Thirsty Discovery and Z4 thread
Discussion
Mr Tidy said:
Crusty rear brake pipes seem to be a common issue on Z4s.
My previous one had advisories for them 3 years running so at 84K and 12 years old I got them replaced in Kunifer. Maybe spending it's early years in Manchester didn't help.
I took my current one for a 4 wheel alignment a few years ago and it needed new track rod ends both sides because they were seized solid, but the end result was well worth it!
No sign of advisories here, but at 20 years old they've had a good innings. Thankfully they aren't too complicated, and there are no gotchas like needing to drop the fuel tank.My previous one had advisories for them 3 years running so at 84K and 12 years old I got them replaced in Kunifer. Maybe spending it's early years in Manchester didn't help.
I took my current one for a 4 wheel alignment a few years ago and it needed new track rod ends both sides because they were seized solid, but the end result was well worth it!
The alignment thing is really bugging me. The place I use aren't mugs, and they are locking the topmount and track rods once it's set. It's just happened a few times that after a hard drive the alignment has dropped out and my wheel is no longer straight.
It's had a bunch of new bushes up front, so it's not going to be that. It needs outer rods anyway, because the alignment place always has to use oxy to heat up the adjustment nuts. I'm hoping that this solves the issue somehow, but I can't quite figure out what the root cause is.
Strut top reinforcement plates have arrived today after a long wait, so just need the coilovers to turn up now and we're ready for next week.
Well, it's been a week of decent progress. The Z4 now has new hard brake lines and braided hoses, the spacers are fitted, and it has new inner and outer track rods (which I hope will cure the issue of tracking falling out of alignment).
The spacers have made much more of a difference than I'd have imagined. The rear wheels now no longer look lost in the arches, and the 'stance' is much improved. Naturally I completed failed to take decent before/after photos.
Before
After
Yesterday saw me take a trip over to the really helpful GSM Performance in Nottingham. For those who haven't been, it's basically an interactive Aladdin's Cave of trackday bits. You can try out seats, helmets, gloves, suits etc. for size before committing to buy. I spent half an hour dodging around the showroom like Goldilocks, looking for the seat that was the perfect compromise of comfort and support. Needless to say, as a nonstandard-sized human there were more disappointments than successes. The Z4 cabin is also really narrow when it comes to fitting in winged seats, so I took my trusty tape-measure with me.
Net is that I left disappointed. The only fixed back seats where I fitted comfortably (i.e. where I'd want to do another 2,000 miles in a week) were too wide for the cabin. Most of the reclining buckets were either too narrow/hard, to the extent that I was worried about my kidneys getting bruised, or too unsupportive. The only one that felt truly comfortable was the £1,700 Recaro Sportster CS, and with that the harness holes were too low on my torso for me to safely run harnesses. B*llocks.
Back to the drawing board here, and back to looking at either OEM solutions (Z4 Sport seats, or E46 M3 seats) or bodging in another OEM seat.
On a more positive note, the Z4 goes in on Thursday for coilover fitting and setup, and I'm secretly quite excited.
Update to the project list.
To fix
- Annoying rattle inside passenger door
- Less annoying rattle inside bootlid It's disappeared, so that's a win
- Really annoying rattle from passenger side of cabin
- Stop new floormats from sliding around (probably velcro)
- Get the 17s refurbished
- New track rods
- Get rid of headlight condensation
- Sort out some feature coding
- Replace driver's side tweeter cover £15 on eBay and job done
- New front discs Not needed, it was pad deposits that the DS2500s are renowned for.
- Reattach seat backs (they all do that, sir)
To add
- Corbeau RRB driver's seat and heating pad
- Braided hoses
- Coilover (HSD MonoPro the current fave, because of the softer springrates)
- Smaller steering wheel
- Wheel spacers to stop the 17s looking lost in the arches
- Figure out seat solution
The spacers have made much more of a difference than I'd have imagined. The rear wheels now no longer look lost in the arches, and the 'stance' is much improved. Naturally I completed failed to take decent before/after photos.
Before
After
Yesterday saw me take a trip over to the really helpful GSM Performance in Nottingham. For those who haven't been, it's basically an interactive Aladdin's Cave of trackday bits. You can try out seats, helmets, gloves, suits etc. for size before committing to buy. I spent half an hour dodging around the showroom like Goldilocks, looking for the seat that was the perfect compromise of comfort and support. Needless to say, as a nonstandard-sized human there were more disappointments than successes. The Z4 cabin is also really narrow when it comes to fitting in winged seats, so I took my trusty tape-measure with me.
Net is that I left disappointed. The only fixed back seats where I fitted comfortably (i.e. where I'd want to do another 2,000 miles in a week) were too wide for the cabin. Most of the reclining buckets were either too narrow/hard, to the extent that I was worried about my kidneys getting bruised, or too unsupportive. The only one that felt truly comfortable was the £1,700 Recaro Sportster CS, and with that the harness holes were too low on my torso for me to safely run harnesses. B*llocks.
Back to the drawing board here, and back to looking at either OEM solutions (Z4 Sport seats, or E46 M3 seats) or bodging in another OEM seat.
On a more positive note, the Z4 goes in on Thursday for coilover fitting and setup, and I'm secretly quite excited.
Update to the project list.
To fix
- Annoying rattle inside passenger door
- Really annoying rattle from passenger side of cabin
- Get the 17s refurbished
- Get rid of headlight condensation
- Sort out some feature coding
- Reattach seat backs (they all do that, sir)
To add
- Smaller steering wheel
- Figure out seat solution
It's never a great sign when you get a missed call from the garage after dropping your car off for an alignment.
Three 'issues' have raised their head with the Disco, that manifested themselves in a very slight wheel wobble at 70ish.
1. It looks like the front arms that were fitted by the specialists in Manchester who did the recommissioning last year have had the bolts fitted incorrectly, to the point that adjustment was impossible. Great. The original bolts (fitted without any copper-slip!) were cut out, and new ones installed correctly in their place.
