165k mile BMW Z4 2.5 - 3 Careful PH Owners
Discussion
The Z4 giveth...
And it taketh away..
So for those keeping track at home, my "essentials" list is now:
- Oil leak(s) | needs investigating
- Un-seize rear suspension + Rear alignment | Awaiting parts
- Rust on off-side | needs investigating
- Driver's door handle + alignment | needs investigating
And that's before I get it properly checked over
In all honesty, I took it out for a driver today and had an absolutely fantastic time - whilst my buying decision could have certainly been helped with a bit more sanity, I'm not regretting it.... yet
And it taketh away..
So for those keeping track at home, my "essentials" list is now:
- Oil leak(s) | needs investigating
- Un-seize rear suspension + Rear alignment | Awaiting parts
- Rust on off-side | needs investigating
- Driver's door handle + alignment | needs investigating
And that's before I get it properly checked over
In all honesty, I took it out for a driver today and had an absolutely fantastic time - whilst my buying decision could have certainly been helped with a bit more sanity, I'm not regretting it.... yet
Congratulations on becoming the next custodian of the PH Z4. 
M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
Mr Tidy said:
Congratulations on becoming the next custodian of the PH Z4.
M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
Something I learned recently is that the e46 Sports seats bolt straight in, which makes for a slightly cheaper upgrade over the standard park benches. M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
Tim_D said:
Looks like fiberglass from a previous repair doesn't it?
I admire the enthusiasm and it looks like a fun project. Though, I'd be getting that rust properly checked before putting too much money into this car.
Agreed completely. I wouldn't be spending a penny until I knew how much that rust repair was going to cost. Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, OP. It's just that I've been reading up on Z4s for quite some time before I bought, and yours is the first example I've ever seen with rust like that.I admire the enthusiasm and it looks like a fun project. Though, I'd be getting that rust properly checked before putting too much money into this car.
Sticks. said:
C70R said:
Something I learned recently is that the e46 Sports seats bolt straight in, which makes for a slightly cheaper upgrade over the standard park benches.
I've had a couple of E46s, plus from what I've seen online they look a bit big. I could be wrong, have you seen it done? Sticks. said:
C70R said:
Something I learned recently is that the e46 Sports seats bolt straight in, which makes for a slightly cheaper upgrade over the standard park benches.
I've had a couple of E46s, plus from what I've seen online they look a bit big. I could be wrong, have you seen it done? 
Mr Tidy said:
Congratulations on becoming the next custodian of the PH Z4.
M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
Thank you, here's hoping! I believe this is on SE suspension but, like you say, it's probably had aftermarket shocks/springs over the years as repairs so who knows! If the car works out alright then I'll be looking to refresh some of the suspension bits.M-Sport suspension was an option on the 2.5s so it probably didn't have it as standard (a VIN checker will confirm one way or the other) but at that mileage who knows what it has?
Seat wise the M-Sport seats are way better, but that's probably why used ones sell for serious money - up to £1K if heated and electric.
Early cars (up to some date in 2004) were pre-wired for all the options so cruise is just plug and play. You don't need a new cowl, just remove the lower one and there is an outline on the inside of what you need to cut out to fit the stalk - and you should find the connector hiding in there. If it is pre-wired the stalk is all you need. Sopers of Lincoln and Cotswold BMW offer a discount to forum members.
Wings are all bolted on, but I'd really want to get the corrosion on the door pillar checked out before spending too much.
Hope it all goes well.
C70R said:
Something I learned recently is that the e46 Sports seats bolt straight in, which makes for a slightly cheaper upgrade over the standard park benches.
Sticks. said:
I've had a couple of E46s, plus from what I've seen online they look a bit big. I could be wrong, have you seen it done?
Seats-wise, these already have E46 seats in, heated and non-electric. They feel pretty fine to me, albeit not massively comfortable on longer journeys (as per m sport seats generally).Tim_D said:
Looks like fiberglass from a previous repair doesn't it?
I admire the enthusiasm and it looks like a fun project. Though, I'd be getting that rust properly checked before putting too much money into this car.
