My midlife crisis purchase; E86 BMW Z4 Coupe
Discussion
roadie said:
That's a lot of work undertaken on the driveway! Hopefully, you can finish everything needed to get the alignment sorted along with the other issues so you can enjoy driving it at its best.
To be honest, it’s not that bad when it’s not cold. There are times though when it’d be much easier to have it on a ramp and be looking at things the right way up. 
The basic alignment has got it driving pretty well in all fairness. I just think there’s a bit of room for improvement but I’m probably being unfair in comparing it to my well sorted E92.
cerb4.5lee said:
I'm really loving your gold wheels Sam. 
I reckon that if I ever actually do get around to refurbing the wheels on the M4...then a gold colour would suit that too. At the rate I'm going though...I will have sold the car on before I actually get the wheels done in fairness!
Cheers Lee, I think they work well with the dark blue paint.I reckon that if I ever actually do get around to refurbing the wheels on the M4...then a gold colour would suit that too. At the rate I'm going though...I will have sold the car on before I actually get the wheels done in fairness!
Satin gold wheels would definitely work well on your car.
Ticked off a few little jobs on the Z4 yesterday.
I had a look at the air filter which looked a bit manky and one edge was a bit mangled.
The inside of the airbox was pretty grotty.
I did order a Pipercross filter but it was the wring shape, so I settled for a Mann jobbie.
The airbox was washed out because in sad.
I also decided to sort the panel that I’d treated with Jenolite. This is what it looked like when I removed the plastic panel.
Masked up ready for painting.
After two coats of Hammerite.
And all back together.
It’s not perfect because it was brushed on, but it upsets me far less than the corrosion.
I had a look at the air filter which looked a bit manky and one edge was a bit mangled.
The inside of the airbox was pretty grotty.
I did order a Pipercross filter but it was the wring shape, so I settled for a Mann jobbie.
The airbox was washed out because in sad.
I also decided to sort the panel that I’d treated with Jenolite. This is what it looked like when I removed the plastic panel.
Masked up ready for painting.
After two coats of Hammerite.
And all back together.
It’s not perfect because it was brushed on, but it upsets me far less than the corrosion.
Gallons Per Mile said:
Good result! Out of interest, have you tried the Bilt Hamber rust converter? I've got some on that plastered all over my van and just wondered if the Jenolite would do a better job. It's probably more that my van is a rusting hulk than Bilt Hamber being bad...
I’ve not no. I’ve only tried Por 15 which I really rate and Jenolite. Court_S said:
Ticked off a few little jobs on the Z4 yesterday.
I had a look at the air filter which looked a bit manky and one edge was a bit mangled.
The inside of the airbox was pretty grotty.
I did order a Pipercross filter but it was the wring shape, so I settled for a Mann jobbie.
The airbox was washed out because in sad.
I also decided to sort the panel that I’d treated with Jenolite. This is what it looked like when I removed the plastic panel.
Masked up ready for painting.
After two coats of Hammerite.
And all back together.
It’s not perfect because it was brushed on, but it upsets me far less than the corrosion.
Some good work there Sam I had a look at the air filter which looked a bit manky and one edge was a bit mangled.
The inside of the airbox was pretty grotty.
I did order a Pipercross filter but it was the wring shape, so I settled for a Mann jobbie.
The airbox was washed out because in sad.
I also decided to sort the panel that I’d treated with Jenolite. This is what it looked like when I removed the plastic panel.
Masked up ready for painting.
After two coats of Hammerite.
And all back together.
It’s not perfect because it was brushed on, but it upsets me far less than the corrosion.
That panel filter
IMO you're best off with an OEM panel filter anyways; the oiled ones soon get crudded up
d_a_n1979 said:
Some good work there Sam
That panel filter
IMO you're best off with an OEM panel filter anyways; the oiled ones soon get crudded up
Yeah, definitely worth sticking a new one in for twenty quid.That panel filter
IMO you're best off with an OEM panel filter anyways; the oiled ones soon get crudded up
BDS have developed a filter with ITG that looks good, but it won’t fit this being a cone.
Gallons Per Mile said:
Good result! Out of interest, have you tried the Bilt Hamber rust converter? I've got some on that plastered all over my van and just wondered if the Jenolite would do a better job. It's probably more that my van is a rusting hulk than Bilt Hamber being bad...
I found the brush on Bilt Hamber rust converter (Hydrate 80) to be superior to the Jenolite equivalent. Two coats is critical to ensure complete coverage and you ideally need a margin of clean metal to ‘seal’ the treated area. If you want a spray on product then Dinitrol RC900 may be worth a look.
tallpaul26 said:
I found the brush on Bilt Hamber rust converter (Hydrate 80) to be superior to the Jenolite equivalent. Two coats is critical to ensure complete coverage and you ideally need a margin of clean metal to ‘seal’ the treated area.