2. One of the rear arms is proving almost impossible to adjust the camber on because of a seized bolt. They are original, so have had 20 years worth of salt and grime to contend with, so this is hardly a surprise. The rear camber on this corner is about half a degree out, which I can live with, but it suggests I'm probably going to need to chuck a pair of rear arms on it over the winter. Great.
3. The monkeys who did the last alignment, who needed me to show them how to lock the suspension in place, were absolutely bloody miles off. Camber on all 4 corners was out, as well as toe on both sides at the front. Great.
Anyway, it's ready to be collected and hopefully will be driving a bit better from now on. The path of true love etc. etc.
Three 'issues' have raised their head with the Disco, that manifested themselves in a very slight wheel wobble at 70ish.
1. It looks like the front arms that were fitted by the specialists in Manchester who did the recommissioning last year have had the bolts fitted incorrectly, to the point that adjustment was impossible. Great. The original bolts (fitted without any copper-slip!) were cut out, and new ones installed correctly in their place.
2. One of the rear arms is proving almost impossible to adjust the camber on because of a seized bolt. They are original, so have had 20 years worth of salt and grime to contend with, so this is hardly a surprise. The rear camber on this corner is about half a degree out, which I can live with, but it suggests I'm probably going to need to chuck a pair of rear arms on it over the winter. Great.
3. The monkeys who did the last alignment, who needed me to show them how to lock the suspension in place, were absolutely bloody miles off. Camber on all 4 corners was out, as well as toe on both sides at the front. Great.
Anyway, it's ready to be collected and hopefully will be driving a bit better from now on. The path of true love etc. etc.
Mr Tidy said:
I can relate to that!
When my Z4 went for a 4 wheel alignment in 2021 it needed 2 new track rod ends as the original ones were seized solid.
Luckily track rods are pretty cheap on the Z4, and the job isn't too complicated. A set of Meyle inner and outer rods ran to about 100 quid, which I can live with if it stops my alignment dropping out.When my Z4 went for a 4 wheel alignment in 2021 it needed 2 new track rod ends as the original ones were seized solid.
The outers were both way past best, having needed oxy heating to free them up for the recent adjustments. One of the inner rods had "quite a lot" of play, so it made sense just to swap out the whole lot from gear that has lasted 20 years.
One job missing from the list above, and a project for early next year to finish off the chassis 'refurb', is to drop the whole rear subframe out and refresh all of the bushes to tighten up the back end a little and eliminate the tiny bit of driveline shunt I'm feeling.
I'd really like to stick an LSD in at the same time, but aftermarket prices are eyewatering for the Z4 and there's no good OEM option. Sadly the E46 M3 and Z4M use a completely different back end, to the extent that I'm not even sure it's possible to swap the whole lot in.
Some ups and downs this week.
First of all, the ups. The coilovers arrived, and they were fitted and set up by a company called AP Tuning near me. I randomly stumbled across these guys when googling for local places to do the job, and it turns out I was in very safe hands. They build and maintain a number of Time Attack cars, particularly later model Evos, and really know their stuff!
I'd initially been a bit apprehensive about fitting coilovers, especially since basically ruining my Mini with a set. My fears were largely unfounded with the Z4. I asked APT to set the car up as close to OEM height as possible, and they managed to get it around 10mm lower, which works for me. At my request they set the front to 1.5deg of camber each side, and the rear to 2.5deg, with zero toe on the front. With the shocks set to a few clicks from fully soft, it's absolutely transformed the body control. It's honestly like driving a completely different car, and the old shocks weren't even all that bad! I'm also quite taken with the way it sits with the spacers.
The photo above is a spoiler for the downs. The Disco is back at the garage after I wasn't happy with the alignment job they did, and after further investigation they've spotted that one of the rear upper arms is completely goosed. So that's getting swapped out today, and hopefully I should be back to a car that drives a lot better than before. Fingers crossed.
First of all, the ups. The coilovers arrived, and they were fitted and set up by a company called AP Tuning near me. I randomly stumbled across these guys when googling for local places to do the job, and it turns out I was in very safe hands. They build and maintain a number of Time Attack cars, particularly later model Evos, and really know their stuff!
I'd initially been a bit apprehensive about fitting coilovers, especially since basically ruining my Mini with a set. My fears were largely unfounded with the Z4. I asked APT to set the car up as close to OEM height as possible, and they managed to get it around 10mm lower, which works for me. At my request they set the front to 1.5deg of camber each side, and the rear to 2.5deg, with zero toe on the front. With the shocks set to a few clicks from fully soft, it's absolutely transformed the body control. It's honestly like driving a completely different car, and the old shocks weren't even all that bad! I'm also quite taken with the way it sits with the spacers.
The photo above is a spoiler for the downs. The Disco is back at the garage after I wasn't happy with the alignment job they did, and after further investigation they've spotted that one of the rear upper arms is completely goosed. So that's getting swapped out today, and hopefully I should be back to a car that drives a lot better than before. Fingers crossed.
Carrying on from the post above, the Disco came back after a complete rebuild of the left-rear suspension and my wallet a grand or so lighter, and it's driving well. Possibly the most expensive alignment job I've ever had.
I also learned two things about it via this most recent batch of work.
1. The powder-coated wheels (which I'm largely ambivalent towards) were coated on the mating face. The garage helpfully ground that back, and now they are seating better. More on this to come below.
2. The car is actually wearing wheel spacers. I feel like a bit of a wally for not spotting this sooner, but having not been brave enough to jack up almost 3T of car on a gravel driveway yet I haven't actually had the wheels off myself. At least this bit explains why the wheels look a bit 'beefier' than standard. Until they cause me a problem, they can stay.
Now that all the wheels' mating faces had been cleaned up, I took the car down to my local tyre place to check the balancing (wondering whether it is/was the source of my slight wobble). Lo and behold, all four wheels were stripped of the majority of the weights fitted at the last balancing, and the vibration is gone. Don't you just love previous owners...
Either way, with the amount of rain we've had recently, and the state of Norfolk's rural roads, I was glad to get the Disco back in a state that nothing (major) annoys me. Looking forward to 5 months of it looking like this.
