Been threatening to do this to ours in the closed season but got the same exhaust issue as gary must get sorted.
Well done gives some confidence now.
Well done gives some confidence now.
#ZedShed GazHyde - 2001 2.2i Sport Topasblau-metallic - 'Rosie'
- Thread starter GazHyde
- Start date
Part Three - Collecting Parts & Reconditioning the subframe
This evenings work started with Lee picking me up on his way through Newbury, and luckily for me he took the ///M to work today. It's really nice to sit in the passenger seat of a Z3 occasionally and enjoy the ride! Was a bit of a rush to get to GSF Car Parts to pick up most of the parts, following by popping in to collect the rear shocks from Euro Car Parts. ECP yet again managed to mess up the order, and tried to supply us with one (yes 1) rear shock for an E90 3 series. After them scratching their heads for 15 minutes they figured out the correct parts, but only had one anyway. Will be popping in there tomorrow to collect the other one *sighs*.
Before entering waffle/picture mode, I'd like to discuss the state of my rear shock absorbers. They were completely knackered, which probably explains a lot. They were easily fully compressed and made virtually no effort to bounce back - no life in the whatsoever. They had original BMW logo'd part stickers on them and I'm seriously wondering if they are the ones fitted in the factory 105k miles ago
After grabbing a coffee, down to the garage. First in the order of business was to lift the rear sub frame off the floor on to the bench. They are not only heavy, but not exactly the most stable of things to try and lift.
Off with the rear beam. This will be going to a local garage tomorrow who have a 100 ton press, to remove and replace the beam bushes.
We noticed one of the handbrake cable was in a poor state. Not quite as bad as this though. We had already added new cables to the list of parts which we collected earlier.
Off with the drop links! Ordinarily the annoying jobs are given to me, but for tonight only we got Lee's girlfriend Sam to remove them... (OK, Lee did one, and I did the other be she definitely loosened them up!)
I had been previously told by my trusted independent garage that the differential bush needed replacing (along with the propshaft bush). We also noticed the beam bushes were in a poor state. The video below shows the amount of play in the beam bushes and the diff bush.
View: http://youtu.be/NPgO0wmZeEs
The amount of effort to pull the centre of the diff bush out, was not much more than was used in the video. Cutting out the metal outer part of the bush was a different matter, made worse by having the worlds most blunt hacksaw. Got there in the end though. For ease of fitting and from previous experience Lee asked me to get a Powerflex diff bush, and I can see why. An absolute doddle to fit once I'd figured it out.
Remainder of original differential bush, next to the new Powerflex bush. You can see where the rubber has deteriorated and broken off when removed.
First half in...
Second half in, with centre tube fitted
The handbrake cables proved to be an interesting change as mine had a slightly different mechanism to the pre facelift cars Lee had worked on before. I didn't quite understand what he was going on about but he asked me to take these two pictures. It's a good thing apparently. I'm sure he will come along and explain!
The only pain today was that I ordered 17mm ARB bushes, when I should have ordered 16mm. Will get some more if they have them at ECP when I get the rear shocks.
This evenings work started with Lee picking me up on his way through Newbury, and luckily for me he took the ///M to work today. It's really nice to sit in the passenger seat of a Z3 occasionally and enjoy the ride! Was a bit of a rush to get to GSF Car Parts to pick up most of the parts, following by popping in to collect the rear shocks from Euro Car Parts. ECP yet again managed to mess up the order, and tried to supply us with one (yes 1) rear shock for an E90 3 series. After them scratching their heads for 15 minutes they figured out the correct parts, but only had one anyway. Will be popping in there tomorrow to collect the other one *sighs*.
Before entering waffle/picture mode, I'd like to discuss the state of my rear shock absorbers. They were completely knackered, which probably explains a lot. They were easily fully compressed and made virtually no effort to bounce back - no life in the whatsoever. They had original BMW logo'd part stickers on them and I'm seriously wondering if they are the ones fitted in the factory 105k miles ago
After grabbing a coffee, down to the garage. First in the order of business was to lift the rear sub frame off the floor on to the bench. They are not only heavy, but not exactly the most stable of things to try and lift.
Off with the rear beam. This will be going to a local garage tomorrow who have a 100 ton press, to remove and replace the beam bushes.
We noticed one of the handbrake cable was in a poor state. Not quite as bad as this though. We had already added new cables to the list of parts which we collected earlier.
Off with the drop links! Ordinarily the annoying jobs are given to me, but for tonight only we got Lee's girlfriend Sam to remove them... (OK, Lee did one, and I did the other be she definitely loosened them up!)
I had been previously told by my trusted independent garage that the differential bush needed replacing (along with the propshaft bush). We also noticed the beam bushes were in a poor state. The video below shows the amount of play in the beam bushes and the diff bush.
The amount of effort to pull the centre of the diff bush out, was not much more than was used in the video. Cutting out the metal outer part of the bush was a different matter, made worse by having the worlds most blunt hacksaw. Got there in the end though. For ease of fitting and from previous experience Lee asked me to get a Powerflex diff bush, and I can see why. An absolute doddle to fit once I'd figured it out.
Remainder of original differential bush, next to the new Powerflex bush. You can see where the rubber has deteriorated and broken off when removed.
First half in...
Second half in, with centre tube fitted
The handbrake cables proved to be an interesting change as mine had a slightly different mechanism to the pre facelift cars Lee had worked on before. I didn't quite understand what he was going on about but he asked me to take these two pictures. It's a good thing apparently. I'm sure he will come along and explain!
The only pain today was that I ordered 17mm ARB bushes, when I should have ordered 16mm. Will get some more if they have them at ECP when I get the rear shocks.
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With ECP Gaz, don't hold your breath. Quality of parts is crap, quality of staff even worse and that doesn't please me to say that because a good mate who used to work for our companies spares operation ended up there and they have dragged even him down to, don't know, don't care land. Sad.
B
bonzo
Guest
Should have Christened the Z 'Angus'!
Oooh, I like the look of all this work going on. Are you willing to put a complete parts and pricing list up? I'm hoping to do a similar amount of work on the underside of Scarlett.
Yes
A full list of parts used, source and costs will be posted.
You've removed the promise of a 'cozy'!
Are you leaving that for just yourself and Lee?
Part 4 - Reassembling the rear sub frame and putting the car back together
Slow start to the day at Euro Car Parts. Ordered the incorrect part (again), and took them 25 minutes to locate one in Aldershot. Not happy, but they would deliver it straight to Lees when it arrived. Short story, 3 phone calls, many lies told by ECP but eventually the correct part arrived about 2pm. Useless.
Lee has found a local garage with a 100 ton press, so we head over there to drop the rear beam and two new beam bushes. This is the 3rd Z3 they have done this on now, and the guy has made himself a jig to speed the process. £40 changed hands as it takes him about an hour to push out the old ones and then push the new ones in again. The existing bushes fell apart once they were out which surprised him as the previous ones he sorted for Lee stayed intact.
First getting our hands dirty bit was to swap out the prop shaft bush (Guibo). Here is a side by side comparison on the new and old. You can make out some of the cracking in the rubber.
Closer up you can really see the cracking... Not the worst in the world, but Lee had one spare so on it went.
Here is a gratuitous photo of my prop shaft. The bearing seemed in good order, so was left alone.
Move along, nothing to see here. Literally nothing to see here except the gear box in the distance!
Reassembling the rear sub frame, here we are bolting the differential back on to the beam. Torqued to the Bentley manual specification!
Then the swing arms.
The dropped the sub frame to the floor on to the trolley jack ready for reinsertion.
Lee bolting the diff mount back on.
Purple Powerflex goodness...
On to the rear shocks. Old OEM Sachs shocks. Looking at this sticker I'm wondering if they are the original factory fitted ones or not?
Replacement OEM quality Sachs shocks. Shiny!
New shocks in situ. Gave the springs a clean (joke in there somewhere) before refitting as well. Makes everything else look rough in comparison.
The exhaust was refitted and the interior trim we'd removed to get at the shock top mounts.
There are a few things left to complete before we drop her to the ground for a test drive, and any final tinkering. Next update should conclude the refit!
Slow start to the day at Euro Car Parts. Ordered the incorrect part (again), and took them 25 minutes to locate one in Aldershot. Not happy, but they would deliver it straight to Lees when it arrived. Short story, 3 phone calls, many lies told by ECP but eventually the correct part arrived about 2pm. Useless.
Lee has found a local garage with a 100 ton press, so we head over there to drop the rear beam and two new beam bushes. This is the 3rd Z3 they have done this on now, and the guy has made himself a jig to speed the process. £40 changed hands as it takes him about an hour to push out the old ones and then push the new ones in again. The existing bushes fell apart once they were out which surprised him as the previous ones he sorted for Lee stayed intact.
First getting our hands dirty bit was to swap out the prop shaft bush (Guibo). Here is a side by side comparison on the new and old. You can make out some of the cracking in the rubber.
Closer up you can really see the cracking... Not the worst in the world, but Lee had one spare so on it went.
Here is a gratuitous photo of my prop shaft. The bearing seemed in good order, so was left alone.
Move along, nothing to see here. Literally nothing to see here except the gear box in the distance!
Reassembling the rear sub frame, here we are bolting the differential back on to the beam. Torqued to the Bentley manual specification!
Then the swing arms.
The dropped the sub frame to the floor on to the trolley jack ready for reinsertion.
Lee bolting the diff mount back on.
Purple Powerflex goodness...
On to the rear shocks. Old OEM Sachs shocks. Looking at this sticker I'm wondering if they are the original factory fitted ones or not?
Replacement OEM quality Sachs shocks. Shiny!
New shocks in situ. Gave the springs a clean (joke in there somewhere) before refitting as well. Makes everything else look rough in comparison.
The exhaust was refitted and the interior trim we'd removed to get at the shock top mounts.
There are a few things left to complete before we drop her to the ground for a test drive, and any final tinkering. Next update should conclude the refit!
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2011
- Points
- 190
Great work Gaz, top man Lee.
How hard is it to relace that diff rubber?
Is the powerflex expensive?
How hard is it to relace that diff rubber?
Is the powerflex expensive?
The worst bit is getting the old worn bush out. I think @Lee can give better advice, but if I recall his dad said it could be done while the car is on the floor. Fitting the Powerflex bush is pretty easy with gentle pressure from a g-clamp.
£26.02 off eBay, so pretty much peanuts. OEM bush I was quoted about £47.
Talking of a press, I spotted this one at JTF in Lincoln this afternoon at very reasonable price and well capable of the jobs requiring the use of one.10 ton Capacity.
Ticketed price is + V.A.T. at JTF.
Tony.
Ticketed price is + V.A.T. at JTF.
Tony.
Sunday is a day of rest! Depending on Lees schedule, hopefully the wheels will touch the floor one night this week.
As a set of front Sachs shocks cost £140 we may sort the front out too after the test drive.
As a set of front Sachs shocks cost £140 we may sort the front out too after the test drive.
Nice work guys, she will be a different animal with all the great work done. You didnt think of doing an under seal with everything out?
Morning all,
I went to that "Paul Walker Tribute Tunnel Run" car gathering on saturday evening which has left me still feeling knackered now. Set off at 6:30pm and got home at 4am
Hopefully @GazHyde has ordered new front shocks so we can get them in this week.
@t-tony good find on that press but worth noting you will need a much bigger press to get the main beam bushes out. Nearer to a 100ton. I initially tried a 30ton myself and didnt even get the old ones out.
@spurs fan in a coupe like gaz said you can actually change the rear diff bush without having to drop it all out. Pair of 19mm spanners/hacksaw
Lee
I went to that "Paul Walker Tribute Tunnel Run" car gathering on saturday evening which has left me still feeling knackered now. Set off at 6:30pm and got home at 4am
Hopefully @GazHyde has ordered new front shocks so we can get them in this week.
@t-tony good find on that press but worth noting you will need a much bigger press to get the main beam bushes out. Nearer to a 100ton. I initially tried a 30ton myself and didnt even get the old ones out.
