'Tandy' - First project car, first Z3!

[John_B]

Looking good with the clean up, all your other jobs are spanner work but hope you have a decent Code Reader and a 20pin to 16pin cable changer lead to plug into the engine bay diagnostic socket, you are going to need it to chase down the exhaust gas problem. I use a Creator 310+ handheld scanner on my 1999 1.9 and my 2003 2.5 Z4. Also have computer based software BMW INPA and its sister software. Also use BMW Scanner 1.4 on the Laptop which is a good beginners choice as its so easy to install and use on a laptop.
All the diagnostics stuff available on ebay and Amazon the Creator is circa £50 on ebay, you will save that first time you use it rather than paying a garage to code read it.
Keep us updated on your progress.

Thanks colb. I do have the OBD adapter cable although I haven't used it yet. I've got a bluetooth OBD2 dongle that I use with Bimmerlink & Bimmercode for my 5er, I was optimistically hoping I could use that for code reading, I just haven't got around to giving it a bash yet. If it doesn't work I'll look into the Creator.

I was doing a bit of research last night on the emissions failure, I got my Miss Marple on and found that the MOT station that failed it on emissions was less than 200yds from the previous owner's address. So I wonder (hope!) it was just a case of not having a good run before it was tested. The garage I'll use for my MOT is a good 40 min drive away including a blast on a dual carriage way, so I'll give it a really good run before the test, and throw a bottle of redex in the tank before hand too

 

[John_B]

Omg, what a disaster of a day. I had a half-day holiday today to make a start on the following jobs:

• Changing oil & filter
• Changing fuel filter
• Air filter
• Spark plugs
• Wishbones
• Discs & pads
• A few other minor bits and bobs

First problem: one of the caps over the locking wheel nuts was missing, and the exposed nut was corroded to the point where the key could not be inserted. As luck would have it, the MOT expires *today*, so I was able to get to my local tyre place for them to remove the wheel nut with a big spline drive bit. Back home to crack on, or so I thought.....

Got the car up on axle stands and removed the other 19 wheel nuts and I find all 4 wheels are totally seized onto the hubs .

I spent a good half hour belting them with a piece of wood and a 2kg lump hammer, but none of them are budging. I have emptied nearly a full can of WD-40 around the hub and into the bolt holes and am going to let it soak in overnight. Try again tomorrow.

Feeling pretty down, the first two problems I have encountered and have needed the pros to fix one, and I am floundering with the other. And all I have to show for half a days annual leave is removing 20 wheel nuts. Bad times

 

[t-tony]

What a red flag that is. If you can't even remove the wheels that tells me the car hasn't had much, if any, maintenance for a long, ongoing time.

Tony.

 

[Trevor /chedder]

When you start looking at the CO2 emissions, I've just been through this on my 1.9.
Tried all sorts
Oil / filter change
Redex
New plugs
New coil pack
Cleaned the MAF
Ran hot
New thermostat (was faulty and keeping it choked)
New CCV valve
Cleaned DISA valve (check it's not gone)
New lamba in the exhaust
New standard cat

But what really made the difference was using a type approved cat. Wasn't legally required, but it sorted the emmisions. When buying look for one like this

Catalytic Converter Type Approved + Fitting Kit fits BMW Z3 E36 1.9 97 to 99 BM 5052746038378 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Catalytic Converter Type Approved + Fitting Kit fits BMW Z3 E36 1.9 97 to 99 BM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Good luck with the wheels

 

[t-tony]

9 times out of 10 its the Cat on a 1.9 Z3.

Tony.

 

[Trevor /chedder]

9 times out of 10 its the Cat on a 1.9 Z3.

Tony.

I made the mistake of going for a cheap cat first.

 

[t-tony]

Many people do mate, and at the price of a "proper" one, who can blame them?

Tony.

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

If you’re interested in a set of standard black seats, I’ve got them in Woking, Surrey.

In fact I have loads of parts depending on how carried away you’re intending to get

 

[John_B]

If you’re interested in a set of standard black seats, I’ve got them in Woking, Surrey.

