project SiC's consolidated moderns - 2004 BMW Z4 2.2, 2005 BMW 330i and (borrowed) 2007 Porsche Cayman

[Schaefft]

2.5k is dirt cheap for a 330Ci Clubsport, the high mileage is probably the reason but it'll be sold in no time.

[cort16]

18 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Corrected to reflect the true cort16 methodology.

I think i found my limit with overlapping 320si and Citroen C6 ownership.

[SiC]

I've been watching this:

 

I'll also need this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156026486170

It seems the 7 litres isn't enough either and I'll need an extra 2 litres of the juiced unicorns. At £26 a litre, it's certainly not cheap.

Plus a £60 or so oil transfer pump to get the fluid back in.

Then add the £200 of coil packs and spark plugs. 

To give me a £600 extra on my credit card bill. 

All so I can spend an uncomfortable evening under a car. Probably when the temperature is dropping as we approach autumn and raining outside. Then hope that my gearbox becomes silky smooth again.

🙃

[SiC]

2 hours ago, Schaefft said:

2.5k is dirt cheap for a 330Ci Clubsport, the high mileage is probably the reason but it'll be sold in no time.

It is but it's been for sale for 5 days already though! So maybe it is overpriced in the current market. I imagine most who really want a Clubsport and understand what it is, will be looking to spend more with less miles and less issues to stash away in the garage for a nice day drive.

 

2 hours ago, cort16 said:

I think i found my limit with overlapping 320si and Citroen C6 ownership.

I'm not sure I should admit this but I didn't ever understand your obsession with the 320si ... until I saw one on the E9x Facebook group and I did have a few searches for them on eBay ...

[cort16]

31 minutes ago, SiC said:

It is but it's been for sale for 5 days already though! So maybe it is overpriced in the current market. I imagine most who really want a Clubsport and understand what it is, will be looking to spend more with less miles and less issues to stash away in the garage for a nice day drive.

 

I'm not sure I should admit this but I didn't ever understand your obsession with the 320si ... until I saw one on the E9x Facebook group and I did have a few searches for them on eBay ...

The thing with the si is the great  story. There aren’t many limited run BMWs with a bespoke engine . The engine is very cool lots of s54m3 bits in in there and it sounds good just pity they made the cylinders out of rice pudding. 

[SiC]

My current thinking is getting the seals and reuse the oil+filter. Get a very clean pan and drain into that while trying not to spill the precious mega expensive oil all over my drive/me.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402021860091

Just £50 is a lot more palatable than £300 for oil+filter+those seals. Supposedly it's had oil+filter a few years/one or two tens of thousands miles ago. 

It's an old BMW that's well past it's expected lifespan and has plenty of things that could make it go pop very quickly making it far too uneconomical to repair. Whether it's the fully electric water pump, transmission clutch packs, internal torque converter failure, or even as far as cam ledger seals. Then other expensive electrical failures these cars are known well for such as internal ABS faults, etc.

I see plenty of cheap E9x come up on Facebook marketplace and eBay. Albeit mostly 4cyl petrols and diesels. But still a few 6cyl petrols are available for a couple of grand at most. So I need to be sensible on expenditures, especially with a car that disappointingly has no service history making it worth fuck-all and less than I've put into it so far. 

[riek]

Mine is a clubsport and they aren't really anything special. There's a lot of waffle but it's really just spoilers and wheels. Mine doesn't even have the spoiler, deleted from new.

[Split_Pin]

What was the model with the cardboard boot floor? I'm sure I recall that from a TG episode.

[Matty]

47 minutes ago, riek said:

Mine is a clubsport and they aren't really anything special. There's a lot of waffle but it's really just spoilers and wheels. Mine doesn't even have the spoiler, deleted from new.

Fully agree. Mine was a lovely looking thing but no differant from a sport. They deleted something like 50 kg of sound deadening from then then fitted 2 ton of electric seats ffs.

[Anthony]

7 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

What was the model with the cardboard boot floor? I'm sure I recall that from a TG episode.

M3 CSL... not exactly shitter money though!

[SiC]

I can never figure why the E46 M3 CSL is worth so much now. 

[riek]

CSLs are a collectors item now. You could easily buy a standard M3 and make it better to drive for less than half what a CSL will set you back

[SiC]

Anyone have any idea if these engine smooth running numbers look reasonable? I'm not sure what is good and what is bad? Presumably that they're within -200 and 200 they're in spec. Or should I really be expecting them to be nearly zero?

I'm wondering if my coil packs are perfectly fine and don't need touching.

 

[JakeT]

I’ll try and dig out INPA on my old laptop and see what the numbers say. Is that with AC on or off?

[SiC]

Good question. The above was with AC on. 

Just fired up INPA after a run back from the gym and left to idle with AC off. These numbers were fluctuating about a bit but weren't going into the red. The fact they're not stable (+/- .5 at times) makes me think perhaps it is worth to replace them. But then I don't know if they should be stable or not.

 

On a slightly different note it appears this engine ECU had one software update in 2011. Which is good as at least it's had one update in that time. I don't know what version did but I know later versions had the ability to self reset the Valvetronic adaptations without needing ISTA. Hopefully this has it as I may end up removing the valve cover (thus needing a Valvetronic reset) and replacing the valvetronic eccentric sensor in the future if it keeps getting oil in the connector.

[JakeT]

Those numbers look fine to me, I did test mine a few years ago but have no clue what they were. We also did it on a friends 6 series with an N53 chasing injector issues.

 

If you’re just removing the valvetronic motor you shouldn’t need to relearn it. I replaced the gasket for mine last year. I just unwound the motor and then wound it back in.

[SiC]

I'm thinking of holding fire on the coils right now. While a mismatch set, at least the front and back banks each have a set of similar vintage. There is some slight rough running at times, it's hard to know if it's the coils/plugs/something else or just normal. 

It's not as if I can't order a set easy enough if I do happen to need some. Even a one off coil from a failure I can sort by just going to a local ECP/GSF and pay their premium prices. (Hopefully I haven't said this and then get stranded on a hard shoulder with a misfiring engine in the near future!)

But right now I'm thinking more of sorting the transmission as that annoys me far more by having uncomfortable shifts. I noticed today that it definitely shifts nicer when cold and they get harsher with heat. This strongly suggests an internal leak which on this transmission, those seals are the first port of call to change.

I'm also thinking of putting fresh fluid in. Mostly because I don't know if the filter was changed on the last fluid change and if it's jacked up, I don't want to hold off the job until it arrives. If I put a new filter in then it'll need more fluid to top up and then I might as well replace it anyway. Plus there is a good chance I'll get the old fluid all over me rather than in a recovery pan anyway...

 

Fluid wise I was going genuine ZF. However it's a good £100 cheaper to get a Febi filter+fluid set at £160:

https://worldoflubricant.co.uk/products/bmw-zf-6hp1-automatic-transmission-gearbox-sump-pan-filter-kit-liqui-moly-oil?variant=46896297672995

 

There are reports that this fluid works absolutely fine. Some forum reports about running 450bhp in a 335i for over 60k with it still shifting fine on the Febi fluid. It's a Shell fluid base (I forget the exact spec number) that's in all of these anyway.

Bridge seals are about £50 for a set of genuine ZF. The only others are generic cheap Chinese off eBay which I'm not going to risk it I'm delving in this far.

[Split_Pin]

I'll be following this transmission  work with interest. Certainly on my previous E60 a proper pan-off service transformed it, really was worth the money.

[riek]

There's a couple of m539 restorations videos where he goes pretty in-depth on the ZF 6HP

[SiC]

20 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I'll be following this transmission  work with interest. Certainly on my previous E60 a proper pan-off service transformed it, really was worth the money.

Did they do the bridge seals too? 

I won't deny, the thought of an evening of this doesn't appeal so much right now. But needs to be done and not procrastinating over it.

 

18 minutes ago, riek said:

There's a couple of m539 restorations videos where he goes pretty in-depth on the ZF 6HP

Cool I'll have a look through and have a watch. I've seen quite a good few 6HP videos to reckon if it's driveway DIY'able.

[Split_Pin]

No just a full service with a new filter. 

[SiC]

This apparently had it's fluid changed last year. No idea if filter but likely not going to make much difference. Hopefully bridge seals will bring this box back to 100%. Right now it's like 85% in most use but definitely not as smooth as it should be. Nor do I want to bugger up the box unnecessarily by ignoring it. 

[SiC]

I think I parked in the wrong place in the car park yesterday 

Or maybe just the birds around here don't like BMWs.

(This nearly brand new car is £68k base price RRP btw 😳)

Not much to report at the moment on either BMW. Still doing their job.

I'm using the 3-series more atm as nicer to use as a runaround in all weathers. Not that the Z4 is bad but the 3-series has heated seats and easy to drive being an auto.

Fixed the sat nav function of the iDrive too. Previously the replacement unit I bought kept saying insert navigation disc. The lasers burn out on these drives over time and die. You can get replacement lasers but as I had a broken iDrive unit (original to the car), I pulled the drive out of that and swapped them around. Free fix is always a good fix.

And volia! 2005 maps and navigation technology back in action.

It has a mini map that shows on the right hand half of the screen (replaces the computer section). While I'll still use my Google phone for navigation, having a moving map is handy to have when say trying to scoot past a road closure diversion or similar without fanning around with a phone that might not be on its mouth. I do want to get a little box that converts the screen into Android Auto/Carplay but that's like a £150 purchase I am procrastinating on.

Today I've just splunked £110 on a set of Bosch coils due to the 20% eBay code that's up at the moment. I did this while I bought a set of discs and pads for my wife's Civic, so kinda easy enough to tag it on. 

Mostly as I still have occasions where it's a tad tough at idle and chucking parts like this at it should eliminate it as a cause even if it doesn't solve the problem. Will also get a new set of NGKs plugs (I think Bosch plugs are in it). 

Finally also bought a new oil filter housing cap. Inside this cap is a plastic piece that forces oil through the right way. Without it, you effectively get unfiltered oil through the engine. Being it's a BMW and shit quality plastics, this inner piece often comes off from the lid and gets stuck inside the oil filters during a change and chucked away. 

The upshot of this is the unfiltered oil causes crud to build up on the Vanos solenoids and can cause uneven running too. I plan to potentially pull those solenoids anyway for a clean and need to get a set of replacement o-rings while I'm there pulling them.

I haven't checked to see if the existing cap is intact or not, but for £23 and an oil change I was thinking of doing anyway, it's worth chucking a replacement on when I'm there. 

I still need to buy a transmission service kit with bridge seals. The £200 to £300 cost is off-putting right now. Especially as my wife's Civic needs a set of new tyres this month (a £400 additional expenditure) and I've already bought discs+pads for that with the coils+plugs for this. In an effort to stop myself burning through so much money so quickly, I'm holding off the transmission job for a bit. It still works fine 90% of the time and the 10% other time isn't horrible. A few months and maybe a thousand or two miles extra shouldn't hopefully be much of a big deal for it to wait. 

[IronStar]

You can get Android / Car play box for these as well! A friend has it in E92, and it’s really cool to see everything OEM. More expensive than Android head unit, but way cooler IMHO

https://www.mr12volt.com/

[SiC]

3 minutes ago, IronStar said:

You can get Android / Car play box for these as well! A friend has it in E92, and it’s really cool to see everything OEM. More expensive than Android head unit, but way cooler IMHO

https://www.mr12volt.com/

Yeah that's exactly what I'm going for. 

Except a cheaper option at $156 (pre taxes) that looks to be identical functionality.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL1K0Ys

I'd rather retain the OEM screen than fanny about removing the dash top to replace it. Yes lower resolution but also easy to see in daylight that many of the android units are not.

I think that box is full Linux based rather than android (yeah I know android is Linux underneath). Which is no bad thing as often quicker and doesn't really matter if it's main use is for Android Auto.

[IronStar]

1 minute ago, SiC said:

Yeah that's exactly what I'm going for. 

Except a cheaper option at $156 (pre taxes) that looks to be identical functionality.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL1K0Ys

I'd rather retain the OEM screen than fanny about removing the dash top to replace it. Yes lower resolution but also easy to see in daylight that many of the android units are not.

I think that box is full Linux based rather than android (yeah I know android is Linux underneath). Which is no bad thing as often quicker and doesn't really matter if it's main use is for Android Auto.

Yeah, this looks like a knockoff of mr12volt system. It’s Linux under the hood with the proper one, not Android. Really nice and properly instantaneous, unlike Android units that take ages to boot.

Only complaint is it’s wrong aspect ratio for Carplay so it looks stretched, but that’s really minor and is fully usable and looking right. Oh and cabling, at least on e92, was TIGHT but we made it in the end.

[wuvvum]

I've been idly wondering whether I should try the laser replacement thing on the Comand unit in the Merc - nick the laser from the unit that won't fire up and fit it to the one that won't read DVDs.  Although if I did attempt it I'd almost certainly end up with two bricked Comand units.

[IronStar]

8 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've been idly wondering whether I should try the laser replacement thing on the Comand unit in the Merc - nick the laser from the unit that won't fire up and fit it to the one that won't read DVDs.  Although if I did attempt it I'd almost certainly end up with two bricked Comand units.

Unless Merc did something spectacularly different than what’s usually done, it’s connected via few ribbon cables and some screws, and is sitting right on top of the unit when you remove top cover. You’d probably be fine, but I’m not responsible if you break it. 😄

[SiC]

34 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I've been idly wondering whether I should try the laser replacement thing on the Comand unit in the Merc - nick the laser from the unit that won't fire up and fit it to the one that won't read DVDs.  Although if I did attempt it I'd almost certainly end up with two bricked Comand units.

You might be able to open it up and swap the entire dvd/cd drive between the two like I did. The drives usually are a module plugged into the units as they're commodity items when they built these things back in the day. 

[JakeT]

Nice stuff. You’d probably know by now if the oil filter cap was broken. I don’t know why it happens, as the centre cage is installed quite well. Mines never shown signs of coming off snd I’ve done the oil 8 or 9 times now.

The CarPlay/android auto boxes are cool. BMW apps still works on mine, but when they stop I’ll be getting one.