenger door. Easy enough to do, parts was around £40.

Tony.

 

[ktnez99]

Had exactly that on my Z3 passenger door. Easy enough to do, parts was around £40.

Tony.

Is it the solenoid, @t-tony?

 

[t-tony]

No way of knowing from here? Sounds like the OP has diagnosed it himself, I was just saying that's what it was on my car. If one door, or boot lid is failing to lock it's not likely to be a system fault, more likely connected to the one that's failed.

Tony.

 

[AussieAbroad]

No way of knowing from here? Sounds like the OP has diagnosed it himself, I was just saying that's what it was on my car. If one door, or boot lid is failing to lock it's not likely to be a system fault, more likely connected to the one that's failed.

Tony.

No, only the drivers door. It’ll have to be the solenoid or wiring, as all the others work fine! I’ve all but discounted the wiring as it’ll still lock all the other doors if you use the key to lock the drivers door.

Tony, where’d you get the parts? Did you use second hand ones?

 

[t-tony]

No, I got an aftermarket part from ECP
(Euro Car Parts) but I got a trade discount.

Tony.

 

[ktnez99]

No, I got an aftermarket part from ECP
(Euro Car Parts) but I got a trade discount.

Tony.

And ECP always have discounts on their website. Call to get the parts’ numbers, order online to get the discount which isn’t available in store and then collect, pay in shop.

 

[AussieAbroad]

And ECP always have discounts on their website. Call to get the parts’ numbers, order online to get the discount which isn’t available in store and then collect, pay in shop.

Excellent, thanks! I’ll have a look at it in the next few days.