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alec.m

Thanks mwpe. It's good to hear suggestions that don't mention CH. Some excellent thoughts to investigate.

alec.m

Thanks 4wheels.

alec.m

Unusually it doesn't use a drop of oil. It's coolant that it's losing. I hope I can find where it's going. Hate mysteries.

alec.m

Thanks guys, I`m only taking a guess at it being the head gasket. It needs topping up by about 250 ml a month. No external signs of a leak and no sign of anything on the dipstick. No steam or smoke from the exhaust. Performance is unaffected. I`ll also get the water system pressure tested this week.

alec.m

I appear to have a small coolant leak with some mayo showing on the oil filler cap which is making me think that I have a problem with the head gasket. I do a lot of short journeys, maybe the mayo is down to that but I`m concerned about the water loss. Can anyone give me an idea what the cost of hav...

alec.m

I had exactly that problem a few years ago on my 2.8. It was knackered bushes on the rear of the wishbones. I took the opportunity to replace them with powerflex purple bushes. A complete cure for me. Hope this helps. If this is your problem your tracking will never be right and you`ll soon ruin you...

alec.m

The Halfords ones are described in this post

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44857&p=413552&hili ... ps#p413552

alec.m

Thanks Colb. I'll see if I can get the air con charged and working. If that cures the smell that would be great, if not that'll be one thing out of the equation.

alec.m

Year 2000 3.0 auto. Don`t often get a chance to give it some beans but the last half dozen times I have I`ve had a strange smell in the cabin. Not too sure if I`ve seen a waft of something coming out from under the bonnet too. First thought was a slight oil leak onto the exhaust but it doesn`t smell...

alec.m

You can't miss it if you have one. It's quite big. A picture of it and where it is is on the following post.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=43360

alec.m

Do you have a secondary air pump? They make a similar noise when failing and that goes away when warm, usually 90 ish seconds later.

alec.m

My 3.0 has a beautiful growl when you give it stick. It sounds like the flap on yours isn`t working. I`d try to fix that and see what you think before going stainless. Some who have gone with aftermarket exhausts have reported that while it sounds great at first, when they`ve gone on a long run it`s...

alec.m

Powerflex purple definitely.

alec.m

Having sorted several Z3's tramlining problems, First make sure you have good new (under 6 year old tires on the front) Second, change is the front control arm rear rubber bushings. Don't use the standard Z3 bushings, use the Z3M bushing. It has more rubber and makes a far stiffer connection to the...

alec.m

Rafolian wrote:Mine are staggered too, 225/45 front and 245/40 rear, and have priced up 914's.

That's interesting, when I looked I couldn't find any for the rear. Not ready for them till next year so I'll do another search then. Who supplied them for you?

alec.m

I had 914s on my 2.8 and was impressed with them. Great all round tyre and good in wet weather. Only thing to watch is the "running in" period. I found it needed about 500 miles before they lost the slippy stuff off them. I`d buy again but I`ve got a staggered set up on my 3.0and they don`...

alec.m

You are correct. The single vanos is easier to convert to the 2.5 inlet manifold with the bored out throttle body, a mod which reputedly brings it up to 3.0 performance. It is possible to do the same to a twin vanos but there`s only one I know of been documented. There are issues doing it to a twin ...

alec.m

Some pics on this post of the top I had fitted by Croydon soft tops

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=43448&p=401621&hili ... op#p401621

alec.m

Thanks alec.m, I assume you have personal experience of Croydon soft tops..?? you must have been pleased with the service after travelling up from lymington. I'm happy to go with the recommendations from this site, lot's of knowledge and tips and all free....!!! Yes, under 2 years ago on my Atlanta...

alec.m

I`ll second that. Great guy, perfect job at a very good price.

alec.m

10.5 ltr Capacity for a 3.0. I don`t know what type you need. I`m sure someone will be along soon to let you know.

alec.m

When you take the cover off the fusebox there should be some spare fuses and some plastic tweezers to remove the fuses in there. Look in the handbook to see the position and rating of the fuse.

alec.m

I had a pump failure on my 2.8 and was just going to remove the valve and put a blanking plate in its place but the indy that I use advised against that as the ECU would throw up faults. I managed to get a second hand pump to resolve the issue, new ones are serious money. I don`t think there would b...

alec.m

In the knowledge base, all you need to know to repair a microswitch.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=34454

Hope this helps

alec.m

You`re welcome. The extra 40ish bhp of the 3.0 is very noticeable after the 2.8. There might be more cars on the market after summer ends. Took me a long time to find what I wanted so be patient.

