2.2 engine replacement project

[mrscalex]

Nearly forgot to mention the wrestle with getting the propshaft and exhaust back on. One of the more miserable aspects of the project with all that crawling around under a car.

Propshaft got there in the end.

Exhaust I just can't get anything on the least accessible of the 4 bolts so the manifold/system join is not yet gas tight.

I'm going to let the videos do the talking now as we got to the very exciting stages of starting the engine and moving the car for the first time. Apologies for the juvenile excitement and comments on the soundtrack (from me not the kids) but getting that sort of buzz off the work and doing it with the kids is what makes me tick

After replacing a flat battery and resetting the alarm by cycling the central locking we tried the engine.

Note how James knows more about the power steering system than I do...

And with the rest of the running gear back on came the big moment of seeing if it moved. If I looked like I was doing it in a rush I was as we did this between Santa Pod and me needing to move my backside up to Swansea for Mel's op.

It's all sounding a bit industrial at the moment due to the exhaust leaking. Along with the fact the tracking is all over the place with new components I may well invest £50 and get it moved up to the MOT station by my friendly transporter guy Frank.

First I have a 2 week break while I gofor for my other half in Swansea after her ankle op

 

[mrscalex]

Nice update slowly getting there and looking good. I hope your going to give the wee lad a driving lesson in it as a reward on some deserted car park. Great stuff to work with your dad on a project.

Well hopefully we can go one better than that. He's a member of the Under-17 driving club. 2 seaters are normally banned (along with automatics and auto handbrake cars but I'm hoping there will be an opportunity somewhere along the way to sneak the Z3 in

 

[Althulas]

That would round off the project for him with a smile and half I should think.

 

[mrscalex]

This is gonna kill me. 2 weeks in Swansea caring for my other half after her op. And my project sat in Swindon needing finishing.

That said I have a 1.9 up here I bought for her son that needs a cooling system overhaul so I can drive it back safely to Swindon in due course to do the suspension and brakes. Can't quite get the same enthusiasm up for the 1.9 though! Not because it's a 1.9 but because I've been so focused on finishing the 2.2

So I'll be updating my to do list and ordering a few more parts for the 2.2 in prep for my return

 

[mrscalex]

Done a little video to keep me going until next Thursday when I'll hopefully be back in Swindon with Her Royal Welshness returned to some mobility after her op. Editing at the end is a bit cr*p but not bad for an automated tool.

 

[mrscalex]

Her Royal Welshness allowed me 3 hours home in Swindon yesterday. So after doing my Parent's lawns we drove 'Cookies' properly out of the garage for the first time to carry out a good wash. There's a few pictures too not included from earlier posts.

Jimmy's Cleaning Service (JCS) was called in.

Watch out Jimmy, that may look like your sister Jasmine but I think you'll find she's the boss.

Might just make a nice car yet

Suspension etc all cleaned, renewed as required and/or resprayed.

As was the power steering cooling loop.

These are gonna have to go. I've got a choice of Style 78s or 108 split rims. Rear wings and bumper are not yet bolted on properly.

Passenger seat has had a new base cover due to damage. £80. Nice tailoring but leather doesn't quite match.

Driver's seat just had minimal wear on the bolster so was treated and redyed at a cost of £75.

Back in Swansea now

 

[Cooper]

Might be helpful when putting the exhaust back on.... I had to half pull the socket wrench off the socket itself so it could sit over the nut and tighten properly. Job done. If you had a long socket it will also do the trick.

 

[mrscalex]

Might be helpful when putting the exhaust back on.... I had to half pull the socket wrench off the socket itself so it could sit over the nut and tighten properly. Job done. If you had a long socket it will also do the trick.

I'm okay with 3 of the 4 nuts. I think the problem with the 4th and least accessible has been caused by me using bolts which are bigger than OEM. It's the width of the bolt stopping me getting a socket even half on.

So I've bought a genuine BMW splined bolt to try. Bizarrely BMW want to supply you with a regular bolt for a Z3 as an upgrade on the original splined bolt. But I specifically want that original type due to the space restrictions. So I've found what I hope is the equivalent bolt off a 5 Series I think it is.