With MrsC away with work for a couple of weeks, and me stuck in Norfolk dealing with leaky roofs and such, I got the chance to spend the weekend doing some car fiddling. First up was the lower door trims on the Disco. They are held on by a boatload of little plastic two-piece trim clips, which just go brittle and fail over time leaving one half in the door and the trim flapping around. After a false start with some low quality eBay clips a couple of weeks ago, I eventually ordered some decent ones from www.vehicleclips.co.uk and sorted it.
A small (and filthy) job, but quite satisfying. To celebrate I took the car out to a local ford for a bit of wading, but I'd wholly failed to anticipate how much the water level had risen with the recent rain. Best to give this one a miss, I feel.
I also learned two things about it via this most recent batch of work.
1. The powder-coated wheels (which I'm largely ambivalent towards) were coated on the mating face. The garage helpfully ground that back, and now they are seating better. More on this to come below.
2. The car is actually wearing wheel spacers. I feel like a bit of a wally for not spotting this sooner, but having not been brave enough to jack up almost 3T of car on a gravel driveway yet I haven't actually had the wheels off myself. At least this bit explains why the wheels look a bit 'beefier' than standard. Until they cause me a problem, they can stay.
Now that all the wheels' mating faces had been cleaned up, I took the car down to my local tyre place to check the balancing (wondering whether it is/was the source of my slight wobble). Lo and behold, all four wheels were stripped of the majority of the weights fitted at the last balancing, and the vibration is gone. Don't you just love previous owners...
Either way, with the amount of rain we've had recently, and the state of Norfolk's rural roads, I was glad to get the Disco back in a state that nothing (major) annoys me. Looking forward to 5 months of it looking like this.
With MrsC away with work for a couple of weeks, and me stuck in Norfolk dealing with leaky roofs and such, I got the chance to spend the weekend doing some car fiddling. First up was the lower door trims on the Disco. They are held on by a boatload of little plastic two-piece trim clips, which just go brittle and fail over time leaving one half in the door and the trim flapping around. After a false start with some low quality eBay clips a couple of weeks ago, I eventually ordered some decent ones from www.vehicleclips.co.uk and sorted it.
A small (and filthy) job, but quite satisfying. To celebrate I took the car out to a local ford for a bit of wading, but I'd wholly failed to anticipate how much the water level had risen with the recent rain. Best to give this one a miss, I feel.
Undeterred by the rain, I cracked on with ticking off a few small jobs on the Z4 in MrsC's (glorious) absence.
The first one was so anticlimactic that I failed to even take photos of it. The passenger door has been making a rattling noise when it's closed (or slammed, in MrsC's case), which was annoying me. Upon stripping off the door panel (a 5min job), it became apparent that someone had been in there before me. Thankfully the vapour barrier was intact, but the bottom of the door was missing a number of clips. I carefully peeled back the vapour barrier to check that there was nothing rattling inside the door, and refitted the door card by spacing the remaining clips out. I was pleasantly surprised that this completely cured the rattling noise, and have ordered a load of new clips (handily the same as the Disco interior clips) to replace them all in the future.
The second was to finally do away with my failing eBay bluetooth box, and solve the problem properly. Having already bought a replacement, I was looking at this sad little bundle of Chinese electronics on my kitchen table and imagining myself doing the same job again in a couple of months. Since fitting the original box I've been annoyed by the fact that, although it connects well and sounds ok (when it's working), I still couldn't skip tracks from the stereo. When using my phone for Waze, I'm not a fan of having to blindly jab away at a tiny portion of the screen to change tracks.
So I decided to bite the bullet and fit a single DIN stereo in place of the OEM unit. I'd been holding back for a while because I generally hate the way they look (more on this later), but have since decided that this is going to be a 'function over form' sort of car. I bought a Pioneer head unit with Bluetooth and a microphone (annoyingly, they don't all come with them), and while I dabbled with the idea of DAB I realised it was probably going to be something I wouldn't end up using. I tend to stream radio direct from BBC Sounds or TuneIn instead. I also got what was described as "the best" single DIN conversion trim, because the OEM stereo in the Z4 is a bit of a weird shape.
I've done a load of car audio fiddling in my life, so I had prepared myself for what was to come. It went entirely as predicted.
Time to remove the old stereo: 2min
Time to connect up the new unit: 2min
Time to run and mount the mic and tidy up the cable: 15min
Time to jiggle around all of the wires so that the bloody unit would fit in the hole: 45min
Anyway, a frustrating hour later and I was left with this.
Single DIN installs in the Z4 are never pretty, but this one made my eye twitch a bit at first. The OEM stereo is not only a weird shape, but it also has lots of compound curves that are quite hard to replicate in a £20 piece of 3D-printed plastic, meaning that the fascia plate doesn't really meet the vent panel above. The result of this is that the unit sits at an odd angle to the fascia (unavoidable), and that it sits slightly proud (avoidable had I bought a mechless unit that could be mounted deeper). It doesn't look brilliant, but it does the job. More importantly, the difference in sound is astonishing. The previously-weedy 6-speaker 'base' setup now sounds absolutely great with a few more watts pushing it, and the Bluetooth works perfectly. It's a balancing act, but on the whole I'm happy with it.
The last two jobs were:
1. Get rid of the condensation in the driver's headlight by chucking a sock full of cat litter in and replacing the rear cover (the seals fail over time).
2. Take off all four wheels and absolutely blast the coilovers in ACF-50, so that I don't need to worry about using the car on wet and salty roads.
I got this far. Arses.
My trusty, el cheapo trolley jack, which has served me well for over a decade, was obviously far too high to slip under the car now that it is a bit lower. By this point it was Sunday afternoon, and I really couldn't be bothered with going and buying a jack. I briefly considered driving the car onto a few planks on a gravel driveway, but I value my health too highly. I'm going to head over to my nearest Halfords this evening and grab one of these to finish the job: https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-workshop/axl...
Overall, a semi-successful weekend, and no major setbacks. I'll take it.
