Hello @Jon Jeffryes not sure if I've grasped the technical bumf, this any use?
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...f2FAO0&usg=AFQjCNEFkdkVTNuwHnQy0iuHRl6cPvUGFw
The story so far - or how not to go touring in a Z3
- Thread starter Jon Jeffryes
- Start date
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...f2FAO0&usg=AFQjCNEFkdkVTNuwHnQy0iuHRl6cPvUGFw
It looks interesting Andy and I am tempted. i am going to investigate further before I blow another £130
One step forward and several backwards is the story of today! I finally fpound the time to change the gearbox oil.....After warming the gearbox through with a 5 mile test drive, I drained c.800ml of what can only be best described as brown smelly water. Replacing this with 1.2ltrs Comma semi synthetic GL5 75w90 gearbox oil (thank goodness for my trusty automotive syringe bought many years ago - made the job so easy). The difference to the car is astounding, first gear used to baulk and selection was notchy...now selection is easy and smooth and how a good rwd gearbox should feel.
That now completes the full service plus - plus that I have carried out on the car over the past few weeks. However I now have a number of codes being generated and poor running at lower revs. After a little internet research, it's pointing to the Disa valve that I rebuilt at the weekend ....or at least air leaks from this area. The kit supplies a replacement seal for the Disa/Manifold junction but it looks as if it isn't sealing quite as well as it should. Hopefully it will be an easy fix.
I am planning to change the engine oil and filter on Monday, using an engine flush before draining the current oil (this was changed when I first bought the car in early July.....but as we are off to Europe again next week, it will do no harm to flush the engine through.
Jon
That now completes the full service plus - plus that I have carried out on the car over the past few weeks. However I now have a number of codes being generated and poor running at lower revs. After a little internet research, it's pointing to the Disa valve that I rebuilt at the weekend ....or at least air leaks from this area. The kit supplies a replacement seal for the Disa/Manifold junction but it looks as if it isn't sealing quite as well as it should. Hopefully it will be an easy fix.
I am planning to change the engine oil and filter on Monday, using an engine flush before draining the current oil (this was changed when I first bought the car in early July.....but as we are off to Europe again next week, it will do no harm to flush the engine through.
Jon
If the gear oil was really that bad Jon, I would be tempted to use what you've put in as a flush and change it again soon. At least the engine oil and filter is a straight forward job. Hope Europe is good for you.
Tony.
Tony.
Good call Tony,If the gear oil was really that bad Jon, I would be tempted to use what you've put in as a flush and change it again soon. At least the engine oil and filter is a straight forward job. Hope Europe is good for you.
Tony.
I have sufficient oil for another change so i will put a few hundred miles on the car in a summer ...well Saturday coming as that is our summer apparently. The oil really was that bad....I suspect it was the original oil, the drain and refill plugs certainly had not been removed for many a year.
I'm hoping we will escape the grey that is England this summer and enjoy some more sun (it was fabulous in July), if not at least the roads are fantastic
It almost certainly will be. BMW like to put the word around that they are "sealed for life" and you can't change it. Of course their definition of a cars life is considerably shorter than we tend to own them.
The forecast over Belgium is particularly great for Sunday late afternoon onwards. It's just generally a crap summer mate. El Nino, Bugger!
Tony.
Tony.
The same applied for the Auto box oil on my Z3. The difference it made was astounding, whereas if I'd left it, the performance of the gearbox would have slowly diminished without really noticing.
Tony.
Another busy Sunday. Front callipers and pads removed, cleaned up and reassembled with Ceratec anti-squeal grease in an attempt to cure the dreaded brake squeal following fitting new pads and discs last month.
Code reader was reporting codes P0171 & P0174 - running lean on banks 1 and 2. I removed the throttle body and replaced the gasket as this was missing from the PCV replaced last week; replaced the two intake manifold rubber plugs and both vacuum hoses from the dipstick to the F connector on the intake rubber boot with silicone tubing.....both of these items have been highlighted on this forum as potential issues due to age and heat perishing. Both plugs and original vacuum hoses were cracked and leaking un-metered air (downstream from the airflow meter).