In fact I have loads of parts depending on how carried away you’re intending to get

ooh thanks, I'll come back you on those!

Mini Update: wheels are off and I am currently changing the fuel filter

note to self: gonna need a lot more WD40 for Tandy! 🥲

 

[John_B]

A better day today! Between non-car-related interruptions I was able to change the fuel filter, oil, oil filter, air filter and spark plugs. Doesn't sound a big deal but it's the first time I have ever done any of those (except the air filter). And what's more the car still works! Haha

I need to supplement my tool collection before I can do the brakes or wishbones (7mm allen, seems to be the ONE size I do not have, and I need some bigger sockets for the wishbones. The "spark plug socket" I got from Amazon was total crap, as soon as I had installed the new spark plug, there was too much grip between the socket and plug so the wrench just lifted out leaving the socket behind. Thankfully I had another 3/8" extension I was able to use to fish out the socket each time.

i was able to do a few other little jobs too - fitting the seat belt guide hack/fixes, replacing the bulb behind the odometer and a tail light bulb. I have also now noticed one of the number plate bulbs has blown, so adding that to the list. (How strange that the tail light and number plate bulbs weren't picked up in the MOT... )

Road trip tomorrow to pick up some 17" style 18s with plenty of tread left on the tyres, all for less than I would have spent to put new tyres on the 16" 'Star' style alloys

I need to figure out how to reset the service indicator now. The OBD adapter I got clearly isn't the right one I need. My port doesn't look like the one in the videos about jumping pins 7 & 19. Another post in the tech forum coming up about that!

 

[Althulas]

All a learning process, and yes your tool collection will grow along with it but worth the investment for the future.

 

[John_B]

This evening I have fit new discs and pads to the rear. I forgot to get a 'before' picture but I've taken one of the fronts for a comparison. The rears were in a similar state. I gave the callipers a scrub with a wire brush, however I think I have already committed in my head to replacing them post-MOT and giving them a lick of paint (I was thinking yellow or orange would contrast nicely with the Atlanta Blue)

I was quite pleased with myself actually, the first retaining nut was stuck hard, despite spraying it with rust penetrator a few times over the course of the day, and when I came to try and remove it it just rounded off straight away This is exactly the sort of thing that would have brought progress to a grinding halt before, but I persevered, hammered in a T40 (and then eventually T45 ) and went at it with an impact screwdriver. I do now need to source a replacement screw though (and hence the disc isn't aligned in the photo).

I was pleased to find plenty of meat left on the handbrake shoes too, which was handy as I'd not thought to get replacements (oops). I'll do those when I change the callipers.

Next up are the fronts (not too worried) and the control arms (very worried! )

 

[t-tony]

If you got the disc/drums off without de adjusting the handbrake shoes you were a very lucky boy!
Usually there is a wear lip which the shoes refuse to come over. Before attempting to undo the disc screw it can help to give the disc a few good smacks with a hammer on the screw area to help shock it loose.

Tony.

 

[John_B]

Before attempting to undo the disc screw it can help to give the disc a few good smacks with a hammer on the screw area to help shock it loose.

Thanks Tony, I'll bear that in mind when I get to start on the fronts, although I think we have a few wet days forecast here, so might not be until the weekend

 

[John_B]

Good progress over the last couple of days, I have now replaced the front brakes and both control arms!

I did have an enforced days break before I could finish getting the control arms off, first of all I needed the ball joint splitter, and then I ended up needing to borrow my neighbour's angle grinder to get the nut off the hub-end ball joint on the right hand side. (Note to self: need an angle grinder!)

After all of that, Tandy finally got his new (to me) wheels and was lowered off of axle stands.

Considering the MOT has now expired, I definitely didn't drive it up and down the road a few times. And it definitely didn't feel great!

I'm going on holiday next week, so he's been put away now and covered over. When I get back I need to tackle the brake lines

 

[John_B]

Well it's been a while due to holidays, wash-outs and attending the British GP, but today was the day I made a start on the brake lines. The plan is to start with the offside rear (MOT major) and nearside rear (MOT advisory) and then hopefully an MOT, followed by the rest of the brake lines as part of a brake overhaul at the end of the summer.

