The one aspect of driving my Z3 that I've never been happy with is the steering. Its always felt like hard work and not smooth enough for really confident cornering. I've had an E90 and a F30 previously and these were very good in that respect so I thought the Z3 should be better. In the past, I'd topped up the fluid but that was about it. On the M52 engine, the reservoir is difficult to access low down beside the engine.
As I've been doing the M50 manifold change, this was the time for a bit of maintenance whilst the manifold, throttle body etc were removed. The reservoir (reputedly) has a filter at the bottom which can become obstructed over time and would affect the efficiency of the system. I bought a new Meyle reservoir and tried to replace it in-situ but the hoses are short and so it was difficult to fit and be confident that the hose clips were in the right place. The two hoses that connect to the reservoir are fairly cheap (the other two are unbelievably expensive) so I ordered those and fitted them outside of the car.
The reservoir was then easy to bolt back in place.
My cooling loop was looking very rusty and was only really held in place by one remaining rubber mount. I've had a replacement loop set aside for over three years now that I got from a breakers in Florida. Yes its used, but no rust and looks much as new. I got some new bushes as well from a local Mini spares place via ebay which look like NOS but are still an improvement.
With everything connected, it remained to fill with some nice Castrol Dextron III fluid.
Some small repairs to the under tray fixing points and the nice clean tray, sans skeletons, was refitted before the bumper being replaced.
Then, a quick run to the garden centre to collect compost and herbs to keep Carolyn happy. So was this enough to make a difference? Oh yes! The steering is now very smooth and precise and I'm looking forward to being allowed out for a long run. A very worthwhile bit of maintenance completed.
As I've been doing the M50 manifold change, this was the time for a bit of maintenance whilst the manifold, throttle body etc were removed. The reservoir (reputedly) has a filter at the bottom which can become obstructed over time and would affect the efficiency of the system. I bought a new Meyle reservoir and tried to replace it in-situ but the hoses are short and so it was difficult to fit and be confident that the hose clips were in the right place. The two hoses that connect to the reservoir are fairly cheap (the other two are unbelievably expensive) so I ordered those and fitted them outside of the car.
The reservoir was then easy to bolt back in place.
My cooling loop was looking very rusty and was only really held in place by one remaining rubber mount. I've had a replacement loop set aside for over three years now that I got from a breakers in Florida. Yes its used, but no rust and looks much as new. I got some new bushes as well from a local Mini spares place via ebay which look like NOS but are still an improvement.
Some small repairs to the under tray fixing points and the nice clean tray, sans skeletons, was refitted before the bumper being replaced.
Then, a quick run to the garden centre to collect compost and herbs to keep Carolyn happy. So was this enough to make a difference? Oh yes! The steering is now very smooth and precise and I'm looking forward to being allowed out for a long run. A very worthwhile bit of maintenance completed.
. Might do it once again after a bit of a run. Pipes and cooling loop were all in good condition, in fact the cooling loop looks like it was replaced at some point. 
its going to be fun!