I'm inclined to agree having looked up what fiberglass actually looks like I admire the enthusiasm and it looks like a fun project. Though, I'd be getting that rust properly checked before putting too much money into this car.
, tallies with the suggestion that it's been cheaply repaired before.C70R said:
Agreed completely. I wouldn't be spending a penny until I knew how much that rust repair was going to cost. Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, OP. It's just that I've been reading up on Z4s for quite some time before I bought, and yours is the first example I've ever seen with rust like that.
Yeah definitely. On the spending front, I'm holding off on spending any money on anything non-essential until I've checked the car over a bit better. Visiting someone local who knows an awful lot about these next weekend, spending the afternoon with him to investigate the rust (will be taking off the side skirt and rear wing and taking pictures/video to send to my bodyshop man), oil leak and driver's door issue. He's got a car in the same colour as mine for parts too, planning to grab some panels.I had a little more of a checkover on the oil leak front this morning. Doesn't seem to be the oil filter housing or the rocker cover gasket. In fact, it seems to be coming from underneath as there's loads on the undertray - a somewhat common one is a broken crush washer on the oil drain plug when it's been re-used after an oil change.
Here's hoping it's that as it's an easy fix...
mholt1995 said:
Sticks. said:
I've had a couple of E46s, plus from what I've seen online they look a bit big. I could be wrong, have you seen it done?
Seats-wise, these already have E46 seats in, heated and non-electric. They feel pretty fine to me, albeit not massively comfortable on longer journeys (as per m sport seats generally).The undertray is the destination for most oil leaks, so I don't know how definitive that is.
The m54 has a number of common areas where oil escapes, and it's probably one of these. Inspecting the valve cover at the back of the engine is tough, so you may have missed something there.
If you're convinced it's not the top of the engine, then it's possible that the sump gasket may have become brittle with age. Otherwise, you might want to have a poke around the CCV.
For your sake I hope it's not the rear main seal, as that was the reason I sold my 330ci. It's not common, but does happen with age, and is a big job.
The m54 has a number of common areas where oil escapes, and it's probably one of these. Inspecting the valve cover at the back of the engine is tough, so you may have missed something there.
If you're convinced it's not the top of the engine, then it's possible that the sump gasket may have become brittle with age. Otherwise, you might want to have a poke around the CCV.
For your sake I hope it's not the rear main seal, as that was the reason I sold my 330ci. It's not common, but does happen with age, and is a big job.
Okay, I've done some more inspection this evening including getting properly jacking up and getting under the car for a fair amount of time (first time I've done so - a pants-messingly intense experience, recommend to any adrenaline junkies!) to have a good look.
Opened the inspection cover and though there wasn't an obvious drip coming from the drain plug (there was a tiny bit of weeping but nothing more), a bit of oil had come out.
Was able to have a bit of a look over and the pan was absolutely caked in dried up oil so logic dictates that it is in fact coming from above the drain plug.
Couldn't see anything obvious so did everything back up and brought the car back down.
Whilst jacking up the car however, I was able to observe that the bump stops are absolutely cooked.
Added to the post-rust fix list, and getting the bump stops out means taking the dampers out, which means taking the springs out soooooooo
Got chatting with my Z4 veteran friend and he suggested I take a look again in a few other places that I hadn't taken pictures of. First was around where the valve cover tends to go (kindly highlighted here)
Nothing.
He asked me to look at the oil filter housing again, and...
Ah. Turns out I was looking all around the oil filter except for at the bit I needed to look at.
Operating under the assumption that that's what it is for now and picking up a new gasket to be fitted on the day of work next weekend
Opened the inspection cover and though there wasn't an obvious drip coming from the drain plug (there was a tiny bit of weeping but nothing more), a bit of oil had come out.
Was able to have a bit of a look over and the pan was absolutely caked in dried up oil so logic dictates that it is in fact coming from above the drain plug.
Couldn't see anything obvious so did everything back up and brought the car back down.
Whilst jacking up the car however, I was able to observe that the bump stops are absolutely cooked.