The first one was so anticlimactic that I failed to even take photos of it. The passenger door has been making a rattling noise when it's closed (or slammed, in MrsC's case), which was annoying me. Upon stripping off the door panel (a 5min job), it became apparent that someone had been in there before me. Thankfully the vapour barrier was intact, but the bottom of the door was missing a number of clips. I carefully peeled back the vapour barrier to check that there was nothing rattling inside the door, and refitted the door card by spacing the remaining clips out. I was pleasantly surprised that this completely cured the rattling noise, and have ordered a load of new clips (handily the same as the Disco interior clips) to replace them all in the future.
The second was to finally do away with my failing eBay bluetooth box, and solve the problem properly. Having already bought a replacement, I was looking at this sad little bundle of Chinese electronics on my kitchen table and imagining myself doing the same job again in a couple of months. Since fitting the original box I've been annoyed by the fact that, although it connects well and sounds ok (when it's working), I still couldn't skip tracks from the stereo. When using my phone for Waze, I'm not a fan of having to blindly jab away at a tiny portion of the screen to change tracks.
So I decided to bite the bullet and fit a single DIN stereo in place of the OEM unit. I'd been holding back for a while because I generally hate the way they look (more on this later), but have since decided that this is going to be a 'function over form' sort of car. I bought a Pioneer head unit with Bluetooth and a microphone (annoyingly, they don't all come with them), and while I dabbled with the idea of DAB I realised it was probably going to be something I wouldn't end up using. I tend to stream radio direct from BBC Sounds or TuneIn instead. I also got what was described as "the best" single DIN conversion trim, because the OEM stereo in the Z4 is a bit of a weird shape.
I've done a load of car audio fiddling in my life, so I had prepared myself for what was to come. It went entirely as predicted.
Time to remove the old stereo: 2min
Time to connect up the new unit: 2min
Time to run and mount the mic and tidy up the cable: 15min
Time to jiggle around all of the wires so that the bloody unit would fit in the hole: 45min
Anyway, a frustrating hour later and I was left with this.
Single DIN installs in the Z4 are never pretty, but this one made my eye twitch a bit at first. The OEM stereo is not only a weird shape, but it also has lots of compound curves that are quite hard to replicate in a £20 piece of 3D-printed plastic, meaning that the fascia plate doesn't really meet the vent panel above. The result of this is that the unit sits at an odd angle to the fascia (unavoidable), and that it sits slightly proud (avoidable had I bought a mechless unit that could be mounted deeper). It doesn't look brilliant, but it does the job. More importantly, the difference in sound is astonishing. The previously-weedy 6-speaker 'base' setup now sounds absolutely great with a few more watts pushing it, and the Bluetooth works perfectly. It's a balancing act, but on the whole I'm happy with it.
The last two jobs were:
1. Get rid of the condensation in the driver's headlight by chucking a sock full of cat litter in and replacing the rear cover (the seals fail over time).
2. Take off all four wheels and absolutely blast the coilovers in ACF-50, so that I don't need to worry about using the car on wet and salty roads.
I got this far. Arses.
My trusty, el cheapo trolley jack, which has served me well for over a decade, was obviously far too high to slip under the car now that it is a bit lower. By this point it was Sunday afternoon, and I really couldn't be bothered with going and buying a jack. I briefly considered driving the car onto a few planks on a gravel driveway, but I value my health too highly. I'm going to head over to my nearest Halfords this evening and grab one of these to finish the job: https://www.halfords.com/tools/garage-workshop/axl...
Overall, a semi-successful weekend, and no major setbacks. I'll take it.
I didn't think the Z4 was all that low, but apparently I'm wrong. Not helped by the piece of 12mm chipboard I'm using as a jack base, I still needed to drive the car onto a couple of solid planks to squeeze the new low-entry jack under. Not the end of the world.
However, working with a decent jack, albeit one that weighs over 30kg(!), is an absolute pleasure. Three pumps and the car is high enough for me to take the wheel off, as well as a lovely gentle release to lower it onto the jack stand. £150 well spent.
The seal on the headlight rear cover was crushed flat in several places, and it was clear that moisture had been getting in from the top as a result. With a bit of fiddle, the new cover went on to squeeze in a sock packed with cat litter, and I'm going to leave the car in the sun all day in the hope that it absorbs some of that moisture. If not, I'll look at 'go nuclear' options like taking the headlight out completely.
I managed to get both driver's side wheels off today, and absolutely doused the coilovers in ACF-50. Hopefully this is enough to enable me to keep using it over the winter without too much stress. Will pop back out later this afternoon to check in on how the cat litter is working. Fingers crossed...
However, working with a decent jack, albeit one that weighs over 30kg(!), is an absolute pleasure. Three pumps and the car is high enough for me to take the wheel off, as well as a lovely gentle release to lower it onto the jack stand. £150 well spent.
The seal on the headlight rear cover was crushed flat in several places, and it was clear that moisture had been getting in from the top as a result. With a bit of fiddle, the new cover went on to squeeze in a sock packed with cat litter, and I'm going to leave the car in the sun all day in the hope that it absorbs some of that moisture. If not, I'll look at 'go nuclear' options like taking the headlight out completely.
I managed to get both driver's side wheels off today, and absolutely doused the coilovers in ACF-50. Hopefully this is enough to enable me to keep using it over the winter without too much stress. Will pop back out later this afternoon to check in on how the cat litter is working. Fingers crossed...
The sock full of cat litter felt ambitious, and the results bore this out. Good, but not great.
I ended up ordering a pack of 10 reusable silica gel sachets, and carefully inserting them into the headlight housing (so they could be retrieved) before resealing the back. This cleared out a lot of the moisture, but it was obvious that I'd need to hit the 'go nuclear' option. Out with the heat gun, alternating blasts into the back of the open casing with heating up the lense around some of the wetter spots, and we're good to go!
Except we weren't. The sidelight was still not coming on, and even though the clever system was illuminating the indicator to compensate (which would have passed the MOT), it was annoying me. Access to the headlights is through a narrow flap in the front wheelarch, so I was ferreting around for the right bulb holder for far too long. Once I'd found it, the problem became clear - the moisture had caused the contacts to corrode, and the bulb had blown. A quick cleanup of the contacts and a new bulb would have been far too easy - they fell to pieces when I wedged a piece of emery paper in the gap. Great.
