A Highland Z3 1.9 roadster
- Thread starter Pls
- Start date
Out and about again, this time in company with friends and family, to the seaside at Findhorn Bay, released to travel outside our local authority area, and disporting ourselves on the beach.
Previously, Ratty's fellow Z3 had returned for preparation for its MOT, and passed successfully.
So that's another years happy motoring secured!
Cheers
Paul
Previously, Ratty's fellow Z3 had returned for preparation for its MOT, and passed successfully.
So that's another years happy motoring secured!
Cheers
Paul
Long, long time no see, but Ratty has been in constant use, with nothing but fuel, topping up of fluids and an occasional polish required. Oh and it got a new battery for my anniversary (I bet you didn't know that the fourteenth wedding anniversary was 'Lead/acid'!), as the old one out of the Z3 moved to the Volvo when its' one died.
At the end of a good drive out to Portmahomack and Tarbet Ness lighthouse today, we took the two-car ferry from Nigg to Cromarty to save driving all round the Cromarty Firth to get home. And being a council-run ferry, passengers go free if they have a bus pass!
Cheers
Paul
At the end of a good drive out to Portmahomack and Tarbet Ness lighthouse today, we took the two-car ferry from Nigg to Cromarty to save driving all round the Cromarty Firth to get home. And being a council-run ferry, passengers go free if they have a bus pass!
Cheers
Paul
Ha,ha. I love the thing about the bus pass Paul. Maybe I should try that when I get mine. Good to see you and Ratty are still about.
Tony.
Tony.
One if the few threads I subscribe to here, I wondered where you were.
Nice to see you still enjoying z3 highland life. Scotland is wonderful, I'm currently in talks to buy a country pile in the quiet SW corner. Love it.
Nice to see you still enjoying z3 highland life. Scotland is wonderful, I'm currently in talks to buy a country pile in the quiet SW corner. Love it.
Yes, I'm sorry, I've not contributed much. In June we went out for another run with a couple of other old crocks, I mean friends, to Kylesku Bridge,
We were not responsible for the doughnut tyre marks, honest!
Here we were (carefully) parked up by the harbour at Avoch, where Sara's Dad comes from.
Then occasionally, we encounter another Zed, although we didn't meet the owner of this one at Tain.
But there's not much else to report really, just thousands of miles of happy Zed motoring! My so-called smart phone died last year, and I'm using a little Nokia dumb phone now, with no camera, so I shall remember to take this tablet with me to record our continuing adventures!
Cheers
Paul
You may call it a "Dumb" phone mate, but it gives you more peace than a so called "Smart" one. Keep happy motoring mate.
Tony.
Tony.
Great to see you & Ratty zedding around, always enjoy reading about Ratty's exploits.
Having fitted a new front exhaust with cat in April, today I fitted a new rear section, so Ratty's exhaust is pretty natty. Out of interest, part number 18101433388, Rear muffler, from BMW dealer was £830, Eurocarparts was £330, so I had a look round elsewhere. On eBay I found a number ranging from £120 upwards. Having read all the reviews and feedback I went for one from Germany at £142 post free.
Not having bought car parts abroad before, I was a bit worried, but the communication from the sellers was very good, and friendly too. It came by DHL then ParcelForce, with tracking all the way and was duly delivered eight days after purchase. It came, like most, cut in half with a substantial joining sleeve.
The old one had been welded and patched numerous times and appeared on the verge of structural failure due to rust. When I took it off, it was easy to break it in half! Anyway the new one fitted perfectly and flew on. The small front element is significantly smaller than on the previous one. There was a nice slightly flattened bit where it goes under the rear axle, and the whole thing seemed very substantially made. Anyway, if it only lasts half as long as the next option, it will have been good value.
It went on so quick, I neglected to take a photo! I may get some new mounting rubbers to fit next time I'm under the car. The rear pipe is round rather than flat. And it sounds a bit different to the old one, being a little louder and a bit burbly, but not intrusively so.
Cheers
Paul
Not having bought car parts abroad before, I was a bit worried, but the communication from the sellers was very good, and friendly too. It came by DHL then ParcelForce, with tracking all the way and was duly delivered eight days after purchase. It came, like most, cut in half with a substantial joining sleeve.
The old one had been welded and patched numerous times and appeared on the verge of structural failure due to rust. When I took it off, it was easy to break it in half! Anyway the new one fitted perfectly and flew on. The small front element is significantly smaller than on the previous one. There was a nice slightly flattened bit where it goes under the rear axle, and the whole thing seemed very substantially made. Anyway, if it only lasts half as long as the next option, it will have been good value.
It went on so quick, I neglected to take a photo! I may get some new mounting rubbers to fit next time I'm under the car. The rear pipe is round rather than flat. And it sounds a bit different to the old one, being a little louder and a bit burbly, but not intrusively so.