Added to the post-rust fix list, and getting the bump stops out means taking the dampers out, which means taking the springs out soooooooo
Got chatting with my Z4 veteran friend and he suggested I take a look again in a few other places that I hadn't taken pictures of. First was around where the valve cover tends to go (kindly highlighted here)
Nothing.
He asked me to look at the oil filter housing again, and...
Ah. Turns out I was looking all around the oil filter except for at the bit I needed to look at.
Operating under the assumption that that's what it is for now and picking up a new gasket to be fitted on the day of work next weekend
Right, let's get this one up to date shall we!
Okay, where did we leave off...
Ah - oil leaks, rust and a non functional exterior door handle.
Yeah they're all very much still a thing. More issues have cropped up too.
Must admit I've had a really bad time with this recently. Came dangerously close to saying "b
ks to it" and breaking it for parts. I do think I'm starting to come out the other side now though.
Had chance to look at the rust a bit more and it's very much terminal unfortunately. Still weighing up what to do - my bodyshop suggested just bodging some form of protection again (like the fibreglass used by a previous owner) as the effort in getting a breaker to cut good metal out of and replacing it on this one is just absolutely not worth it.
Some better pics of the rust - this is without getting the rear wing off as it's a bit of a pain
Plan still very much TBD on this one - I'm gonna hit it with some rust remover at some point in the not too distant future, keen to hear any recommendations.
Oil leak has possibly been fixed, subject to further testing. Managed to get out the oil filter housing gasket and it was absolutely done for. Very little rubberiness left in it.
Broke apart with little force
Got through two cans of brake cleaner whilst cleaning as much up as I could too as things were absolutely filthy.
Did an oil change for 6.5l of Castrol EDGE Titanium 5W-30 (BMW LL-04 spec) whilst at it. Filter replaced with a Mann item and crush washer replaced with Genuine BMW.
More oil continued to find itself on my driveway when I got home with a nicely warmed up engine, still eminating from the metal undertray...
but I then realised that the metal undertray was still coated with crap and oil
Took it down to definitely not a local jetwash bay and definitely didn't pressure wash as much as I could reach (without causing the car to blow up!)
Just look at how nicely that control arm came up!
Not perfect, but best I can do without jacking the car up in the not-jetwash bay.
Left cardboard under the car til morning to check for leaks - only ones that came down were rather watery as opposed to oily so the jury is still out but I'm quietly confident.
Speaking of undertrays...
I'm not sure if the mounting for the front undertray/"air duct" was already broken when I bought the car but it's very much broken now, which led to this (and some worse situations - on a date I managed to have the undertray completely detach at the front and drag along several miles of Nottingham's roads. Coupled with the smell of burning oil, it didn't exactly paint me in the greatest of lights
)
The culprit is a broken splash guard which is considered part of the inner wheel arch. Bloody expensive parts, so the front undertray is currently off for now.
This is the driver's side
This is the passenger's
Undertray itself looking much worse for wear.
What else do we have...
Oh yes, the £6 Bluetooth aux adapter decided it didn't want to function anymore. Will get that out and follow through with my initial plan to put in an aftermarket headunit with USB and such. Not that the audio system benefits from anything better quality than FM.
Driver's door handle. This one has been very testing indeed.
First course of action was to take the slack out of the bowden cable as a jury-rig fix which worked, very temporarily.
It then very much un-worked as I was unable to open the door from *either* the outside or the inside. This meant that entry and exit was briefly through. This is the same day that the Bluetooth adapter failed and the undertray came loose. Not good for the ol' mental health - wanted to throw the car off a cliff, possibly with me in it that evening and for a little while after. All is calm once again however.
Cue the next few days of me attempting to get the door card off of an closed door. Succeeded in the end thanks to some great write-ups on the Internet and only killed off a few clips in the process. Removing the washer and disconnecting the external opening cable managed to return me to being able to open the door *from the inside*.
Replaced the cable. Still didn't work.
Had BMW look at it and they confirmed that it the original cable was loose, but also that the carrier was destroyed.
Carrier replaced. Still doesn't work. New handle needed.
