Interlagos Z4M Roadster - The Spicy Meatball

GazHyde

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Second job of the day was to fit a new insulation/water membrane barrier in the passenger door. The car now lives outside on the road as I don't have a garage and there is a tiny amount of water coming in to the cabin when it rains heavily. Before the heavy storm we had last week I'd already done some checks for the drains under the front scuttle as that's fairly common. I've gummi pfledged all the rubbers and also sat in the car while it was raining and it's not from the window rubbers.

The other likely candidate is the water/insulation barrier which is of foam construction. Any rips or the sealant failing allows water in to the door card, and then in to car as below.

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So I took the door panel off and there was some damage to the foam panel in the area just where it's coming in.
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BMW still make these panels and they are relatively cheap at around £30 a side. Forgot to take a picture of it, but here's a generic image so you know what I'm on about.
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Fitting is relatively straight forwards, have to remove the door airbag which is 3 bolts and a connector. Peel off the old membrane and then pick off the original BMW sticky black mastic. I then loosely aligned the new membrane in place and refitted the air bag module as that helped keep it all aligned where I wanted it. Then ran a bead of clear mastic (from B&Q) around the door and pushed it firmly in to place. There are slots already made for the cables so you just poke them through.

Here's another before pic for reference so you can see what everything looks like!
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GazHyde

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A soon as you buy something with an S54B32 engine almost everyone you know (and some you don't) start asking you about conrod bearing shells. From a discussion with the the previous owner and a dig through the service history I couldn't find evidence either way if they've been changed. There was a BMW recall on the early engines and this one is late enough for them to be the updated shells. As the car is on 123k it seemed a wise move to book them in an change them out of an abundance of caution.

This week the Zed was dropped off with Ross Bowes (goes by @bowser134 on the forums) at RBM Hampshire to carry out the work. Ross' solid reputation across the BMW & Z4 community is well known and I can't recommend him highly enough (which I do regularly when people need roof motor repairs and the likes). He's a trained ex-BMW senior tech with 15 years dealer experience, and M Power/Alpina training (according to his website bio!).

Web: https://www.rbmhampshire.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rbm_hampshire/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rbmhampshire/

As this involves lowering the front sub frame to remove the sump he fitted a set of new engine mounts while he was in there. Also gave the car a good look over generally and supplied me a snagging list of other things to address.

In summary: We now think that these may be the originals looking at the condition of them. If they are it's a testament to the previous owners for ensuring that the engine oil is warmed up before revving hard. Absolutely the correct call to change them now. The engine mounts looked like they've done the mileage so again that helps point to them being original.

Some pictures for you....

First off - my bottom end!
bottom end.jpg


The parts used, included the ACL Race Rod Bearing kit, new bolts and various filters/gaskets.
parts-used.jpg


The shells as removed:
shells1.jpg


A closer view
shells2.jpg


Close up!
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t-tony

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Yep, they were ready alright.

Tony.
 

Ianmc

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The reason for the bearing issue is that the oil pump failed on early cars, leading to bearing failure. My S54 engined MC did over 220K miles without any problem whatsoever. If bearings are showing sign of wear at 123K, i'd have the oil pump changed as well. :thumbsup:
 

GazHyde

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Continuing the theme of not really much to do, thought I'd install a spoiler today...

Ok, not exactly the kind of spoiler you'd get too excited about.... :bag:
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GazHyde

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Some fresh new gel plates for the original registration as the private plate is going back to the previous owner.

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Even though this is a much better look!
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GazHyde

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S54 chain tensioner change (carried out during subframe refresh, but more general maintenance so added here).

An oil leak was traced to the chain tensioner and had been weeping for some time by the amount of oil on the bottom of the engine and back towards the gearbox. While we had all the undertrays off the car we could confirm the cause. Seems to be a relatively common fault.

#5 PN 11317838675 - Chain tensioner c£130 from BMW
#6 PN 7119963418 - Gasket ring c£1 from BMW

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Failed part photo
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Part location:
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New tensioner in place. Unscrew old one, fit new one with o-ring and tighten up to BMW torque spec (which I can't recall right now).
IMG_2776.JPEG
 

GazHyde

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Braided clutch line / clutch delay valve removal (Again carried out during the subframe refresh, but not specifically related to it).

A CDV is a restrictor valve which reduces the flow of fluid to "make your gear changes smoother" (allegedly). There are stories out there that it's designed to stop people dumping/slipping the clutch and wearing it out prematurely.

In my personal experience it makes for an unnatural gear change, particularly around pulling away in 1st. I found myself kangarooing off a few times at junctions when you are less than precise. Only way to rectify this is to push the clutch down to the floor and try again, which when you are mid junction is dangerous.

Immediately the clutch release feels so much better and inspires confidence.

Purchased a new braided line from HEL which replaces the rubber hose section and you don't refit the valve which sits in line. Emailed them and gave them the BMW PN for them to work from and it arrived in a couple of days £43 delivered.

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You can see how restricted the flow is from this pic
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Complete clutch line removed
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Here's a stock image of the replacement, although mine was silver!
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GazHyde

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Lee

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@Lee can you let me know where you get the gel plates from please, as its a bit of an online minefield!
If you find Steve on social media he'll be more than happy to help. This is his logo.

TaylorDecals.jpg
 

peteslag

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Dec 7, 2011
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Shifnal, Shropshire
Model of Z
Z4M
S54 chain tensioner change (carried out during subframe refresh, but more general maintenance so added here).

An oil leak was traced to the chain tensioner and had been weeping for some time by the amount of oil on the bottom of the engine and back towards the gearbox. While we had all the undertrays off the car we could confirm the cause. Seems to be a relatively common fault.

#5 PN 11317838675 - Chain tensioner c£130 from BMW
#6 PN 7119963418 - Gasket ring c£1 from BMW

View attachment 204185

Failed part photo
View attachment 204189

Part location:
View attachment 204191

New tensioner in place. Unscrew old one, fit new one with o-ring and tighten up to BMW torque spec (which I can't recall right now).
View attachment 204193
Of all the threads in all the forums my search for leaky chain tensioner lead me here. Top write up as always Gaz.

I might just change the o-ring though. The tensioner has only covered 43,000 miles so hopefully should be good for a while yet.
 

GazHyde

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Of all the threads in all the forums my search for leaky chain tensioner lead me here.
Come back when you have howling power steering pump, that's getting a write up soon :bag:
 

peteslag

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Nodzed

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Are there any old bits left on her Gaz ;);)
 

GazHyde

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3k in to ownership of it being my only get about hack. Probably wash it tomorrow. Probably not. :cool:

Amazing how many people this kind of pic triggers, and I love it!

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