A quick bit of bodge soldering, and I had a bulb holder that worked most of the time, as long as you don't go over any bumps. I'd already invested far too much time into this. Frustratingly BMW don't seem to sell the holder on its own, and it has no part number on it. Looks like I might have to try and find one from a car being broken, which is bloody annoying.
Either way, it went off happily to its MOT, only for it to bloody fail on the bloody petrol cap. I can't say I'd noticed any issue, but my friendly garage said that the seal had gone flat and they weren't happy with it passing. £40 later and a new cap is on its way, and I should be picking it up with a fresh (and clean) MOT later this week.
In the meantime, I've taken advantage of Carly's "Black Friday" deal, and bought the adapter and a subscription to do some feature coding. Or, more precisely, to undo some of the features which appear to have been coded. I'm really hoping that my non-working auto-wiper issue is down to some previous owner luddite disabling it in the GM5 module, rather than an issue with the windscreen sensor. Blind optimism is great like that...
I ended up ordering a pack of 10 reusable silica gel sachets, and carefully inserting them into the headlight housing (so they could be retrieved) before resealing the back. This cleared out a lot of the moisture, but it was obvious that I'd need to hit the 'go nuclear' option. Out with the heat gun, alternating blasts into the back of the open casing with heating up the lense around some of the wetter spots, and we're good to go!
Except we weren't. The sidelight was still not coming on, and even though the clever system was illuminating the indicator to compensate (which would have passed the MOT), it was annoying me. Access to the headlights is through a narrow flap in the front wheelarch, so I was ferreting around for the right bulb holder for far too long. Once I'd found it, the problem became clear - the moisture had caused the contacts to corrode, and the bulb had blown. A quick cleanup of the contacts and a new bulb would have been far too easy - they fell to pieces when I wedged a piece of emery paper in the gap. Great.
A quick bit of bodge soldering, and I had a bulb holder that worked most of the time, as long as you don't go over any bumps. I'd already invested far too much time into this. Frustratingly BMW don't seem to sell the holder on its own, and it has no part number on it. Looks like I might have to try and find one from a car being broken, which is bloody annoying.
Either way, it went off happily to its MOT, only for it to bloody fail on the bloody petrol cap. I can't say I'd noticed any issue, but my friendly garage said that the seal had gone flat and they weren't happy with it passing. £40 later and a new cap is on its way, and I should be picking it up with a fresh (and clean) MOT later this week.
In the meantime, I've taken advantage of Carly's "Black Friday" deal, and bought the adapter and a subscription to do some feature coding. Or, more precisely, to undo some of the features which appear to have been coded. I'm really hoping that my non-working auto-wiper issue is down to some previous owner luddite disabling it in the GM5 module, rather than an issue with the windscreen sensor. Blind optimism is great like that...
Progress is wildly overrated.
Some good
- My Carly arrived, and I managed to code out my (non-working) rain sensor, so that I now have good old-fashioned intermittent wipers.
- Carly also let me code a load of fun and useless stuff (like flashing the brake lights when I'm braking heavily).
- Managed to fit a 10ft Christmas tree in the Discovery with the tailgate closed - shifting gears was a bit tricky.
- I bought some replacement wheels for the Z4 from a lovely chap called Mr Tidy.
- I bought a little bluetooth/aux dongle thing for the Discovery that comes with a microphone and track skipping buttons, and I couldn't anticipate how much better it would make my life.
Mostly annoying
- The bloody Carly didn't let me code three-flash indicators, which was 50% of the reason I bought it.
- The Z4 battery didn't like being left for long periods without use in the cold weather, so needed a quick charge.
- On removing it, I found out that it's slightly smaller (in capacity and CCA) than the OEM spec. Will get a new one ordered.
- The Discovery's front brakes are vibrating, and it had new discs in May - I suspect a seized caliper, so it's off the garage on Monday.
- The Z4 is so dirty that it looks like a barnfind, and I have no idea when I'll next get the chance to wash it.
- I had a sit in Mr Tidy's Z4 'Sport' seats and didn't fit - back to the pissing drawing board here (again).
However, all of that annoying stuff pales into insignificance, because ... I've booked a trackday at the Nurburgring for next year! Two days with the track completely closed to the public, where I can really get to learn it properly and push the car harder without the risk of a mouth-breather crashing into me. I am very excited. I'm going to try and squeeze in a few trips to Tourist sessions beforehand, just to get a couple of dozen laps under my belt, so that I'm not a mobile chicane for the rest of the attendees. This is a real bucket-list one for me.
The wheels! I was casually flicking through the Z4 forum's ads looking for seats, and spotted that Mr Tidy of this parish had a set of E89 17s in great condition up for sale. Like my current wheels, they are square 8x17s (my preference). Like my current wheels, they aren't highly sought-after. The offsets are slightly lower than mine, so I'll probably have to move my front spacers to the rear.
These are the wheels. Nice and simple, and a darn sight cheaper than the £400-odd I've been quoted to refurb my current tatty rims.
Some good
- My Carly arrived, and I managed to code out my (non-working) rain sensor, so that I now have good old-fashioned intermittent wipers.
- Carly also let me code a load of fun and useless stuff (like flashing the brake lights when I'm braking heavily).
- Managed to fit a 10ft Christmas tree in the Discovery with the tailgate closed - shifting gears was a bit tricky.
- I bought some replacement wheels for the Z4 from a lovely chap called Mr Tidy.
- I bought a little bluetooth/aux dongle thing for the Discovery that comes with a microphone and track skipping buttons, and I couldn't anticipate how much better it would make my life.
Mostly annoying
- The bloody Carly didn't let me code three-flash indicators, which was 50% of the reason I bought it.
- The Z4 battery didn't like being left for long periods without use in the cold weather, so needed a quick charge.
- On removing it, I found out that it's slightly smaller (in capacity and CCA) than the OEM spec. Will get a new one ordered.
- The Discovery's front brakes are vibrating, and it had new discs in May - I suspect a seized caliper, so it's off the garage on Monday.
- The Z4 is so dirty that it looks like a barnfind, and I have no idea when I'll next get the chance to wash it.
- I had a sit in Mr Tidy's Z4 'Sport' seats and didn't fit - back to the pissing drawing board here (again).
