2001 BMW Z3

Hmmm - that looks squeaky clean...

The BMW dealership has a bowl of Fireballs at the parts counter.

The subframe is probably gonna fall off anyway, might as well make it into a track car.

Harvey wrote: The subframe is probably gonna fall off anyway, might as well make it into a track car.

Subframe photos coming soon. Car is going up on the lift within the next half hour.

Spoiler Alert: You're gonna be disappointed.

Woody wrote:

Harvey wrote: The subframe is probably gonna fall off anyway, might as well make it into a track car.

Subframe photos coming soon. Car is going up on the lift within the next half hour. *Spoiler Alert:* You're gonna be disappointed.

I'm just trying to help you along with the track rat idea.

In reply to Harvey:

Understood. I plan to reinforce the area appropriately before I go crazy stiffening the suspension.

Would likely be a good idea. Doing the reinforcement plates prior to any issues cropping up is a much easier time than after.

Cool car, nice score!

Harvey wrote:

Woody wrote:

Harvey wrote: The subframe is probably gonna fall off anyway, might as well make it into a track car.

Subframe photos coming soon. Car is going up on the lift within the next half hour. *Spoiler Alert:* You're gonna be disappointed.

I'm just trying to help you along with the track rat idea.

Meh, not much to see here...

I'm pretty sure I've seen new cars dirtier than that off the transporter.

eBay Score!

I found a used-but-new hardcover Bentley Service Manual for $57 shipped. It arrived just in time for some weekend work.

Looks really nice!

That's very nice indeed.

I think that this car was built around the time that BMW started calling for super long oil change intervals. The dash indicator was telling me that I still had a long way to go, but I forgot to ask the previous owner when it was last done. So I picked up a filter and gaskets from the dealership and some Mobil 1 0W-40 European.

I don't remember if I pulled the old filter first or if I removed the drain plug, but it was immediately obvious that the old oil was really, really nasty.

Here's what the old filter started life looking like... probably a long time ago.

Fast forward five and a half weeks...

I haven't driven this car much, but I've been doing a lot of work on it. I could lie to you and claim that I was catching up on deferred maintenance, but the reality is that I was chasing an annoying noise and it took me forever to figure out what was causing it. Along the way, I spent a bunch of money and a lot of time replacing parts. Some of them were a pretty worn out, some would actually qualify as maintenance items, but a few were swapped out even though there was nothing wrong with them.

Long story short: I thought the car had some kind of squeaky, failing bearing but the problem turned out to be a vacuum leak. I had heard the noise before I bought the car and asked the seller about it. He said that he couldn't hear anything, and I believe him, because it was very faint and he was pretty old. It was really annoying though. It made me want to not drive the car.

Nevertheless, I'll describe my work in the order that it happened.

The car has a two piece driveshaft. The first order of business was to replace the driveshaft center bearing, which I had read has a fairly short lifespan. In order to replace it, you need to drop the exhaust and driveshaft. The Guibo (flex disc) is also a wear item, and since I was right there anyway, I also replaced that.

The stuff that I needed to replace was hidden behind all that stuff that I needed to remove.

The exhaust system is long and really heavy. It really should be a two man job but I managed to get it done on my own. The last time that I had to deal with rubber exhaust hangers, I swore that I would get myself one of those tools that smart people use when removing exhaust systems.

With the exhaust out of the way and the heat shield removed, I was able to see the flex disc at the left and the center bearing at the right. It's important to make reference marks on the driveshaft segments, and also on the flanges at the ends so that you can put it back into the original position and avoid any balance issues.

I made a lot of reference marks.

Old flex disc.

Old bearing.

Oxygen sensor looks pretty clean.

The old parts were pretty worn out. The bearing was loose and sloppy, and the flex disc had a lot of cracks in it.

Next, I decided to replace the "lifetime" rear differential fluid with some Redline synthetic. The fill plug takes a 16mm hex wrench, which I didn't have and couldn't find. The best that I could do was a 16mm hex socket, but there wasn't enough space to get in between the differential and the spare tire bracket assembly.

I probably could have dropped the bracket down from above, but instead I knocked the bit out of the socket and used a 16mm wrench to turn it.

I used a bottle pump to refill it with Redline 75-140.

The fuel filter has the fuel pressure regulator built into it. The assembly is on the bottom of the car, under the driver's seat. It's not really hard to replace, but it's important to relieve the pressure in the system before you disconnect anything. I pulled the two fuses for the fuel pump and ran the engine until it stalled. Even with the pressure relieved, you still end up spilling about a pint of fuel when you swap the filter, so you have to be ready for that.

Next, I drained the transmission fluid and replaced that with Redilne D4ATF. Yup, ATF in the manual transmission.

That little project could have gone better...

What a score. Nice car. I test drove a Z3 new and loved it but ended up with a Miata for a lot less money. I've always kind of wanted one since, though.

Woody wrote:

I actually did not know this existed. I just ordered one from Amazon. Thanks for the tip. I'm not not dreading my upcoming exhaust work quite as much!!

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Wow, what a buy, want to hint at the number of Benjimins swapped hands? You've sent me off to CL now.

I didn't get it for Challenge-Money, but I definitely got it for Miata-Money.

Woody wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: Wow, what a buy, want to hint at the number of Benjimins swapped hands? You've sent me off to CL now.

I didn't get it for Challenge-Money, but I definitely got it for Miata-Money.

Woody, Dude, you're loosing your marbles. You PM'd the price when I first asked back in October!

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

Memory is not my greatest strength.

Good looking car. My BMW mechanic bought one for a summer fun car and hasn't sold it yet, as he enjoys it too much. His has the Downing supercharger kit on it, which he really likes.

From the very beginning, I thought that the noise was coming from the driver's side rear wheel bearing, so I attacked that next. It was a huge pain in the ass. I had planned to do both sides, but I ruined one of the $45 bearings and didn't feel like ordering another from California and waiting a week. So for now, it has a new wheel bearing on one side and an original on the other. Did I mention that this was a huge pain in the ass? Home made bearing puller: With the parking brake assembly removed (drum in disc), I noticed that one of the bolts holding one of the parking brake shoes in place was backed out by a quarter of an inch (left bolt in the photo, now tightened). This allowed one of the brake shoes to get out of position and rub. I had hoped that maybe this was the source of the noise. It wasn't. New bearing in place, parking brake assembly cleaned and replaced. Unknowingly, my homemade bearing installation tool didn't press the hub back in all the way. This made it impossible to get the axle back in. I spent a lot of time messing with this before giving up and pulling the new bearing back out, destroying it in the process. I walked away from the car for a while, but then had an A-Ha! moment in the middle of the night and figured out how the backing plate on the tool had prevented the hub from seating properly. In the morning, I pressed in the new bearing originally meant for the other side of the car. I found new, German made rotors on clearance for $11 each. I added the prettiest set of brake pads that I've ever seen. I used a curb rashed wheel to help adjust the parking brake. You have to turn the adjuster through one of the lug bolt holes. It was a tedious little job. Then I redid the brakes on the other side. The wheel bearing will have to wait for another day. None of this work made the mystery noise disappear.

That lift sure looks nice. The exhaust tool too!