alec.m

Go for a 3.0 Walter. I went for a 3.0 after my 2.8 and it`s so much better. I spent ages looking for a low mileage manual but after a recommendation from a member looked at autos. I`d passed by on quite a few because they weren`t manual. I ended up with an auto, there was a better selection of autos...

alec.m

I would get the codes read first to see if there`s anything showing up. Sensors etc. Vanos repair seems quite a simple job especially if you get a second hand one to repair at your leisure. Read this post ... http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41861&p=388112&hilit=vanos+r...

alec.m

Thanks for the input Robert. I`ll probably go for the middle of the road ones as I always do. Eicher premium ones must be made to a spec that passes some EE laws. Maybe it`s the make up of the metal that makes a price difference and of course the top branded will always command a premium price even ...

alec.m

Hi Robert, I like the idea of the ramps. Should be reasonably cheap to makeup and you could choose what height you want them if you do it yourself. As to getting your car with the seized engine on what about this 4 ton ratchet puller on ebay, only £28 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Ton-Heavy-Duty-Cable...

alec.m

ECP have another 30% off sale on. I`ll be needing some front discs and pads for my 3.0 before the year is out so I`m thinking of getting them while the sale is on. I`d like some views on the difference between say Eicher premium that work out at £17.50 each after discount and Bosch which work out at...

alec.m

I don`t think there`s much point in paying for 4 wheel alignment as there`s no adjustment on the rear. Front needs tracking, especially with new tyres fitted. As mentione before make sure all the ball joints etc at the front are in good shape first.

alec.m

With 17" staggered set up your choice of brands is limited if you want the same all round. My choice on my 2.8 which had standard 16" wheels was Falken ZE914 , never had any tramlining with them but when I did a search for my 3.0 17" staggered they don`t do the rears. In fact there we...

alec.m

It`s gone.

alec.m

Sorted

alec.m

Hi, I took my cd changer out of the boot to make more space as I bought the car with new ICE installed. I`ve no idea if it works but no reason to suspect it doesn`t. Just asking for postage which would be about £5.
Alec

alec.m

Recently removed 6cd changer to make space in boot. It looks in good order with no marks but as I bought the car with a new radio cd player installed I can`t guarantee it works. Looking for £25 plus postage at cost which will be about £4. Thanks http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb380/alec-m/CD%20...

alec.m

Brilliant article, thanks Barry

alec.m

If you don`t want to do the work on your seats yourself £60 a seat sounds ok to me but unless you have rips in them you could refresh them a lot cheaper than that. There`s been a few posts recently here doing major refurbs on seats. A product called Gummi Pflege seems to be the most common product u...

alec.m

Mine`s a 3.0 and I checked it on a run last month. Brimmed tank before and when I got back. 29mpg, mostly motorway driving though. It`s crap on short journeys. In the handbook it gives almost identical figures as the 2.8 but my 2.8 regularly gave me high 30s on a run. Perhaps it`s the need to hear t...

alec.m

Thanks Brian. I was looking at the wrong diagram!

alec.m

Do you have the part number for the Rocker cover bolt cover or know if it fits the 3.0 ? Tried to find it on Realoem but couldn`t see it.
Cheers Alec

alec.m

Thanks Antm72, I`ll have a go at that. Why does it always rain when you haven`t got a garage and you need to work on your car!?

alec.m

The two lenses seem to have come away from the adjuster. I`ve been told it`s a ball joint inside that`s popped out? Is there any way of getting it back on without splitting the headlamp? Grateful for any input. Thanks.

alec.m

As title. Failed mot on drivers side headlamp. Adjusters seized. Thanks

alec.m

You`re welcome Alan

alec.m

There`s some new ones on ebay £9.38 free delivery

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-A ... 1672656802

alec.m

Thanks Bob and Jon. That`s what I wanted to know. I`ll get on to spurs fan and see about a carpet and do it all in one hit. Alec

alec.m

I`m going to remove the CD changer from the boot. It takes up a serious amount of space. Is there anything I need to be aware of or is it just unbolt, pull leads out and tuck them out of the way. Thanks.

alec.m

A quote from my thread a while ago from Mike Fishwick Noise and vibration from a secondary air pump is usually due to it being neglected (sorry - 'Requiring no maintenance' in BMWspeak!) The pump is an eccentric vane type - just like a bigger air horn compressor, and in the absence of lubrication th...

alec.m

The secondary air pump only runs for a short time on start so it should not be doing anything when you switch off. There is a valve between the pump and the exhaust manifold that can go bad. if it does it will leak hot gases back into the pump and after a while kills the pump. Maybe the is making t...

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