However, all of that annoying stuff pales into insignificance, because ... I've booked a trackday at the Nurburgring for next year! Two days with the track completely closed to the public, where I can really get to learn it properly and push the car harder without the risk of a mouth-breather crashing into me. I am very excited. I'm going to try and squeeze in a few trips to Tourist sessions beforehand, just to get a couple of dozen laps under my belt, so that I'm not a mobile chicane for the rest of the attendees. This is a real bucket-list one for me.
The wheels! I was casually flicking through the Z4 forum's ads looking for seats, and spotted that Mr Tidy of this parish had a set of E89 17s in great condition up for sale. Like my current wheels, they are square 8x17s (my preference). Like my current wheels, they aren't highly sought-after. The offsets are slightly lower than mine, so I'll probably have to move my front spacers to the rear.
These are the wheels. Nice and simple, and a darn sight cheaper than the £400-odd I've been quoted to refurb my current tatty rims.
Mr Tidy said:
It was a pleasure to meet you on Saturday
Likewise. 
It never rains in old car ownership, but it often bloody pours.
Took the Z4 out for a quick drive yesterday evening to blow out its cobwebs, and stopped at a local garage to jetwash some of the several tonnes of leaves out of the scuttle panel. As I moved it over to fill the tank up, I could hear a slight squeaking noise from under the bonnet. Great.
It's coming from the vicinity of the alternator (although I'm not 100% it's not an idler or tensioner), and sounds vaguely rotational. The alternator is charging just fine (14.4v), and the noise disappears when the engine is revved. I'm thinking it's the alternator pulley, but can't be too sure.
At least the Discovery has been working fine, right? Right...?
The Discovery is booked in for Monday to replace the warped front discs that were fitted earlier this year, but a quick run out in it this morning brought about the delightful aroma of hot brakes. Assuming it worst, I leapt out of the car and grabbed my IR thermometer (because why wouldn't you?) and expected to see that a sticky front caliper had caused my braking wobble. But not so - of course it couldn't be that easy.
The rear-right caliper is seized, and the disc was at ~250*C after a short drive. This wouldn't normally annoy me, but both rear calipers were replaced with OEM parts when the car was recommissioned last summer. Called the garage and added this to their list for next week. Great.
To add insult to injury, I gave the Electronic Parking Brake (the source of many Discovery owners' frustrations) a quick test to make sure it wasn't sticking. It engaged just fine, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I pressed the button to disengage, only to be met with silence and a fault on the dashboard. Great.
I'm hopeful that the heat has caused the error, but upon reading the codes I got a generic switch communication error. A bit of research suggests that slow engagement/disengagement can cause this issue, so hope springs eternal. I very rarely use the handbrake in autos unless I'm parking on a hill, but I give the EPB a periodic paranoia test every few weeks, because just in case.
At least the Volvo works. But it would be nice to have more than one working car by Christmas.
Scoobydrew95 said:
Interesting read up on both accounts.
I remember when working in a bike shop, i was asked by the customer if i could put one of their newly purchased bikes on to their roof of their disco 3. As i was standing on the sill steps it completely collapsed under me due to rust. Which genuinely astonished me, being a late model one and this being about 4 years ago. They do seem to be problematic but discos do have their charm, have many memories of being in the back row of a disco 2 as a child.
And you're right, when it all goes wrong it goes catastrophically so. I'm coming up to a month of my car being in the garage for a MOT. Maybe ill get it back by Christmas.
Anyway, best of luck! Looking forward to seeing the new wheels fitted and suitable seats.
The disintegrating side steps thing is one of those 'they all do that, sir' Discovery problems. They weren't made from the greatest metal in the first place, and they accumulate water/dirt/salt really badly. Owners tend not to wash them properly, and they just rot from underneath. I'm grateful mine has never had them fitted.I remember when working in a bike shop, i was asked by the customer if i could put one of their newly purchased bikes on to their roof of their disco 3. As i was standing on the sill steps it completely collapsed under me due to rust. Which genuinely astonished me, being a late model one and this being about 4 years ago. They do seem to be problematic but discos do have their charm, have many memories of being in the back row of a disco 2 as a child.
And you're right, when it all goes wrong it goes catastrophically so. I'm coming up to a month of my car being in the garage for a MOT. Maybe ill get it back by Christmas.
Anyway, best of luck! Looking forward to seeing the new wheels fitted and suitable seats.
I'm pretty sanguine about the cost of old car ownership, to be honest. I could easily make my life much less complicated, and have a couple of new/leased cars on the drive - but where would be the challenge in that?
Maybe things are looking up?
The Discovery is back, in time for various holidays duties like ferrying around friends and family. It appears that the fix was as simple as popping the caliper off and freeing up the stuck piston, which is a nice change.
The garage didn't seem to think that the discs were warped, which is a bit frustrating. They've ruled out play in the wheel bearings, which is a nice result, but have suggested that a dead bush or two might be the cause of my issue. Given that it's had new arms, air springs and track rods recently, we're on track for a full front suspension rebuild in the first 18 months of ownership. Still, if it drives well then I'll gladly spend the money.
They have diagnosed the parking brake fault (which they were unfortunately able to replicate) as an issue with the switch. My online sleuthing suggests that there may be other things at play here, but I'm happy for them to change the switch as a first step. They didn't have one in stock, so have had to order one to be fitted after the holidays.
That sort of sounds like progress, right?
i started and ran the Z4 yesterday evening, and once it was up to temperature the noise I'd heard previously wasn't present. I wonder whether I somehow managed to get water on the serpentine belt when I was jetwashing it? It didn't sound like a slipping belt noise, but I'm willing to believe anything if it avoids another trip to the garage...
In other news, Project Slippy Diff has started on the Z4. I've found a local transmission specialist who's happy to work on it, so I'm going to slowly-slowly refresh the rear end and give the car a bit more zip in the new year.
First step is finding a decent 3.46 diff, which was fitted to the 5spd automatic Z4s. My current diff is comically long (at 3.07), meaning that acceleration can feel a bit muted at times. The tradeoff is low-geared cruising in 6th, of course - but I'm up for a little bit of compromise here. The car already does a 14sec quarter mile (not fast, not slow) with the long diff, so I'd hope to chop a few tenths off that and perk up in-gear acceleration a bit.
Then I'm going to pick up one of RacingDiffs' LSD conversion kits. I wouldn't normally jump at something like this, but with aftermarket LSDs working out at ~£2k fitted, there's no way I can justify that for a car that's worth so little.
https://racingdiffs.com/products/bmw-e46-e90-e92-e...
Then I'll have the transmission specialist strip, inspect and rebuild the shorter diff with the LSD pack installed. This means I can send the diff to the motorsport guys who did my coilovers, so they can drop the entire rear subframe out and refresh all the bushes (probably poly) before reinstalling the diff. I'll probably get the rubber prop 'guibo' done at the same time, for a bit of peace of mind.
Finally, I might have a seat solution. One of the helpful folks on the Z4 Facebook group has shared details of how he installed the Sports seats from the E89 (the next model Z4) in his car of a similar age, including heating and electric adjustment. He's based quite locally to me, so I'm going to go take a look when the weather is better. They sit low, and are a compromise of support and comfort that lives somewhere between the two OEM options for the E85.
That sounds like the start of progress, at least.
Finally, it looks like the Volvo is going to get replaced by a Tesla M3 Long-range when it goes back in Feb. That's all.
The Discovery is back, in time for various holidays duties like ferrying around friends and family. It appears that the fix was as simple as popping the caliper off and freeing up the stuck piston, which is a nice change.
The garage didn't seem to think that the discs were warped, which is a bit frustrating. They've ruled out play in the wheel bearings, which is a nice result, but have suggested that a dead bush or two might be the cause of my issue. Given that it's had new arms, air springs and track rods recently, we're on track for a full front suspension rebuild in the first 18 months of ownership. Still, if it drives well then I'll gladly spend the money.
They have diagnosed the parking brake fault (which they were unfortunately able to replicate) as an issue with the switch. My online sleuthing suggests that there may be other things at play here, but I'm happy for them to change the switch as a first step. They didn't have one in stock, so have had to order one to be fitted after the holidays.
That sort of sounds like progress, right?
i started and ran the Z4 yesterday evening, and once it was up to temperature the noise I'd heard previously wasn't present. I wonder whether I somehow managed to get water on the serpentine belt when I was jetwashing it? It didn't sound like a slipping belt noise, but I'm willing to believe anything if it avoids another trip to the garage...
In other news, Project Slippy Diff has started on the Z4. I've found a local transmission specialist who's happy to work on it, so I'm going to slowly-slowly refresh the rear end and give the car a bit more zip in the new year.
First step is finding a decent 3.46 diff, which was fitted to the 5spd automatic Z4s. My current diff is comically long (at 3.07), meaning that acceleration can feel a bit muted at times. The tradeoff is low-geared cruising in 6th, of course - but I'm up for a little bit of compromise here. The car already does a 14sec quarter mile (not fast, not slow) with the long diff, so I'd hope to chop a few tenths off that and perk up in-gear acceleration a bit.
Then I'm going to pick up one of RacingDiffs' LSD conversion kits. I wouldn't normally jump at something like this, but with aftermarket LSDs working out at ~£2k fitted, there's no way I can justify that for a car that's worth so little.
https://racingdiffs.com/products/bmw-e46-e90-e92-e...
Then I'll have the transmission specialist strip, inspect and rebuild the shorter diff with the LSD pack installed. This means I can send the diff to the motorsport guys who did my coilovers, so they can drop the entire rear subframe out and refresh all the bushes (probably poly) before reinstalling the diff. I'll probably get the rubber prop 'guibo' done at the same time, for a bit of peace of mind.
Finally, I might have a seat solution. One of the helpful folks on the Z4 Facebook group has shared details of how he installed the Sports seats from the E89 (the next model Z4) in his car of a similar age, including heating and electric adjustment. He's based quite locally to me, so I'm going to go take a look when the weather is better. They sit low, and are a compromise of support and comfort that lives somewhere between the two OEM options for the E85.
That sounds like the start of progress, at least.
Finally, it looks like the Volvo is going to get replaced by a Tesla M3 Long-range when it goes back in Feb. That's all.
I love cars.
Unsurprisingly, it couldn't be as simple as 'just freeing up the caliper', so back to the garage the Discovery went this week for another look at the rear brakes. This time the caliper was seized solid, so I was liberated of a few hundred shekels for a new caliper and new discs and pads all round at the back. The 'good' news is that the electronic handbrake is working again, so it must have been an issue caused by excessive heat (the disc was blue!). So I've got that going for me, at least.
The cold snap has revealed that the vents aren't exactly blowing toasty hot, so I had the garage flush out the heater matrix in hope more than anticipation. Sadly it seems like the coolant was flowing nicely, so we probably have a blend flap/door issue. The nice mechanic said that he'd only have to take half the dash off to fix it "if you're lucky". I didn't feel lucky.
The Discovery is testing my patience. However, since the very first week of ownership (thanks to a dead alternator) it hasn't yet failed to proceed in the 21k miles I've put on it in 18mths. Sure, it might throw a high-three/low-four figure bill at me every few months. But next to the cost of leasing or financing something comparable, it's a no-brainer to keep the Discovery even with these periodic mechanic visits.
On the subject of leasing or financing stuff, I've settled on the Tesla M3 to replace the Volvo when it goes back in Feb. I'm hoping to snag a bargain as Tesla dispose of their demonstrator stock to bring in the facelifted model. Learning that the facelift model is completely doing away with column stalks, and selecting drive/reverse will be done by swiping on the central screen(!), was a bit too much for me.
Avanti, I guess.
Unsurprisingly, it couldn't be as simple as 'just freeing up the caliper', so back to the garage the Discovery went this week for another look at the rear brakes. This time the caliper was seized solid, so I was liberated of a few hundred shekels for a new caliper and new discs and pads all round at the back. The 'good' news is that the electronic handbrake is working again, so it must have been an issue caused by excessive heat (the disc was blue!). So I've got that going for me, at least.
