project 2009 Z4 E89

[Popsicle]

That looks lovely Si. 

I'm not a BMW nerd, but with that plate on it, I'd think it was only a 5 year old car.

[SiC]

Quick loo stop at Cambridge services 

Everything 👌

Air con is ace. 28c outside, roof down, fans on full and nice & chilled. Not helping MPG though 😄

[SiC]

Tebay of the south (literally same company)

Mine has more power muwhahaha

Human fuel and then a sprint home. Boring food as I've eaten too much shit today.

[JJ0063]

Great looking car. Looks brilliant in that pic next to the white one! Jealous!

[SiC]

As I was approaching the avonmouth M5 bridge this came up

Steering fault I believe. No other warnings and it was still steering ...

I turned off the lights and blowers to save power incase it was a sign the alternator was dieing and I was loosing electricity. 

Rocked on for the next 25mins/15 miles. 

Got to the gym and plugged the code reader in 

Power steering module showing faults.

Read faults. No codes.

Restart car, all warning lights off. 

Hmm. 

 

Nothing else but watch and wait. These do suffer EPAS faults in the rack. Hoping it's not that 🤞🤞🤞🤞 

Old BMWs are fun 🤣🤣

Also cars have a habit of throwing up issues when they go into a new owner hands. This appears it maybe the thing it's giving me in punishment for being a new owner! Just the way it is. 

[angle]

9 hours ago, SiC said:

They're utterly shite crap buses! Rattly, uncomfortable and noisy.

The new electric Yutong U11D however 👌

Super quiet, mega smooth and air conditioned.

Bus geekage - Weston depot went fully electric end of last year and Hengrove did last week - so you should be seeing pretty much all Yutongs now given where you live...

(Car looks lovely)

[SiC]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

As I was approaching the avonmouth M5 bridge this came up

Steering fault I believe. No other warnings and it was still steering ...

I turned off the lights and blowers to save power incase it was a sign the alternator was dieing and I was loosing electricity. 

Rocked on for the next 25mins/15 miles. 

Got to the gym and plugged the code reader in 

Power steering module showing faults.

Read faults. No codes.

Restart car, all warning lights off. 

Hmm. 

 

Nothing else but watch and wait. These do suffer EPAS faults in the rack. Hoping it's not that 🤞🤞🤞🤞 

Old BMWs are fun 🤣🤣

Also cars have a habit of throwing up issues when they go into a new owner hands. This appears it maybe the thing it's giving me in punishment for being a new owner! Just the way it is. 

Because I'm an idiot, I put this in the wrong thread and had to move it here 🤦‍♂️

[rustdevil]

That looks like a nice motor what engine is in it

[SiC]

Right back from the gym and back home.

So first off.

@95 quid Peugeot is a top man and this car is great. All what I'm about to say isn't a complaint.

When friends/family/colleagues asks me for advice on what car to buy, I tell them to get a Honda or Toyota. Even more importantly I iterate strongly to not copy me and buy old German cars. 

This is a 16 year old BMW that's done 150k and I think the cheapest E89 currently on the market. It's going to have issues and will definitely have more. The thing is damn complicated in so many ways. I'll have to take a video of the roof in action, it's a masterpiece of automotive mechanical orchestration. If anything is going to go wrong in a big way, it's probably going to be the roof 🤣

Also as most here know, cars love to crop up issues when they change owners. Not least that this hasn't done many miles in the last half decade - a thousand or so each year. 

I've put on around a quarter of it's previous  annual mileage in a single day. So it's no surprise I've found some issues today!

So what is the snagging list so far?

 - passenger window only drops to open the seal but won't open any further. I suspect it might just need the battery disconnecting/reconnecting and then the end point reset.

- when I pulled up in a services, I shutdown the engine but left the key in the ignition. I spent a few minutes putting sun cream on. During that time, I got a warning ping up that the battery was low. Started okay but I suspect it may need a new one. Not least that it's done so few miles the last 5 years and it's probably not been on maintenance charge. So likely taken some damage to it's capacity.

- steering assistance warning. I really don't know what that is about. I did wonder if the battery was struggling but on the motorway, the PAS is not exactly working that hard. Just keeping an eye on it and see if I can get a code out with other tools

- feels a bit flat when accelerating, especially low down. This is a tricky one as my 330i has +56bhp on this. So I just put it down to not being used to it. However a code read earlier at the gym showed these which could not be helping. 

First one I think DISA valve related. For those that don't know what that is, these engines have variable intake tracts. It helps increase torque at low revs and then opens up at high to provide the airflow for peak power. These can fail and get stuck open causing torque loss low down. So something I may have to go poking in. Also at this age, the MAF could potentially be a bit tired too. 

- aux belt tensioner. Known issue on these and I did my 330i straight after I bought it. I've got an INA kit + belt ordered, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can get it done. It does however look not as bad as my 3'er.

- tyres have loads of tread and are a good brand. However they're runflats and rock solid because of that. I'd like to change them out to non RFT but I need to get a few miles out of these first.

- one key. Not as big an issue as you may think as these have non replaceable rechargeable batteries in them. At this age they're invariably knackered. Certainly one is on my 3'er. So I'll probably get the automotive locksmith out and get an additional key for both cars soon. 

 

About it really and nothing critically major.

Good points?

There are lots. Only some as I'm drifting off to sleep while writing this and need some rest.

- Smells brand new inside. While I'm used to high miler cars not feeling well lived in, this is the first that I've been in that actually smells brand new still. 

- Drives really well on the motorway. I haven't had a chance to properly push it as my focus was getting back and so mostly went on dual carriageways. But it's definitely a great GT. I suspect handling maybe slightly compromised by those RFT tyres but we'll see. 

- It's so refined. On the motorway at speed you feel basically like you're in a car that happens to have the roof off. Hair not blown about, climate control really effective and rather pleasant. Certainly one of the best I've driven for it. 

- Looks really sharp and modern. Definitely doesn't look or feel 16yrs old. 

- A big car. Definitely feels a lot bigger than the E85. Usually I don't like this in a roadster but it does give it presence on the roads. I guess when I get around to chucking it about, this may be a hindrance. We will see. 

So that's about it for tonight as I'm struggling to stay awake.

TL;DR I like it a lot and will potentially be doing a lot of miles in it. Exactly why I changed from my old to this newer. 

[N Dentressangle]

Sounds like the kind of niggles you enjoy sorting 😉

Nice one

[Brigsy]

Looks great. The shape looks so much newer than 16 years old.

Snag list not bad. New battery might cure a few of the electrical issues.

[w00dy]

Looks fabulous. It doesn't make sense to me that it's a 16 year old car. The white one you parked next to really highlights how much better they look in a classy spec.

They do seem a good bit bigger than the E85 which probably makes a lot more sense for their target market, but  I love the size of the E85.

 

[Hertz]

That looks like a belter, really like the colour. I never tried one of these as they were out of my budget when looking at convertibles a while back. Good to hear they are bigger than the older Z4 (I could barely get in one of those) so I might look again at one in the future. As said above the faults look minimal and ones you will enjoy rectifying to make it A1.

 

[SiC]

3 hours ago, N Dentressangle said:

Sounds like the kind of niggles you enjoy sorting 😉

Nice one

Yeah nothing that isn't easily sortable. Also nothing stopping it being used immediately either. 

Main thing really I need to sort is the passenger window not fully opening as it sometimes gets in the way of the roof opening properly. Even the aux belt isn't on the critical sort list as it's not that bad really and not looking like it was going to fail soon like my 330i was. (TADIS and a consumable part on all cars anyway, just the N52 often nukes itself when it fails and it's not part of any service schedule)

I'm hoping it's just a case of power cycling the car by disconnecting the battery and then setting the end point. Worse case it might need a new regulator if it's jamming. My 330i has similar on the rear passenger window where it gets stuck open. Repeated applications of the switch gets it closed again but I rarely use that window anyway so have ignored it. Ought to fix it though as one day I know it won't go back up!

I'll try have a fiddle with it later. 

[SiC]

Belt kit has arrived (ordered it on Monday in preparation). The belt on this is actually incorrect - correct for my 330i with hydraulic PAS but the E89 has electric PAS and so one less pulley to drive. The shorter, correct belt I have ordered separately from elsewhere and waiting for Royal Fail.

[SiC]

Had a quick poke around with this earlier. 

Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery didn't fix the passenger window. I think I'll have to dig into the door panel and see what's going on. Hopefully just needs some lube or something on the regulator. Second hand they go for £50 on eBay. New aftermarket £100. New genuine (on eBay) £150. 

Disconnected the battery again and put it on charge.

Interesting to see they relocated the roof motor to the battery well. The older E85 pump was very inaccessible, notorious for failing and a pain to top up fluids. Not sure the lowest point is the best place.

Checking the battery state, it says the last time a battery was put in was at 0km. I.e. brand new. 

However this battery isn't BMW branded nor AGM. So I suspect it's had a new battery without being registered. It's why I'm charging it at the moment as I may tell it it's got a new battery. Or maybe not as I don't want to think it's got the full capacity when it's gone completely flat. At least fully charged it has a chance to figure stuff out if I leave as is. 

The engine ECU has a permanent DISA valve code. No engine light. Main thing the DISA valve does is improve low end torque. My old Z4 had one too. Of course BMW isn't content with making things simpler - this has two DISA valves. One is on the side and easy to get to. The other is under the manifold and much more difficult to access. 

You probably can guess which valve this code relates to 🤣

Debating whether to buy a £30 second hand one of them or buy a brand new (Febi probably) for £150. Going to ignore for now but shouldn't leave it too long as they can sometimes break the flaps off and get ingested into the engine.

Apparently it can be done without removing the manifold by removing the alternator. I don't really want to disturb the manifold as there is so many (brittle) plastic pipes around that area and gaskets to disturb. Hence could be a world of pain.

So I'll probably go in through the alternator side without removing the manifold. Also good chance to replace the aux belt. I do need to order replacement alternator bolts as they're aluminium and one time use (of course BMW). Maybe get away with reusing but I know my luck on such things!

[Peter C]

When I upgraded my E46’s DISA valve to metal flaps you said it wasn’t worth bothering because they so rarely fail but now you are considering upgrading yours. What has made you change your mind?

[SiC]

30 minutes ago, Peter C said:

When I upgraded my E46’s DISA valve to metal flaps you said it wasn’t worth bothering because they so rarely fail but now you are considering upgrading yours. What has made you change your mind?

Because the ones on this car are broken and throwing an error code. 

My old Z4 E85 was on original DISA and in good condition. So it was left. I only removed it to gain access to fix an intake leak. My 330i two DISA valves (actually it might have three?) are completely untouched and seem to be working fine too. No plan to touch them unless necessary to do so. 

If this had no code, I wouldn't be going in disturbing stuff to replace "just because maybe it might break". Ime nowadays, especially on older moderns full of plastic parts, that's a recipe for making even more stuff break. 

[Split_Pin]

I feel your pain, been through this twice in the last year. But as you said a while back, at least you can read the codes easily on it even with a cheap Creator. Unlike a Saab which needs someone with £000s worth of kit 😬

You will know this but I have found, especially with the E46, that a seemingly simple fault can throw other rogue codes. I think you are onto something with the battery. I bet it's not had a right good charge from a long journey for quite some time.

By the way, I took the Disa valve off my E46 when I was replacing the ICV and it was in perfect condition and excellent working order so it went straight back in.

Unlike me you have patience with these things!

Car looks lovely. I had a closer look at one of these at the weekend as I saw one parked up with a cover half blown off it, seemingly abandoned, and it looked lovely.

[SiC]

3 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I feel your pain, been through this twice in the last year. But as you said a while back, at least you can read the codes easily on it even with a cheap Creator. Unlike a Saab which needs someone with £000s worth of kit 😬

I bought this when I had my last Saab. By the time it arrived from the China slow boat I'd sold the car and not bought another Saab since. 😂

Once I finally sell it, I'll end up buying another. Hence it's been sat in it's box for over half a decade.

3 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Car looks lovely. I had a closer look at one of these at the weekend as I saw one parked up with a cover half blown off it, seemingly abandoned, and it looked lovely.

That's the problem with modern cars. Modern materials and paints (and a lot of plastic) means they don't really look sad like abandoned/broken classics. Yet the can be hiding a whole load of electrical and mechanical malaise under that pretty cover. My neighbours garden ornaments Audi R8 is a great example. Looks fantastic but it's always broken and he barely uses it!

This just needs a few items replacing that are just par for course wear items on these. Nothing too awful to sort. All common items for this engine - even though this is supposed to be one of the most bullet proof ones BMW did!

[SiC]

Took the door card off yesterday to have a poke at the window regulator.

Couldn't find a guide to follow - not much available online for the E89 unlike the E85. So I did a good guess based on the E93 3-series convertible 

This pulled off

3 screws here. One on door handle, two on grab handle. 

Empty speaker housing just pulled off 

Then pulled the door card off. Gently does it in case I missed any fixings.

Unfortunately the cable on the right has no connector so you can't entirely remove it as one assembly annoyingly.

Didn't completely break all the clips. Only this slight casualty. Still reusable though.

I did however miss a screw 🥲

Stupid flimsy plastic didn't even give up much of a fight. If it did, I would have realised when pulling the card off. Plenty of other trim clips to hold the door card on still though so I'm not that bothered. Replacement door cards can be had second hand for £60 odd if it is a problem.

Then carefully cut the sealant on the inner membrane so I could reuse it by sticking it back on itself. So careful, I sliced my thumb with the blade 😫

Poking around the regulator I found the cable had frayed. Cutting off the excess got the window going back up and down. However it then got jammed open.

Removed the top of the motor I got it wound back up. Started putting the door card back on I knocked the down button (ignition was still on). The window dutifully opened and got well and truly stuck at the bottom again. 🤦‍♂️

At this point it was getting late (like 10:30p) and I wanted to pack up for the night. I contemplated cutting the cables and propping the window up with a cut down broom pole. However being a frameless window, it'd need some faff to get the door sealed. Also I'd need to carefully remove the broom pole to open the door but also not make it drop and break.

After some gentle* persuasion on the glass, I gave the motor enough extra push to get it past the frayed section. 

So right now it works well enough to drop and allow the door to open. But I dare not open the window fully as I don't want a modern convertible with a stuck open window until I get parts & time to fix!

Looking on eBay for replacements, new generic aftermarket is £100 and genuine is £160. Then there was this used unit for £16 after promo codes: https://ebay.us/m/iV5csS 

For that price I thought I might as well give it a go! From a 2014 car that looks to have done around 60k, it's worth a punt. In my experience of doing window regulators before, it's not a job I'd want to repeat from duff parts. However I can inspect this closely and I reckoned used genuine has a better hope than new aftermarket. Plus if it's in good condition, £16 to fix the window is a bargain!

[Split_Pin]

I'd rank anything to do with doors as one of my least favourite jobs.

22 minutes ago, SiC said:

A modern convertible with a stuck open window

I know that feeling....

[N Dentressangle]

Nice work

Can't go wrong for 16 quid. Hope it's not too much of a ballache to fit

[Matty]

I farmed it out. I've done enough window regs but pillarless ones are adjustable to get the seal at the top right when shut. Seeing as I have the motor skills and temperament of an angry monkey I figured it was best I didn't do it. 

[SiC]

I think the pillar less auto adjusts into the door seal with my scan tool. 

[DVee8]

Have a look at Quarry Motors, they are a BMW breaker.

I have used them a few times. For instance, I got a pair of Harman Kardon speakers delivered for £30.

 

https://quarrymotors.co.uk/

[SiC]

9 minutes ago, DVee8 said:

Have a look at Quarry Motors, they are a BMW breaker.

I have used them a few times. For instance, I got a pair of Harman Kardon speakers delivered for £30.

 

https://quarrymotors.co.uk/

I think my iDrive unit for my 330i came from them. 

[SiC]

Engine 

Big DISA valve

Small DISA valve hiding under those manifold pipes

Air box out. There was loads of room in my Z4 E85 engine bay too. Much more than the equivalent 3-series these are based on. 

DISA valve above the throttle body

Big DISA out

Big DISA deads (should be opening and closing fully)

So two DISA valves have been ordered!

No time to be fitting them this week but I have a few days off at the end of next I intend to work on the Midget. Looks like I'll be sorting this now.

Removed the beauty cover - I'll probably leave this off tbh like I did on my 3'er.

Coil (at least number 2) is original. Debating whether to order a set of coils and do them while I'm here. Especially as partsinmotion have a 15% eBay promo code on at the moment.

Buttoned it all back up and went for a test drive 

This pinged up a good few times with that chime that all BMW owners fear.

Tried several scan tools and none can access the Power Steering ECU. Before it just said no codes. Now no comms.

PAS works but this is a common symptom of this age BMW EPAS when the motor control unit fails. Sad times.

If I take the motor off the rack (doesn't seem tragically hard) then ECU Testing will repair it for ~£400 with a lifetime warranty. Global parts have a complete used rack for £130 which I could also take the motor off. But that could fail again. At least though I could send the other motor back if it does.

Just bloody unlucky it's failed with me right now. I'm used to having bad luck! I just wished it waited a few months use before it decided to shit the rack motor ECU - not after 220 miles in of ownership! 🙃

Also the battery light is coming up warning me it's low again. I'm not surprised about this as I had the ignition on accessory mode for a good few hours when fannying around with the window regulator. I'll charge it up again tomorrow and see if the EPAS warning comes back up. However given scantool can't communicate with it, I'm pretty sure it's not that. A low battery I'd expect the ECU to still be alive but giving error codes of a low battery. 

Old needy BMW fun! Ever watched Hoovies Garage? This is how he makes a living by buying old BMWs to make videos of how many faults they have and how much they cost to fix (at a garage).

C'est la vie.

[MAF260]

9 hours ago, SiC said:

Looking on eBay for replacements, new generic aftermarket is £100 and genuine is £160. Then there was this used unit for £16 after promo codes: https://ebay.us/m/iV5csS 

For that price I thought I might as well give it a go! From a 2014 car that looks to have done around 60k, it's worth a punt. In my experience of doing window regulators before, it's not a job I'd want to repeat from duff parts. However I can inspect this closely and I reckoned used genuine has a better hope than new aftermarket. Plus if it's in good condition, £16 to fix the window is a bargain!

I totally agree with this reasoning. I replaced the regulator on my Mrs previous 2-series coupe. I balked at the price of a new BMW replacement and went with aftermarket from a well-regarded supplier. After 2 days of fighting with it and it eventually breaking I had to go and face down the parts guy at the dealership I'd scoffed at just a few days prior. He gave me a reasonable and unexpected discount as he felt sorry for me. An hour after returning home the window worked seamlessly again...

[SiC]

£400 is ex-vat

https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/bmw/z4/power-steering-eps-electric-power-steering/eps010171-a/

Actually makes a second hand rack to take the motor off as a punt even more tempting...