Winter work and (finally!) no more MoT advisories!

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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Benw123
Joined: Fri 08 May, 2015 19:09
Posts: 30

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Winter work and (finally!) no more MoT advisories!

Post by Benw123 »

Finally got a fresh ticket today after a huge amount of work over winter. Better still, no advisories which was my ultimate aim, although things took a twist on MoT day - see below!

For the last two years, I've SORN'd my Zed over winter to get the jobs done in the garage, and this is what I got up to. Hope you find this useful and shout if you have any questions! :D

Engine, transmission and differential oil changes

Engine oil and filter change is a given, but this year I took on the transmission (using Triple QX EP90 oil) and the differential (Castrol Oil Syntrax 75w140 LSD oil). The differential is easy to reach with the car on stands and the spare wheel removed. The filler nuts are recessed hex types, so I had to buy an adapter to be able to undo them (a little bit like this). There's so much room in there that you can angle the filler neck from the bottle straight into the diff.

The transmission however was a real pain, for two reasons. First, the filler bolt (17mm) is a total nightmare to undo as there's so little room inside the transmission tunnel. With the undertrays removed, I made up a breaker bar (also known as a "cheater bar") to get enough leverage to undo it:

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Then filling it is very tricky. I used a baster (£1.50 on Amazon!) with a small piece of flexible tube added to the tip to angle it inside the gearbox. This was messy but I didn't lose much oil, and you can inject about 100ml each time - the transmission takes 1 litre. But the difference is surprising. The gear change is so light I actually thought there was no oil in it! Here's a comparison, with the clean oil at the top and old oil at the bottom:

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Rear brake discs and pads

Sourced some new Pagid rear discs and pads from Eurocarparts during their 35%-off Halloween sale. They usually do weekend 30% discounts and are well worth using. To get at the brakes, which were a regular MoT advisory feature over the last few years, I actually removed the rear shock absorber first - see next section - which makes access much easier. Most of the bolts were 16mm from memory, and my new impact wrench made this a much easier job. Lots of cleaning in between and this wasn't too tricky at all. The MoT braking test report showed an almost perfect balance across the axle so a good result.

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New Sachs shock absorbers all round

This started as an advisory on the front left, which was leaking. I'd read in a buying guide that the Z3's dampers generally last about 80k, so with my car knocking on the door of 90k, I decided to replace all four. At the back, life's easy - a single 18mm bolt at the hub and three smaller nuts at the top. The fronts are trickier, as you have three 18mm bolts, one held with a nut. I had to buy a second 18mm socket to handle this (£3.50 from Eurocarparts again!) and with access poor, a breaker or cheater bar is recommended. Then three nuts in the engine bay and they're out:

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You can see how the lower part of the strut on the right has darker paint - this is actually the damper oil holding together lots of dirt :) I've used spring compressors before, but when checking the retaining nut at the top, I discovered it's 21mm. I had this as a socket, but not as a recessed ring spanner to allow an 8mm socket to go on top! Interestingly, the new Sachs dampers have 22mm bolts, so here I gave up and contacted a local garage. The guys were brilliant and changed the springs across (and disposed of the old dampers) for just £33 all in, including VAT. It then took an hour each side to complete the front. This is the view just before refitting, with the hub supported by a spare axle stand. Note all the dirt and rust flakes on the floor!

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Electric seat bushes

Like many, I also suffered from the rocking chair problem and promptly ordered a set of bushes via this guide. The seats aren't too hard to remove, apart from the bolts nearest the transmission tunnel at the back of the car. I found it was easier to set the seat back, loosen the bolts, then set it forwards, loosen again, then disconnect the battery and only after that, disconnect the wiring loom. There's a fair bit of sanding involved - probably 10 minutes for each bush - but it all went back together okay. I greased the threaded runners too for good measure. This picture shows what causes the rocking - the soft rubber bushes are completely perished:

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On the plus side, under the seats I found some coins totaling £1.39, so every cloud and all that! :D

MoT day - and rusty rear brake lines!

So the MoT itself, and it failed initially - corroded rear brake lines. I'd inspected these and after a clean, wasn't sure if they were still dirty or corroded. The tester complimented the car by saying how clean it was (!) but said that the lines were a concern and that he'd have to fail. I had a busy week ahead and when they quoted £145 to replace the lines and change the brake fluid, I took it. The car was back in a little over 24 hours. That sort of work is more involved and perilous if you get it wrong!

There's still a lot to do, but apart from enjoying the car now, next winter will be more about refurbishment. I'd like to clean up more of the underside, treat and paint it where possible. But it's great to have the car back outside and ready to go - it drives better than ever.
99/T Z3 1.9 twin-cam, Boston Green, black leather
Boosh
Joined: Sun 30 Nov, 2014 22:40
Posts: 324

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Winter work and (finally!) no more MoT advisories!

Post by Boosh »

Well done, a few jobs ticked off the list. But what about the main one: the weather? All the efforts you put in will only add to the frustration if it keeps on peeing down all the time! Last week I had my first top-down ride of the year, and this week we get 19mm of rain in 2 days. Perhaps we could get a petition started, or something...
Anyway, well done on keeping busy in the winter and congrats on the MoT. While you were at it, did you check the condition of the hand-brake shoes and cables? One of my cables had seized, so I changed the lot, as well as pads and discs, too, since they had to come off.
Next for me is rust-remedy, then paint diff and tank straps, hoping that the latter can be saved, rather than replaced. Fingers crossed,

Boosh.
Benw123
Joined: Fri 08 May, 2015 19:09
Posts: 30

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Winter work and (finally!) no more MoT advisories!

Post by Benw123 »

Boosh wrote:Well done, a few jobs ticked off the list. But what about the main one: the weather? All the efforts you put in will only add to the frustration if it keeps on peeing down all the time! Last week I had my first top-down ride of the year, and this week we get 19mm of rain in 2 days. Perhaps we could get a petition started, or something...
Anyway, well done on keeping busy in the winter and congrats on the MoT. While you were at it, did you check the condition of the hand-brake shoes and cables? One of my cables had seized, so I changed the lot, as well as pads and discs, too, since they had to come off.
Next for me is rust-remedy, then paint diff and tank straps, hoping that the latter can be saved, rather than replaced. Fingers crossed,

Boosh.
Thanks for your comments Boosh. The shoes were in great shape and all I did was use an old hoover to clean it all out. Like you, one of my cables was a bit sticky before - if you pulled the handbrake up when rolling forward slowly, the car would pull down on one side - but since the new discs that problem has gone. This might be because the cable was tight as you only needed a couple of clicks on the lever before, but it's a little more now, something I think is better for the car. The brake test report I mentioned also showed the handbrake strength as even across the axle.

And you're right about the weather. In the last two years, I taxed the Zed for 6 months from April, but if I've got my maths right, I can buy 12 months with a direct debit, run the car for 7 months, and it costs £20 extra. Probably worth it - especially as the battery needs a really good charge!
99/T Z3 1.9 twin-cam, Boston Green, black leather
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