zroadster.net

Del

S52 engine? Am I correct in thinking that this was the "M" engine used in the US instead of the S50 engine used (in earlier Z3ms) in Europe. The S52 being a bored out and tweaked 2.8 M52 engine without the full power/performance of the S50 M division engine? Z1s are very rare - would a non...

Del

I have seen comments that it is a characteristic of "individual" coloured BMWs. I assume that if a non-standard colour is used, the shell is removed from the standard paint production line and done "individually" which leads to it being painted all over

Del

New set (all 4) of standard height Bilstein B3 coil springs - the top and bottom coils on the originals are looking quite rusty

Del

Off the container in my garage:- Triple QX – SynPlus Fully Synthetic 5W-40 (for petrol & diesel engines). Meets the requirements of API SN/CF, ACEA A3/B3/B4-12, BMW LL-01, VW 502.00, 505.00, MB 229.3, Renault RN700/RN710 In my experience it is more likely to the “weekend DIYers” who get seduced ...

Del

Sorry to hear it's not completely cured by the DISA replacement. My guess would be the VANOS - you don't tend to hear of the oil pumps causing problems on these cars. Engine oil recommendations have tended to evolve over the years. When these engines were first designed I would guess that semi-synth...

Del

Personally, I have used OE/BMW thermostat and Meyle water pump. Cheap viscous fans are a nightmare; they can make a terrible noise and not operate properly. I believe the OE viscous fan is made by Sachs – my son helped a friend replace a cheap (noisy and troublesome aftermarket one) with a Sachs one...

Del

Yep - BMW antifreeze from my nearest dealer - sold in 1.5 litre bottles and the deionised water from Tesco - cheapest I've found.

Del

Gareth 161 wrote:Does the 3.0 engine in the z3 have the same Disa issue as the 3.0 in the z4 as that might be another first job to check out

As far as I am aware both the M52 and M54 engines had a similar DISA valve arrangement - I am not aware of any DISA problem that was unique to the Z4

Del

There aren’t really any special materials/metals in these Z3 engines that would merit special antifreeze. The coolant you have shown does not appear to be particularly “long life” as it says it is only effective for one-year. I like a bargain myself and I am not a BMW parts-only disciple, but I have...

Del

I assume the rocker panel is another term for the “sill covers”. I’ve seen fibreglass sills talked about but never seen evidence of them being produced. BMW still sell the OE versions which come in their black primer – I recently paid £180 each (1998 1.9). To solve the rust it would really need to b...

Del

I can guess that some of those jobs were not cheap - the bodywork looks great.

Del

This is supposed to be good stuff

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nextzett-Gumm ... 3641.l6368

Del

Good news. Could have been something really straightforward like the cat(s) just getting a little "choked up" and just needing a prolonged higher speed run to get nice and hot to clear themselves. One can get a similar issue (sometimes worse) with modern diesels and their DPFs - often need...

Del

Just to add another option - Autoglym to a cleaner/proofer kit
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autoglym-Fabr ... XQeW5TYixF

Del

mrscalex wrote:The original fit M44 DISAs have Bosch stamped on them

Fair enough, it's just that they're such obscure items you can't imagine more than one specialist firm making them

Del

Common for these to start becoming noisy after 60-80,000 miles. Because 6 cylinder cars are more common throughout the World - particularly in the US - there is a 6 cylinder version repair kit which will fix any physical fault (rattle) but not an internal electrical issue. The Z3 4 cylinder cars als...

Del

Sounds like the DISA valve

Del

Koolflyer wrote:To be honest, I don't know either. Perhaps it's something to do with the USA exhaust emissions filter that some of our European cars have, which mine doesn't??

That's a good point - some sort of EGR system perhaps?

Del

A simple but proper remap from a reputable tuning firm can produce extra BHP - I got 10% extra on my 1.9 (140 to 152) as did another forum member. I suppose "high flow sports cats" can let the car breathe a bit easier but my experience of aftermarket cats from stainless steel exhaust firms...

Del

colb wrote:Could it be item 12 on the diagram

That was a good spot Colb - I wonder why they fitted "blanking plugs" that high up on the exhaust manifold?

Del

Since acquiring the car I have had to top up the oil by a litre / 2k miles; is this normal for a Z? Higher engine oil usage is reported by very many owners with the M54 engine (2.2 and 3.0) - I haven't got that engine myself, but from what I have read it seems to be a slight design issue around the...

Del

New Brembo brake discs and pads all around

Del

The Z3 hydraulic steering fluid is just basic, common ATF fluid which is typically a cherry colour when new - inexpensive to buy. Leaks typically occur by rusty cooling pipes or the factory-fitted clips holding the rubber hoses in place - the rubber shrinks slightly with age and the clips loosen sli...

Del

The Z3 BMW OE coil springs are very high quality steel and whilst they can rust and break with age, I have not known them to sag. The wear you experienced on the inside edge of the rear tyres is often typically associated with cars that have been lowered. Is it possible your car has had lowering spr...