Just as I made a start the heavens opened, so I fashioned a den out of a tarp and the garage, and then remembered I had been meaning to get a gazebo. Gazebo (or "Ga-Z3-bo" if you will) on the way. But for today, a tarp will have to do!

(and yes, as soon as it was up, the sun came back out. It did successfully protect me from a few more showers over the course of the afternoon).

I managed to undo the calliper end of the rigid line pretty easily (a bit of cling film over the reservoir worked to limit spilled fluid). So I moved on to the inner end - less easy! I managed to break the 'rust seal' between the line and the bracket, but the line vs pipe joint was having none of it, and in fact the line broke about 3/4" away from the connector - so I guess that was the corrosion that caused the MOT major fault This actually helped by letting me get a ring spanner on it - but I still could not get enough purchase on the nut to undo it. Any pressure on the spanner and it would just ride up the edge of the nut and slip off. I tried pliers and still had no joy. Lots more WD40 and perseverance required.

At this point I decided to take a break from the nut and now 95% of the line was free, I took that to the work bench and started on the replacement

Bending the lines was fairly straight forward, just a bit of mental gymnastics to orientate the line in the bender correctly. Adding the flare was easy enough too. The proof will be when it is installed and pressurised of course!

Added a quick coat of Hammerite paint to the bare copper to try and offer some corrosion protection. Another post-MOT job is going to be applying some underseal, so hopefully between the two of them this new line should last another 25yrs...

So the next step would have been back to this b*****d 10mm nut, so I just thought I'd google it to see what the experts recommend in this situation and the first thing I read was that I should have been using "Flare Nut Spanner" rather than my normal spanners I didn't even know there was such a thing - such is the beauty of "learning by doing"!! The brass connectors being a softer metal than hardened steel nuts & bolts standard spanners would be used on, and so a lot of the trouble I faced was probably because my 10mm spanner has made a start on rounding-off the nut. Flared Nut Spanners are on the way, I'm not convinced they're going to help with this one nut, it might be a but late for that. But for the next ones hopefully they make it an easier affair.

Any tips for getting that 10mm nut off are welcome!!

 

[t-tony]

Get a pair of flat jawed 8” mole grips and attach to the brake hose ferrule. Cut the old brake pipe flush with the tube nut and use a 3/8” drive 10mm 6 point socket to loosen the tube nut. It’s best to do this on any brake pipe, just cut them off and use a socket. Much less chance of rounding the tube nut. DO NOT attempt this with curved jaw mole grips.

Tony.

 

[John_B]

Get a pair of flat jawed 8” mole grips and attach to the brake hose ferrule. Cut the old brake pipe flush with the tube nut and use a 3/8” drive 10mm 6 point socket to loosen the tube nut. It’s best to do this on any brake pipe, just cut them off and use a socket. Much less chance of rounding the tube nut. DO NOT attempt this with curved jaw mole grips.

Tony.

Thanks Tony, I have ordered some mole grips along with the flare nut spanners. I did try to use a socket, but same as with the spanner (open & ring), as soon as I applied any pressure it just rode up and off. I think by that point the damage was already done and it was rounding off. I'll try again with the mole grips when they arrive.

 

[Ianmc]

On the engine cleaning, I used some metal polish and very light sanding to remove most of the tarnish. Not perfect, but much better.
Have you sorted the emissions issue? I had to resort to an OEM cat a few years ago; tried two reputable after market ones with no luck.
You have a nice project there!

 

[John_B]

On the engine cleaning, I used some metal polish and very light sanding to remove most of the tarnish. Not perfect, but much better.
Have you sorted the emissions issue? I had to resort to an OEM cat a few years ago; tried two reputable after market ones with no luck.
You have a nice project there!
View attachment 269159

Oh wow, great job!! (Although the upside down oil cap is killing my OCD! ) I'll definitely have a go with the metal polish next time!

Do you have any recommendations for a particular metal polish/grade of sandpaper?