Cheers
Paul
Well, it's been a while, but Ratty has been our main form of transport with nothing much to report - till now: see below. But first here are a few pics of our Zedding over the winter. On the Cromarty to Nigg two-car (just) ferry:
Rather a nice drive into a snowy sunset:
On the road to Ullapool in February:
This is what we'd stopped to look at:
And then in March, some sheep down from the hills, which still had some snow on them:
At the beginning of April the car sailed through its MOT, with just an advisory on the rear disks, which I duly replaced. But then the steering occasionally started making graunching noises, with intermittent stiffness, which sounded like they were coming from the steering column. But Ray and I were concerned in case it was either the rack or the power steering pump giving up. So today we got Ratty up on the ramp and removed the plastic under trays and the fan cowling and fan so we could get at it all and see what we could see, feel and hear. We were going to disconnect the rack to feel if that was the source, and the pump likewise. The noise and feel of something rasping was intermittent. So we started by popping off the fan belt and turning the pump pulley by hand - it felt smooth as silk. We then put the belt back on, cracked the feed union to the rack open a tad, ran the engine and fluid dripped out as we turned the wheel, so we stopped the engine, and retightened the union, fairly confident that it wasn't the pump. The union can be seen just to the left of the fan mount, above the concertina boot:
Previously I had read through various posts on the forum and seen that people had identified a dry lower universal joint on the steering column as the culprit, so I had lubricated that as suggested, to no avail. However, today, as we were peering around all the steering parts, doing the whole diagnosis logic thing, the upper universal joint came into view, with a coil spring round it disappearing into the hole in the scuttle. It was all very dry looking and rusty. So we applied a dousing of spray 3-in-one oil whilst turning the steering wheel, then blasted it up the column with the air line, and Hey Presto! No more graunching or stiffness. So I think that the end of the spring was catching, winding up tight and then releasing, making a scraunching sound and interfering with the smooth rotation of the column. It was difficult to credit that such minimal intervention could cure what seemed potentially to be a major problem.
So, the hero of the day:
I reckon that, along with the gaffer tape and cable ties, a can of 3-in-one will have to become part of the essential repair kit!
Cheers
Paul
Rather a nice drive into a snowy sunset:
On the road to Ullapool in February:
This is what we'd stopped to look at:
And then in March, some sheep down from the hills, which still had some snow on them:
At the beginning of April the car sailed through its MOT, with just an advisory on the rear disks, which I duly replaced. But then the steering occasionally started making graunching noises, with intermittent stiffness, which sounded like they were coming from the steering column. But Ray and I were concerned in case it was either the rack or the power steering pump giving up. So today we got Ratty up on the ramp and removed the plastic under trays and the fan cowling and fan so we could get at it all and see what we could see, feel and hear. We were going to disconnect the rack to feel if that was the source, and the pump likewise. The noise and feel of something rasping was intermittent. So we started by popping off the fan belt and turning the pump pulley by hand - it felt smooth as silk. We then put the belt back on, cracked the feed union to the rack open a tad, ran the engine and fluid dripped out as we turned the wheel, so we stopped the engine, and retightened the union, fairly confident that it wasn't the pump. The union can be seen just to the left of the fan mount, above the concertina boot:
Previously I had read through various posts on the forum and seen that people had identified a dry lower universal joint on the steering column as the culprit, so I had lubricated that as suggested, to no avail. However, today, as we were peering around all the steering parts, doing the whole diagnosis logic thing, the upper universal joint came into view, with a coil spring round it disappearing into the hole in the scuttle. It was all very dry looking and rusty. So we applied a dousing of spray 3-in-one oil whilst turning the steering wheel, then blasted it up the column with the air line, and Hey Presto! No more graunching or stiffness. So I think that the end of the spring was catching, winding up tight and then releasing, making a scraunching sound and interfering with the smooth rotation of the column. It was difficult to credit that such minimal intervention could cure what seemed potentially to be a major problem.
So, the hero of the day:
I reckon that, along with the gaffer tape and cable ties, a can of 3-in-one will have to become part of the essential repair kit!
Cheers
Paul
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Useful info Paul. Thanks go to you and Ratty. Love the picture where you had to stop and look. Why wouldn’t you?
Tony.
Tony.
Yes, it's one of our favourite brew-up spots - a small layby by Loch Droma on the A835 going west to Ullapool. Lovely at all times of year - sometimes it freezes right over with snow settling on it. It's at just under a thousand feet altitude.
Cheers
Paul
Cheers
Paul
A nice simple fix, some stunning photos there.
That’s what I was going to suggest but Steve told me he had found the cure before I had the chance. We used to get a similar issue on early Fiestas amongst others.
Tony.
Tony.
Thanks guys. For anyone who, like me, had never encountered the upper steering column universal joint, here are some pics to locate it, because I had never even seen it before!
The UJ is lurking almost invisible, only being picked out by the flash:
And here is the rusty spring, with a ball race above it behind the round housing, that was causing the graunching noise, now all doused in 3-in-one oil:
Anyway, today we went for a spin to Cromarty for Sara's pre-birthday lunch with friends, at the Royal Hotel - excellent food and Cromarty Brewery beer on tap.
Meanwhile, on the beach, the newly repainted Cromarty-Nigg 2-car ferry awaits the start of the service on the first of May.
Cheers
Paul
The UJ is lurking almost invisible, only being picked out by the flash:
And here is the rusty spring, with a ball race above it behind the round housing, that was causing the graunching noise, now all doused in 3-in-one oil:
Anyway, today we went for a spin to Cromarty for Sara's pre-birthday lunch with friends, at the Royal Hotel - excellent food and Cromarty Brewery beer on tap.
Meanwhile, on the beach, the newly repainted Cromarty-Nigg 2-car ferry awaits the start of the service on the first of May.
Cheers
Paul
Members will find the pictures useful Paul. What happened when these gave a problem on the old Fiesta was one of the cross pins would size and the other stayed free making the steering feel "notchy" almost. They could seize literally almost overnight too.
Tony.
Tony.
I had a seat not going up & down. I took the seat out to have a look & a small pencil dropped out! It turns out that it fell in & jammed the screw Jack motor from moving. So have a good feel around first & see if you can feel any foreign objects in there before you start removing anything. 