Del

You can try breakers but you need to get them off the right shape car and 2nd hand sills can be as rusty as the ones you are replacing. I recently paid £180 each from BMW for my narrow body, pre-facelift 1.9. They told me this included a slight discount as they had surplus stop somewhere in the BMW ...

Del

As Brian says, the M ones are offset and the arrow has to point to the front of the car to get them correctly positioned. I suspect the arrow is stuck on the standard ones through some sort of common production process. If you are concerned, just get them pointing frontwards.

Del

That's 207,000 miles. Tough old cast iron blocks and forged bottom ends in these 1.9s. They'll go on forever with regular oil changes eliminating wear :) There are a lot of rubber O-rings sealing the expansion tank (2 sealing the tank to the radiator, 1 on the bleed screw, 1 on the drain plug and po...

Del

I don’t think you will find specific lengths of pipe for the Z1-Z3 range or indeed other classics like the 2002 etc. BMW sell their fuel pipe in specific 1 meter lengths – from memory it is more expensive than general motor accessory store stuff, costing about £15 - 20. My investigations pointed to ...

Del

Just done mine - cured the squeak that had recently developed

Del

My guess is that as you had an error code suggesting a "throttle position sensor (TPS)" error, it is actually the sensor at fault or I have encountered a sticking butterfly valve cause such an error. The valve gets black, sticky carbon around the edge that can cause it to stick. If it is t...

Del

I'm a bit of a purist and have sleepness nights "stressing" over whether you are going to slowly restore this nice Z3m back towards OE with OE wheels and exhaust tail pipes etc

Good work on the carpet.

Del

I'm not sure that the "pockets" are particularly critical - I believe it has something to do with allowing a bit of "give" in the hood. I had a new soft top from Croydon last year (no pockets) and I am very happy with it. Some of the prices I was quoted were more than the value o...

Del

OBD code P0116 suggests some wiring issue with the coolant temperature sensor (CTS). Could be one of several issues – as covered already by Southernboy. Some time ago, I changed my CTS when I was chasing a mystery cold start issue. At first I bought an aftermarket one from GSF for about £10 (as they...

Del

I would have guessed that this manifold swop (when combined with a proper remap) would make a significant difference. I had a “stage one” remap done on my humble 1.9 (140 bhp) by a reputable and recommended tuning firm and they took it to 152 bhp after several hours work on and off a rolling road. A...

Del

Seats look lovely. The engine sounds very non-standard when revved. Do you have to have some final "re-map tune" on a rolling road?

Del

Good work, a Z3M deserves to be respectfully restored

Del

I've got one - they are sewn in. I think you would struggle to find any aftermarket firm who could supply a zip-in rear window - apart from a special order BMW OE version which would cost well into 4 figures.

Del

Immaculate and rust-free, rear offside, narrow body wing already painted in Arctic Silver. The existing one has had a poor repair in the past as it shows poorly sanded filler and rust. I’ve already bought two new OE sills (BMW had surplus UK stock and were selling at a discount). All to be painted o...

Del

What a difference

Del

When changing the oil on my Zed for the first time, I did find on the net that oil capacity for my engine was 5 liters. So I emptied the whole container, to then find that is was too much. Earlier this year, when I changed the oil again, I knew better and poured oil in stages, waiting and checking ...

Del

I was looking at an Alpina Roadster S (Z4 based) a while back and the pre-purchase enquiries I made suggested parts are a lot harder to pinpoint and then obtain. For example, as far as I am aware, the exhausts and suspension are exclusive to Alpina. The Alpina exhausts are stainless steel. The engin...

Del

kjb1 wrote:Looks like I've got myself a 2.8

- A nice one too with a lot of the typical big jobs already sorted

Del

Never experienced this or seen it mentioned on the forum before. If it’s the original 1998 hood, any shrinking would have happened years ago – although I’m not aware that they can shrink. When I had a new hood fitted a year ago, the fitter said that the hoods do not shrink or stretch, the only thing...

Del

Not surprised you sold that one quickly

Del

WReyno70 wrote: he is also stating 124000 mile - it was sold with 126580

WReyno70 wrote:7 previous owners and not 6 as advertised?

Does it say the car was owned by Elvis?
Sounds like the trader refurbishment process is underway

Del

I remember those GT6s well – many seemed to be in a pale blue colour. Triumph had a good range of sports cars back in those days:- 2 versions of Vitesse 1.6 & 2.0, the Spitfire, GT6 and Stag plus several saloons and the Dolomite/Sprint with what was an advanced engine at the time! :D German cars...

Del

Well done and as is often the case with these "retro classics", some good renovation and preventative work along the way

Del

The dealer only has a "profit on paper" at the moment - he has to sell it yet and fund his bank overdraft in the meantime

Del

It sounds as if your post cat lambda(s) have triggered the “error light” as their main purpose is to measure cat efficiency. Assuming the sensors are not faulty, it means the fault lies with the cat itself. There are cleaners that can be put into the petrol to clean the cat that MAY help – I’ve hear...

Del

Looks like a "dealer".

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