The cold snap has revealed that the vents aren't exactly blowing toasty hot, so I had the garage flush out the heater matrix in hope more than anticipation. Sadly it seems like the coolant was flowing nicely, so we probably have a blend flap/door issue. The nice mechanic said that he'd only have to take half the dash off to fix it "if you're lucky". I didn't feel lucky.
The Discovery is testing my patience. However, since the very first week of ownership (thanks to a dead alternator) it hasn't yet failed to proceed in the 21k miles I've put on it in 18mths. Sure, it might throw a high-three/low-four figure bill at me every few months. But next to the cost of leasing or financing something comparable, it's a no-brainer to keep the Discovery even with these periodic mechanic visits.
On the subject of leasing or financing stuff, I've settled on the Tesla M3 to replace the Volvo when it goes back in Feb. I'm hoping to snag a bargain as Tesla dispose of their demonstrator stock to bring in the facelifted model. Learning that the facelift model is completely doing away with column stalks, and selecting drive/reverse will be done by swiping on the central screen(!), was a bit too much for me.
Avanti, I guess.
What's the oid maxim? Marry in haste, repent at leisure? Something like that.
It's only been a month since I said that the Discovery wouldn't be getting shuffled on for the sake of paying "monthlies" to borrow something similar. And then the Kia EV9 happened to me. A car that I'd initially assumed would be US market only, and had stopped paying attention to, somehow turned up on the leasing comparison sites at half the price of a Volvo EX90. You have my attention.
I absolutely love the way it looks. It's got 7 seats and 4WD (yes, it can do mild off-roading), and it's about the same size as the Discovery. Range seems acceptable too. What's the catch? Well, I actually don't know yet. All of the (many) reviews I've read seem to suggest it's a brilliant car with some scratchy plastics on the lower dash.
Plus, posting a photo of one and suggesting it was the spiritual successor to the Discovery was enough for the thin-skinned wallies on the Discovery Owners Facebook group to ban me. So that sounds like a win, right?
Need to find one and drive one ASAP, before we commit to buying a Tesla. It would mean I could offload the Disco in favour of something more utilitarian (and ideally cheaper to run/repair).
In the meantime, it's the Z4's turn to have a tantrum. The recent weather suggested that all might not be as ship-shape and watertight as I'd like (yes, not all of that ice is on the outside).
While having a good, old panicked poke around the carpets (which were mercifully dry), I got a drip on the back of my head. Looking up (rather than down) very quickly revealed a potential culprit. I blasted the rubber roof seals with Gummi Pfledge, and it appears to have gone some way to keeping the water out in the recent downpour. Time will tell...
My lighting woes aren't yet behind me either. Taking the Z4 out for a blast to blow the leaves/cobwebs out yesterday morning revealed that I had no control over lights or indicators. Cosmic. Plugging my trusty Creator OBD tool in highlighted the issue immediately. The tool couldn't connect to the LCM (Lighting Control Module), which suggests a not uncommon Z4 failure. Fingers crossed it's nothing moisture-related.
The LCM is hidden in a box connected to the headlight switch, which is stupid. In their infinite wisdom, BMW decided to make 6 different versions of the module depending on which options you ticked, which is stupid. BMW also randomly changed the part numbers of all 6 around the end of 2004, which is stupid.
Anyway, net is that I've got one winging its way to me from eBay, which may or may not be correct.
While I was digging around with my OBD scanner, the thermostat code (297C) reappeared. Nothing terminal in there, just a sensor malfunction. But it's spurred me on to do a cooling system refresh, as there's nothing in the (slim) history. I've started compiling a list of the required parts (radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing etc.), and may even tackle this one myself.
It's only been a month since I said that the Discovery wouldn't be getting shuffled on for the sake of paying "monthlies" to borrow something similar. And then the Kia EV9 happened to me. A car that I'd initially assumed would be US market only, and had stopped paying attention to, somehow turned up on the leasing comparison sites at half the price of a Volvo EX90. You have my attention.
I absolutely love the way it looks. It's got 7 seats and 4WD (yes, it can do mild off-roading), and it's about the same size as the Discovery. Range seems acceptable too. What's the catch? Well, I actually don't know yet. All of the (many) reviews I've read seem to suggest it's a brilliant car with some scratchy plastics on the lower dash.
Plus, posting a photo of one and suggesting it was the spiritual successor to the Discovery was enough for the thin-skinned wallies on the Discovery Owners Facebook group to ban me. So that sounds like a win, right?
Need to find one and drive one ASAP, before we commit to buying a Tesla. It would mean I could offload the Disco in favour of something more utilitarian (and ideally cheaper to run/repair).
In the meantime, it's the Z4's turn to have a tantrum. The recent weather suggested that all might not be as ship-shape and watertight as I'd like (yes, not all of that ice is on the outside).
While having a good, old panicked poke around the carpets (which were mercifully dry), I got a drip on the back of my head. Looking up (rather than down) very quickly revealed a potential culprit. I blasted the rubber roof seals with Gummi Pfledge, and it appears to have gone some way to keeping the water out in the recent downpour. Time will tell...
My lighting woes aren't yet behind me either. Taking the Z4 out for a blast to blow the leaves/cobwebs out yesterday morning revealed that I had no control over lights or indicators. Cosmic. Plugging my trusty Creator OBD tool in highlighted the issue immediately. The tool couldn't connect to the LCM (Lighting Control Module), which suggests a not uncommon Z4 failure. Fingers crossed it's nothing moisture-related.
The LCM is hidden in a box connected to the headlight switch, which is stupid. In their infinite wisdom, BMW decided to make 6 different versions of the module depending on which options you ticked, which is stupid. BMW also randomly changed the part numbers of all 6 around the end of 2004, which is stupid.
Anyway, net is that I've got one winging its way to me from eBay, which may or may not be correct.
While I was digging around with my OBD scanner, the thermostat code (297C) reappeared. Nothing terminal in there, just a sensor malfunction. But it's spurred me on to do a cooling system refresh, as there's nothing in the (slim) history. I've started compiling a list of the required parts (radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing etc.), and may even tackle this one myself.
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