For context, there are three things which can go, leading to this inability to open the door from the outside. The cable stretching out, the plastic on the carrier breaking and the plastic on the handle breaking. I've had the joy of having all three.
New handle has arrived and been painted - being fitted Wednesday. Despite my staff discount, I'm almost certainly facing a bill of £3-400. Wish I hadn't bothered now.
Uhhh what else is there...
Oh yes.
After washing the car recently, we found a lot of water ingress into the boot carpet when disconnecting the battery to do the oil filter housing gasket (alternator needs to come out).
Diagnosed as a gasket for the rear light cluster - part en route from Germany.
Otherwise that pretty much brings us up to date - I've glossed over a few screws, clips and fixings that I've broken and subsequently replaced with genuine BMW items but that's okay.
Rear camber arms still need to be done.
Bump stops (and possibly shocks/springs generally) still need to be done.
Wiper motor still needs to be cleaned.
Still wanting to retrofit cruise control once the car is a bit more sorted.
Cosmetics I'm really not too sure about at the moment - I don't think there's the budget for it.
Okay, where did we leave off...
Ah - oil leaks, rust and a non functional exterior door handle.
Yeah they're all very much still a thing. More issues have cropped up too.
Must admit I've had a really bad time with this recently. Came dangerously close to saying "b
ks to it" and breaking it for parts. I do think I'm starting to come out the other side now though. Had chance to look at the rust a bit more and it's very much terminal unfortunately. Still weighing up what to do - my bodyshop suggested just bodging some form of protection again (like the fibreglass used by a previous owner) as the effort in getting a breaker to cut good metal out of and replacing it on this one is just absolutely not worth it.
Some better pics of the rust - this is without getting the rear wing off as it's a bit of a pain
Plan still very much TBD on this one - I'm gonna hit it with some rust remover at some point in the not too distant future, keen to hear any recommendations.
Oil leak has possibly been fixed, subject to further testing. Managed to get out the oil filter housing gasket and it was absolutely done for. Very little rubberiness left in it.
Broke apart with little force
Got through two cans of brake cleaner whilst cleaning as much up as I could too as things were absolutely filthy.
Did an oil change for 6.5l of Castrol EDGE Titanium 5W-30 (BMW LL-04 spec) whilst at it. Filter replaced with a Mann item and crush washer replaced with Genuine BMW.
More oil continued to find itself on my driveway when I got home with a nicely warmed up engine, still eminating from the metal undertray...
but I then realised that the metal undertray was still coated with crap and oil
Took it down to definitely not a local jetwash bay and definitely didn't pressure wash as much as I could reach (without causing the car to blow up!)
Just look at how nicely that control arm came up!
Not perfect, but best I can do without jacking the car up in the not-jetwash bay.
Left cardboard under the car til morning to check for leaks - only ones that came down were rather watery as opposed to oily so the jury is still out but I'm quietly confident.
Speaking of undertrays...
I'm not sure if the mounting for the front undertray/"air duct" was already broken when I bought the car but it's very much broken now, which led to this (and some worse situations - on a date I managed to have the undertray completely detach at the front and drag along several miles of Nottingham's roads. Coupled with the smell of burning oil, it didn't exactly paint me in the greatest of lights
)The culprit is a broken splash guard which is considered part of the inner wheel arch. Bloody expensive parts, so the front undertray is currently off for now.
This is the driver's side
This is the passenger's
Undertray itself looking much worse for wear.
What else do we have...
Oh yes, the £6 Bluetooth aux adapter decided it didn't want to function anymore. Will get that out and follow through with my initial plan to put in an aftermarket headunit with USB and such. Not that the audio system benefits from anything better quality than FM.
Driver's door handle. This one has been very testing indeed.
First course of action was to take the slack out of the bowden cable as a jury-rig fix which worked, very temporarily.
It then very much un-worked as I was unable to open the door from *either* the outside or the inside. This meant that entry and exit was briefly through. This is the same day that the Bluetooth adapter failed and the undertray came loose. Not good for the ol' mental health
- wanted to throw the car off a cliff, possibly with me in it that evening and for a little while after. All is calm once again however.Cue the next few days of me attempting to get the door card off of an closed door. Succeeded in the end thanks to some great write-ups on the Internet and only killed off a few clips in the process. Removing the washer and disconnecting the external opening cable managed to return me to being able to open the door *from the inside*.