However, the biggest leak was from the upper intake boot that connects downstream of the airflow meter. It had perished and split completely at the connection at the back of the air filter plenum chamber. This area is underneath the main trunking so not immediately obvious unless removed from the car. The connection had completely perished and had a 1/2" vertical split and a massive air leak into the intake system. This has been sealed for now with repair tape until I can get to BMW and buy new tomorrow.
So the advice I pass on is check all intake and rubber components and vacuum hoses as the cars have now reached an stage where old age and the high under bonnet temperatures will probably have taken its toll on these components.
Jon
Code reader was reporting codes P0171 & P0174 - running lean on banks 1 and 2. I removed the throttle body and replaced the gasket as this was missing from the PCV replaced last week; replaced the two intake manifold rubber plugs and both vacuum hoses from the dipstick to the F connector on the intake rubber boot with silicone tubing.....both of these items have been highlighted on this forum as potential issues due to age and heat perishing. Both plugs and original vacuum hoses were cracked and leaking un-metered air (downstream from the airflow meter).
However, the biggest leak was from the upper intake boot that connects downstream of the airflow meter. It had perished and split completely at the connection at the back of the air filter plenum chamber. This area is underneath the main trunking so not immediately obvious unless removed from the car. The connection had completely perished and had a 1/2" vertical split and a massive air leak into the intake system. This has been sealed for now with repair tape until I can get to BMW and buy new tomorrow.
So the advice I pass on is check all intake and rubber components and vacuum hoses as the cars have now reached an stage where old age and the high under bonnet temperatures will probably have taken its toll on these components.
Jon
Only a few days to go before we are off to Europe again....assuming it ever stops raining and we can go in the zed rather than the ark!!
BMW came up trumps (eventually) with the correct intake boot. Originally they were insisting that the standard Z3/series 3 boot was correct and BMW never fitted a resonance chamber to the Z3 intake. Even the BMW parts computer system failed to show the intake system fitted to my car.
Eventually after showing them my old part and after much scrutiny, finding a part number on the boot.....under were a jubilee clip fitted which had almost worn the moulded number completely away.... we were able to get the correct part delivered this pm. (for anyone with a 2001 2.2i sport with intake resonator, the part number is 1354 1435 625)
On a positive note, once I had the part, fitting was a 20 minute job....and unfortunately with the current weather, I've not been able to test the car to see the improvements of having a leak free intake system.
The Vanos rebuild may have to wait until we return (unless I can find a spare evening before we go) however I will flush the engine and change the oil and filter at the very least.
Jon
BMW came up trumps (eventually) with the correct intake boot. Originally they were insisting that the standard Z3/series 3 boot was correct and BMW never fitted a resonance chamber to the Z3 intake. Even the BMW parts computer system failed to show the intake system fitted to my car.
Eventually after showing them my old part and after much scrutiny, finding a part number on the boot.....under were a jubilee clip fitted which had almost worn the moulded number completely away.... we were able to get the correct part delivered this pm. (for anyone with a 2001 2.2i sport with intake resonator, the part number is 1354 1435 625)
On a positive note, once I had the part, fitting was a 20 minute job....and unfortunately with the current weather, I've not been able to test the car to see the improvements of having a leak free intake system.
The Vanos rebuild may have to wait until we return (unless I can find a spare evening before we go) however I will flush the engine and change the oil and filter at the very least.
Jon
Great progress Jon, I removed the intake boot of a car made in 2000 with 32000 miles, the boot looked like swiss cheese
I think these could be wise words, enjoy you holiday.
Mine split open when removing the air box for better access to the gear box bolts on Saturday. Replaced it with a pipe which doesn't have a connector to the resonance chamber which Lee had laying around doing nothing... Hasn't made much difference as far as I can tell...
I wasn't sure how much; if any; difference removing the resonator box would make.....but as I am already working through the snag list, I didn't want to add any further issues....the Resonator intake boot is £10 more expensive than the standard boot. If I had read your post first, I think I would have removed the box (it's only attached with two screws to the main air-box) and gone with a standard intake boot.
Never mind!
Thanks Brian,
I think a lot of our cars have reached an age where plastic/rubber items will need a regular inspection. Prior to the zed, I ran a series of ancient Porsche's (up to about 30 years old) and strangely the rubber items on that brand seem to last a lot longer than the same on the BMW.
I still may tackle the Vanos as I found time to progress on the car today, clearing a larger number of snags on the list than expected.
Regards
Jon
Seems they last about 10 years max, both Z3's I bought have had split/perished hoses. Seen it on a LOT of other Z3's too, and probably one of the most common new owner finds.
A great day for clearing the snag list (read that as 'it is raining cats and dogs so I ensconced myself in the garage). Focus has been on preparing the car for Europe but also clearing the Codes relating to lean running.
So today I flushed the engine running for 20 minutes with a can of Wynns Engine Flush added. I was really surprised how dark the oil was when drained as it was less than 1500 miles old. I've refilled with Mobil Super fully synthetic 5w-30 and changed the filter......and the engine seems much smoother and quieter?? Wishful thinking perhaps, but still pleased with the results.
I also changed the 'O' rings on the intake manifold separator which solved the problem of lean running at last Finally, I have a Zed without error codes again.
Just a few other items to go through on the current snag list and I might just be able to start concentrating on the bodywork!
So today I flushed the engine running for 20 minutes with a can of Wynns Engine Flush added. I was really surprised how dark the oil was when drained as it was less than 1500 miles old. I've refilled with Mobil Super fully synthetic 5w-30 and changed the filter......and the engine seems much smoother and quieter?? Wishful thinking perhaps, but still pleased with the results.
I also changed the 'O' rings on the intake manifold separator which solved the problem of lean running at last
Finally, I have a Zed without error codes again.Just a few other items to go through on the current snag list and I might just be able to start concentrating on the bodywork!
One of the first points of call whenever I buy a new 'classic'... early Porsche 928's are great fun with complex vacuum systems powering central locking and cruise control!
Here's the latest update from (not so) sunny Germany. We drove down to Schwarzwald on Sunday 30th making excellent time in a revitalised Z3. Just about 580 miles covered at a steady 80 plus using the first tankful of BP premium from UK and subsequent fill ups of super 98 on the Continent.
The day prior to departure I changed the dipstick O ring as I could detect a hiss from the area when I accidentally moved the tube with engine running. A swine of a job to do without removing anything else as access isn't the best and the original O ring came out in two halves.....I must have caught it when refitting the dipstick tube after replacing the oil separator.
Notable differences from the July trip - no oil used on the journey; much smoother and more responsive engine; brakes that reliably provide deceleration (although the backs still squeal like buggery!) and complete confidence in the car.
We enjoyed temperatures in the mid 30's for Sunday/Monday and covered another 250 miles of mixed driving. Wednesday we drove through Germany, across Switzerland including the Gothard Tunnel on the way out and finally into Como, Italy. On the return trip we took the Gothard Pass.....spectacular up to about 2000m and then the cloud base swallowed us for the last 100m. Visibility at points dropped to a car length at most requiring a crawl along at >5mph in 1st gear .....this truly was one of the scariest driving experiences I have ever had particularly as this section didn't have crash barriers....just a row of granite blocks spaced more than a car length apart marking the edge of the road.
Coming out of the cloud on the downward section the drive returned to spectacular and the car performed superbly....a lot better than the driver. We diverted around Lake Lucerne and then on to Bern, then Zurich finally crossing the border into Germany and driving through the forest in pitch darkness...I was really glad that the Zed has excellent lights!
The rest of the week has been spent touring the southern Black forest, not as high as the Gothard but no less spectacular. The roads and views were absolutely made for the Z3. Finally returning to the UK on this Sunday via France's excellent toll system, worth the money for the quality of the roads.
We covered 2221 miles from start to finish. Over 1000 those miles were covered at altitudes above 1000 metres. Temperatures at the start of the holiday were in the mid 30's ....dropping to the low teens in over the week. The work carried out on the car has transformed it from a good car to a great car. Fuel consumption has improved by over 25%; engine oil consumption has fallen to virtually nil; Engine performance has improved substantially right across the rev range but most particularly from 1800 rpm upwards where the torque is massively increased.
The car still throws up issues...the most irritating being rear brake squeal and rub. despite new discs/pads/handbrake shoes/fixtures/anti-squeal springs, calliper rebuilds, anti-squeal grease and several rebuilds, the damn things will not stop squealing/squeaking!
So after just over two months of ownership and 6075 miles, just over £1,000 invested since purchase on the mechanicals and some more to come yet ...and despite the brake issue and various other random hiccups, we actually are delighted with Cecil....yes, my wife has named the car after the unfortunate Lion....this car has really changed our life in terms of the fun element it has introduced to motoring.,,,and it is the best fun we have had - two tours of Europe and every week we are out in the car, top down, at least twice a week hence the car now wearing 78000 miles, +6000 brilliant miles since purchase.
the continuing plan goes something like this; the wheels will be refurbished, the bodywork tidied and the seats will be re-dyed (scuffs on the bolsters rather than damage) plus rebuilding the Vanos, changing the suspension bushes and replacing the shocks a springs.
This car will never be a garage queen, it has been bought to enjoy and gradually improved so I look forward to seeing everybody attending the South coast run on the 20th.
Here are a few photos for the trip for your perusal
The day prior to departure I changed the dipstick O ring as I could detect a hiss from the area when I accidentally moved the tube with engine running. A swine of a job to do without removing anything else as access isn't the best and the original O ring came out in two halves.....I must have caught it when refitting the dipstick tube after replacing the oil separator.
Notable differences from the July trip - no oil used on the journey; much smoother and more responsive engine; brakes that reliably provide deceleration (although the backs still squeal like buggery!) and complete confidence in the car.
We enjoyed temperatures in the mid 30's for Sunday/Monday and covered another 250 miles of mixed driving. Wednesday we drove through Germany, across Switzerland including the Gothard Tunnel on the way out and finally into Como, Italy. On the return trip we took the Gothard Pass.....spectacular up to about 2000m and then the cloud base swallowed us for the last 100m. Visibility at points dropped to a car length at most requiring a crawl along at >5mph in 1st gear .....this truly was one of the scariest driving experiences I have ever had particularly as this section didn't have crash barriers....just a row of granite blocks spaced more than a car length apart marking the edge of the road.
Coming out of the cloud on the downward section the drive returned to spectacular and the car performed superbly....a lot better than the driver. We diverted around Lake Lucerne and then on to Bern, then Zurich finally crossing the border into Germany and driving through the forest in pitch darkness...I was really glad that the Zed has excellent lights!
The rest of the week has been spent touring the southern Black forest, not as high as the Gothard but no less spectacular. The roads and views were absolutely made for the Z3. Finally returning to the UK on this Sunday via France's excellent toll system, worth the money for the quality of the roads.
We covered 2221 miles from start to finish. Over 1000 those miles were covered at altitudes above 1000 metres. Temperatures at the start of the holiday were in the mid 30's ....dropping to the low teens in over the week. The work carried out on the car has transformed it from a good car to a great car. Fuel consumption has improved by over 25%; engine oil consumption has fallen to virtually nil; Engine performance has improved substantially right across the rev range but most particularly from 1800 rpm upwards where the torque is massively increased.
The car still throws up issues...the most irritating being rear brake squeal and rub. despite new discs/pads/handbrake shoes/fixtures/anti-squeal springs, calliper rebuilds, anti-squeal grease and several rebuilds, the damn things will not stop squealing/squeaking!
So after just over two months of ownership and 6075 miles, just over £1,000 invested since purchase on the mechanicals and some more to come yet ...and despite the brake issue and various other random hiccups, we actually are delighted with Cecil....yes, my wife has named the car after the unfortunate Lion....this car has really changed our life in terms of the fun element it has introduced to motoring.,,,and it is the best fun we have had - two tours of Europe and every week we are out in the car, top down, at least twice a week hence the car now wearing 78000 miles, +6000 brilliant miles since purchase.
the continuing plan goes something like this; the wheels will be refurbished, the bodywork tidied and the seats will be re-dyed (scuffs on the bolsters rather than damage) plus rebuilding the Vanos, changing the suspension bushes and replacing the shocks a springs.
This car will never be a garage queen, it has been bought to enjoy and gradually improved so I look forward to seeing everybody attending the South coast run on the 20th.
Here are a few photos for the trip for your perusal
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Great write up Jon, really happy that you're enjoying your car and it sounds like you're pleased you bought it.
Tony.
Tony.
Nice cow 