@spurs fan in a coupe like gaz said you can actually change the rear diff bush without having to drop it all out. Pair of 19mm spanners/hacksaw
Lee
This update isn't really an update, more of an emotional waffle. I'll post up separately later what parts were ordered and the total cost of the work done. Tonight was fairly simple - adjust the handbrakes, tighten the exhaust/manifold joint nuts, fit the wheels and test drive.
It's hard to describe the change in drive, other than it's unbelievably awesome now. I just sent @Lee a text having got home with two words on it - "ABSOLUTELY EPIC". Pretty much everything that annoyed me about how Rosie drove has now been eliminated. The rough gear change, the rough ride, the wallowing in corners, the bump in the transmission.
If I hadn't helped Lee take the sub frame off then I might have thought he had swapped Rosie for a different Zed. Almost tempted to check the VIN plate. OK, OK I'm sounding a little emotional now, but I feel a little emotional after the drive home. Lee has given up about 14 hours of his own time (and not being able to garage his own car for 2 weeks), and had to put up with me while doing so. He hasn't asked for anything in return other than thanking me for letting him take my car apart. If I've learnt anything from being involved in this forum, the generosity of the members is unlike any other forum I've been on.
Now I've got through the emotional stuff, more about the car
Having finished the test drive, I set home on a slightly extended twistier version of the usual route. One of the odd side effects of having a car which goes around bends without wallowing is that I'm turning in a bit early. Need to adjust my driving style to compensate. The rider is a bit firmer than before, but the grip and cornering is on a completely different level. The speed bumps where I live have been a constant source of anguish the last 3 months, but no longer!
There are a few sundries to fix going forwards like the front shocks and drop links need changing. The oil usage is the next thing on the list though!
It's hard to describe the change in drive, other than it's unbelievably awesome now. I just sent @Lee a text having got home with two words on it - "ABSOLUTELY EPIC". Pretty much everything that annoyed me about how Rosie drove has now been eliminated. The rough gear change, the rough ride, the wallowing in corners, the bump in the transmission.
If I hadn't helped Lee take the sub frame off then I might have thought he had swapped Rosie for a different Zed. Almost tempted to check the VIN plate. OK, OK I'm sounding a little emotional now, but I feel a little emotional after the drive home. Lee has given up about 14 hours of his own time (and not being able to garage his own car for 2 weeks), and had to put up with me while doing so. He hasn't asked for anything in return other than thanking me for letting him take my car apart. If I've learnt anything from being involved in this forum, the generosity of the members is unlike any other forum I've been on.
Now I've got through the emotional stuff, more about the car
Having finished the test drive, I set home on a slightly extended twistier version of the usual route. One of the odd side effects of having a car which goes around bends without wallowing is that I'm turning in a bit early. Need to adjust my driving style to compensate. The rider is a bit firmer than before, but the grip and cornering is on a completely different level. The speed bumps where I live have been a constant source of anguish the last 3 months, but no longer!There are a few sundries to fix going forwards like the front shocks and drop links need changing. The oil usage is the next thing on the list though!
Glad Rosie is just about how she came out of the factory. Even just changing the drop links on ours made a difference so now the subframe can't move much now will have made a vast improvement.
I went to help somebody from another forum with his engine codes and he couldn't believe anybody would come out to help just for the sake of helping seems to be something we all like to do, roll on another 3 years.
I went to help somebody from another forum with his engine codes and he couldn't believe anybody would come out to help just for the sake of helping seems to be something we all like to do, roll on another 3 years.
B
bonzo
Guest
What a stunning thread Gaz, so informative! You are a lucky chap! Thanks for taking the time to log it all and for the pics. 
Bonzo.
Bonzo.
I would just like to reinforce the positive vibes on what this forum is about! I was talking to @MikeE89 tonight about exactly that and was pointing out the Project Panther thread for him to have a read of. But the Seat Bush Day is another example and the fact that we [USERGROUP=16]@West Country[/USERGROUP] are going to hold a similar event down here as a result and are planning to fix a couple of them on the day for different people.
It is all about people, their love for their cars and getting fun from other peoples fun in their cars as well, also sharing in others enjoyment and helping each other out.
Lets all keep it up and make sure we support everyone else, and make sure we don't rely on too few a number of individuals.