If you want a spray on product then Dinitrol RC900 may be worth a look.
Thanks for the advice!If you want a spray on product then Dinitrol RC900 may be worth a look.
I noticed that in certain light, you could still see the Z4 badge in the paint, so when I washed the car this weekend I ended up repolishing the rear end.
It’s on the old wheels as a temporary measure due to me catching the passenger side rear wheel in a moment lapse of concentration battling Nottingham’s rush hour traffic (wheel has now been patched up and collected).
We nipped up to Melbourne for a pint Saturday evening and the car looked ace in my biased opinion.
I’d previously noticed that some of the clips that hold the engine cover to the frame with rubber bungs on it were missing.
New ones arrived this morning and were promptly fitted.
I think I’m going to have to get the sump gasket changed at some point soon because I’ve noticed the car is getting through oil a bit quicker than I’d like. I stuck a litre in over the 1,500 miles that I’ve covered in it. When I had the splash guard off doing the wishbones it was quite wet around the sump (all of the top gaskets have been recently done).
It’s on the old wheels as a temporary measure due to me catching the passenger side rear wheel in a moment lapse of concentration battling Nottingham’s rush hour traffic (wheel has now been patched up and collected).
We nipped up to Melbourne for a pint Saturday evening and the car looked ace in my biased opinion.
I’d previously noticed that some of the clips that hold the engine cover to the frame with rubber bungs on it were missing.
New ones arrived this morning and were promptly fitted.
I think I’m going to have to get the sump gasket changed at some point soon because I’ve noticed the car is getting through oil a bit quicker than I’d like. I stuck a litre in over the 1,500 miles that I’ve covered in it. When I had the splash guard off doing the wishbones it was quite wet around the sump (all of the top gaskets have been recently done).
roadie said:
I might be the only one, but I prefer the original wheels on the car!
Is the sump gasket likely to be a big of a pain as it will be on my E92 N55 where the front subframe needs to come down?
You may be in the minority regarding Style 108s! Is the sump gasket likely to be a big of a pain as it will be on my E92 N55 where the front subframe needs to come down?
The problem is as good as they look they need to be split to be properly refurbed and don't stay smart very long because the titanium bolts react with the alloy rims causing corrosion which lifts the powder coat - and the bolts often shear when the wheels are getting split, so it can quickly get expensive with 20 bolts in each wheel at over £5 each!
I had them on my previous Z4 and bought something else so I could sell them while they looked decent!
I'm pretty sure the cross-member has to come off to remove the sump. Same as my 330i that for now I just keep topping up, but it's doing 3,000 miles a litre so not too serious yet.
roadie said:
I might be the only one, but I prefer the original wheels on the car!
Is the sump gasket likely to be a big of a pain as it will be on my E92 N55 where the front subframe needs to come down?
My wife likes them too. I’m just not a fan plus as Mr Tidy says theres the potential corrosion issue. Is the sump gasket likely to be a big of a pain as it will be on my E92 N55 where the front subframe needs to come down?
It looks like the sump gasket is quite a big job.
Gallons Per Mile said:
For oil consumption I'd be checking the breather system if not already checked/replaced
I’m not sure if its consumption of just getting lost by dribbling out of the sump It was pretty wet when I was last under there so I’d assumed that was the issue. I do have a new CCV say in the garage that was destined for the 330i but I’ve not got around to fit it yet. Perhaps I’ll steal it for this since it’s getting through more oil.
Court_S said:
Gallons Per Mile said:
For oil consumption I'd be checking the breather system if not already checked/replaced
I’m not sure if its consumption of just getting lost by dribbling out of the sump It was pretty wet when I was last under there so I’d assumed that was the issue. I do have a new CCV say in the garage that was destined for the 330i but I’ve not got around to fit it yet. Perhaps I’ll steal it for this since it’s getting through more oil.
Looking through the history of the car, there didn’t seem to be many ticks for pollen filter changes, so when popping to ECP for a bearing puller I decided to grab a new one.
Upon removing the old one, I was bloody glad I did too…..
Even more leaves and other crap fell out after poking around in the opening.
Old and new
The old filter was a genuine BMW one dated March 2007. It looks like the last company to service the car a few years ago who ticked the box were telling porkie pies.
Upon removing the old one, I was bloody glad I did too…..
Even more leaves and other crap fell out after poking around in the opening.
Old and new
The old filter was a genuine BMW one dated March 2007. It looks like the last company to service the car a few years ago who ticked the box were telling porkie pies.
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