 

[Cooper]

Strange you say that... If I remember rightly I used a 5/8ths socket to remove that hard to get last nut! I couldn't seem to get a good grip on a metric socket. However, I managed to get it back on with a metric socket.

 

[buze]

@mrscalex You don't like the current wheels? Are they too 'standard' ? I've got those, and I've been pondering refurbing mine (£200?!?!) or buying a new fancier set...

 

[mrscalex]

@mrscalex You don't like the current wheels? Are they too 'standard' ? I've got those, and I've been pondering refurbing mine (£200?!?!) or buying a new fancier set...

They're not my favourite but I think they're one of the better styles. The problem here is 2-fold. That particular set need refurbing. Also I prefer to see that style on a pre-facelift car as that's what they are generally associated with.

But I have my 108s that I always intended to try first on this car. And I think they'll trump even the very pretty and my pet favourite 78s.

I may well get those 18s refurbed by City Powder coating who only charge about £30 a wheel. We know they aren't 100% top quality but for £30 a corner... I'll probably put those back on the car to sell it one day and move my 108s from car to car.

 

[mrscalex]

I've sprayed up the front panel today. I couldn't resist trying to put the black centre bit back. It's not perfect but I'm happy enough

I even tried to replicate the fade out at the sides

James cleaned up the wiring harness ready to refit.

Then we pulled off the rear wings and boot lid to give it all a good clean up under there and to treat the very small areas of rust. But I couldn't find the right tools to get the bumper off (3/8 to 1/2 for T50 converter - can't get enough purchase with the 3/8) and we called it a day.

The exhaust is still leaking despite my best efforts so I'm definitely leaving that to the garage now.

 

[Dickymint]

So the front panel just unbolts? Think that's a job for me then after the rear wings
Great job and pics by the way

 

[mrscalex]

So the front panel just unbolts? Think that's a job for me then after the rear wings
Great job and pics by the way

No. First time off you have to drill out about 6-8 spot welds on the driver's side and 1-2 on the passenger side. Sounds scary and I don't think I'd do it just to clean the car but it's not difficult with a sharp drill bit.

Then it all just bolts back. There was never really any need to spot weld it at the factory. It's 100% happy without as it's contained in a tight sandwich.

Have a look at my engine removal thread for some pics of the process.

 

[mrscalex]

This is why the black area is needed on the front panel. And also why it doesn't need to be any wider than it is. It's just enough to cover the section you see when you look through the kidney grilles.

 

[mrscalex]

We cleaned and sprayed up the front of the inner wing area and horn bracket last night. The difference in colour is just a trick of the light.

We're round at the ar*e end at the moment with everything stripped off. It's been washed down and we need to spray up 3 or 4 small rusty areas on the inner wings.

The sill covers and front wings are also off now. Very clean under the front wings. Usual flaky stuff under the sill covers on the structural sills but nothing a rub down and some Por-15 won't sort out. I have some decent temporary sill covers that will go back on for now while I do a full strip down and repaint of the original sills.

 

[Dickymint]

I just done a full back to metal paint job on the sills and after a age trying to remove the stone chip I decided to use paint stripper covered the sill in paint stripper then placed in a plastic bag and left it for a few hours and wham..... bare shinny metal, though It was going to just spay the ends I was shocked to find the stone chip had dried out and was not stuck in places

 

[mrscalex]

Another slow week this week but to be honest just glad to get through it as daughter ended up in hospital with severe glandular fever. On the mend now though but poor thing will be under the weather for a while yet.

We, okay James, cleaned up the top of the radiator as it was letting the rest of the engine bay down.

And the front panel got bolted back up with cleaned and dressed ducting.

Engine covers back on. And forgot to put radiator foam cushioning back (perched on top of radiator) so front panel will have to come off again...

 

[Althulas]

Looking clinically sweet, James doing a top job there.

 

[Faheem]

Great job so far mate.