Fell at the first!

[Newtricks]

Evening, hopefully when these strange times we find ourselves in abate I hope to be in possession of a 2000 Z3 2.8 in Topaz Blue just over 100k miles. I’ve been wanting something I can work on and this looks to be the ticket.

It’s in a need of a bit (maybe a lot) of TLC, mechanically and cosmetically.

Things I know;
Side mirrors are corroded, passenger side far worse than driver’s.
Gear change has lost the detent coming out of 5th, but the rest seem OK.
Brake pipes were an advisory on the last MOT, and have not been addressed.
Roof will go up part under its own steam, and when down shows the fluid to be low.
Passenger seat doesn’t move under motor. Neither seat moves around, so bushes seem OK.
Cosmetically there’s a little rust on the drivers wing behind the front wheel, and all the badges are faded/chipped, frankly for 20yrs old the paintwork looks very good.
There doesn’t seem to be any signs of leaks in the cabin or boot.
There’s on 1 key, and no handbook (that I saw).

My initial thoughts are the usual fluids Service including transmission and diff, and brake pipes (probably hoses) then maybe MOT to see what else is lurking?

Any advice/pointers are gratefully received.

regards

Nick

 

[andyglym]

to the forum from West Cumbria. Water pump, pulleys, tensioner and serpentine belt would be high up if no history. Viscous coupling for the fan if there's movement. Good luck

 

[Newtricks]

Thanks for the welcome! One thing I did forget to mention was that (apparently) on initial start up from cold, the fan runs for around a minute.

 

[Shelly]

 

[Stevo7682]

Hi and welcome from me in Scotland .

 

[Keet]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[Devon Z]

Hello and welcome from South Devon

 

[Newtricks]

Thanks everyone for making me feel so welcome!

regards

Nick

 

[t-tony]

Hi Nick, welcome from me near Lincoln. When you say the fan runs for about a minute can you be more specific?

Tony.

 

[Newtricks]

Hi Nick, welcome from me near Lincoln. When you say the fan runs for about a minute can you be more specific?

Tony.

Sorry I can’t - I don’t actually have the car yet - I need to arrange some kind of handover. When I tried the car I didn’t notice anything, but the car was already up to temperature, it was the current owner who mentioned it (as some kind of foible/feature), and to be fair they’ve been scrupulously honest about the car. Once I’ve got my mitts on the car I’ll are sure I try it from cold and check. As an adjacency, I’m guessing the gearbox detent springs are maybe on their way out given the change down from 5th, I noticed it seems to be a fair throw to select reverse - would you know whether that’s another symptom of the same thing?

regards

Nick

 

[PHILIP BAXTER]

Hi Nick, and welcome from me in Cardiff.

 

[t-tony]

Sorry I can’t - I don’t actually have the car yet - I need to arrange some kind of handover. When I tried the car I didn’t notice anything, but the car was already up to temperature, it was the current owner who mentioned it (as some kind of foible/feature), and to be fair they’ve been scrupulously honest about the car. Once I’ve got my mitts on the car I’ll are sure I try it from cold and check. As an adjacency, I’m guessing the gearbox detent springs are maybe on their way out given the change down from 5th, I noticed it seems to be a fair throw to select reverse - would you know whether that’s another symptom of the same thing?

regards

Nick

It's not unusual for the gear selection to be a bit awry, depends how the car has been used I suppose and could be general wear in the stick/gearbox. Reason I ask about a "fan" running on start up is that these cars had from new an Auxilliary air pump which forced air into the exhaust at start up. This ran through a timed relay for about that length of time so it may be just that. This was required for some States in the US for Emissions requirements. It is not needed over here so you can take it off and bin it if you want to.

Tony.

 

[Jack Ratt]

Hi Nick welcome to the forum

 

[Newtricks]

It's not unusual for the gear selection to be a bit awry, depends how the car has been used I suppose and could be general wear in the stick/gearbox. Reason I ask about a "fan" running on start up is that these cars had from new an Auxilliary air pump which forced air into the exhaust at start up. This ran through a timed relay for about that length of time so it may be just that. This was required for some States in the US for Emissions requirements. It is not needed over here so you can take it off and bin it if you want to.

Tony.

Thanks very much for the insight; when I get it, I’ll check it out.

regards

Nick

 

[Mazza]

Hi and welcome to the forum from Bognor Regis

 

[MartinN]

Thanks for the welcome! One thing I did forget to mention was that (apparently) on initial start up from cold, the fan runs for around a minute.

Welcome that's normal the viscous fan to run on start up, mind your fingers.

 

[Slam]

Hi and welcome from London

 

[Mint]

Hi @Newtricks, to the forum from me too in Staffordshire. If the noise is the viscous fan, it does make a noise when the engine is first started. I replaced mine a few months ago and it sounds like a spitfire (plane not car) for a few minutes after start up

 

[Newtricks]

I now have the car and had a look around it; all my previous observations look to be correct, with some additional added - driver’s seat bolster has a hole, the alloys need a refurb, but the tyres are all recent (and match!), the roof has been disconnected from a rod (apparently to make it work manually), instead of (I understand) via the T handle on the reservoir in the boot. The roof looks OK, but needs a clean and condition, the steering fluid cooling loop needs replacing due to bad corrosion, the clutch feels OK, but there’s no receipt to suggest it has been changed.
I’m guessing most of the ‘features’ I’ve noted are common, so I’ve started a list (got to love a list!).
Noting comments above, I’ll start with a decent fluids and filters service, and then some preventative actions for peace of mind (serpentine belts, tensioners, water pump, viscous fan clutch), I have no idea how long the radiators is good for, so I think that will need to go in the mix too. When I’m in a position to start I was planning on ringing Opie for advice around fluids/oils (I read that a mix of some redline gearbox oils had fixed a gear change that stuck when changing down from 5th (which this one does) - no idea, but got to be worth a try.
Any advice regarding parts (I was going to ring GSF too, as I reckon they’ve forgotten more than I‘m ever likely to know about these cars) would be very welcome, as would suggestions for sequence of activities.

regards

 

[Nodzed]

Good luck with the maintenance work, Opie Oils are your friends You can message them on here @oilman