Replaced the cable. Still didn't work.
Had BMW look at it and they confirmed that it the original cable was loose, but also that the carrier was destroyed.
Carrier replaced. Still doesn't work. New handle needed.
For context, there are three things which can go, leading to this inability to open the door from the outside. The cable stretching out, the plastic on the carrier breaking and the plastic on the handle breaking. I've had the joy of having all three.
New handle has arrived and been painted - being fitted Wednesday. Despite my staff discount, I'm almost certainly facing a bill of £3-400. Wish I hadn't bothered now.
Uhhh what else is there...
Oh yes.
After washing the car recently, we found a lot of water ingress into the boot carpet when disconnecting the battery to do the oil filter housing gasket (alternator needs to come out).
Diagnosed as a gasket for the rear light cluster - part en route from Germany.
Otherwise that pretty much brings us up to date - I've glossed over a few screws, clips and fixings that I've broken and subsequently replaced with genuine BMW items but that's okay.
Rear camber arms still need to be done.
Bump stops (and possibly shocks/springs generally) still need to be done.
Wiper motor still needs to be cleaned.
Still wanting to retrofit cruise control once the car is a bit more sorted.
Cosmetics I'm really not too sure about at the moment - I don't think there's the budget for it.
Honestly, I'd cut your losses. Early Z4 prices are at an all time low, and you wouldn't struggle to get a better car for 2.5-3k.
The rust is bad enough for me, ignoring the fact that it might be structural. Fixing that is going to run into hundreds, if not more. Then you're left with a high mileage car with a litany of other issues, that's probably only worth 1500 quid on a good day.
I know PH salutes the brave, and loves a good project, but this feels like throwing good money after bad for me.
The rust is bad enough for me, ignoring the fact that it might be structural. Fixing that is going to run into hundreds, if not more. Then you're left with a high mileage car with a litany of other issues, that's probably only worth 1500 quid on a good day.
I know PH salutes the brave, and loves a good project, but this feels like throwing good money after bad for me.
C70R said:
Honestly, I'd cut your losses. Early Z4 prices are at an all time low, and you wouldn't struggle to get a better car for 2.5-3k.
The rust is bad enough for me, ignoring the fact that it might be structural. Fixing that is going to run into hundreds, if not more. Then you're left with a high mileage car with a litany of other issues, that's probably only worth 1500 quid on a good day.
I know PH salutes the brave, and loves a good project, but this feels like throwing good money after bad for me.
Inclined to agree - whilst I most certainly overpaid for the car before I had a chance to really understand it's issues (caveat emptor, don't buy blind, etc. etc.), I'm not yet ready to take what I'd estimate to be the potentially £1500+ capital hit and would rather get some more use out of it as it's still very much usable for top down cruising.The rust is bad enough for me, ignoring the fact that it might be structural. Fixing that is going to run into hundreds, if not more. Then you're left with a high mileage car with a litany of other issues, that's probably only worth 1500 quid on a good day.
I know PH salutes the brave, and loves a good project, but this feels like throwing good money after bad for me.
Current intention is to finish the stuff I've already got in progress (driver's door, rear camber arms+bushes and rear light gasket) and anything else cheap/free (wiper motor clean) then bangernomics my way through to the end of next summer. Cosmetic stuff I'm not going to bother with beyond treating the rust with something like Neutrarust and sticking some form of protection over it like roughly colour matched hammerite paint.
Onto eBay it goes from there provided it passes it's MOT next year without fuss.
Bloody thing.
C70R said:
Early Z4 prices are at an all time low, and you wouldn't struggle to get a better car for 2.5-3k.
I'm not sure I agree with that - I say that as someone who's (trying) to sell theirs for (slightly) more than I paid for it thanks to the post-covid used car bubble.C70R said:
Honestly, I'd cut your losses
However, yes, I'd agree with this. I'm guessing the rust is a poor repair previously?Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff