2003 Z4 - New Member & Pics!

10Terp · Post by **10Terp** » Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:12 pm

Hi all,

New member here, figured I'd stop in and introduce myself because I think I'll be frequenting this forum a lot over the coming months/years. I just had a 2003 Z4 fall into my lap from a friend who's moving and didn't want to deal with moving it; wound up paying $500 for it (he said I could have it but I felt guilty taking it without giving him anything). Just got back from trailering it from North Carolina yesterday.

It's a 2003 Z4 3.0i 6-speed sport package with 116,000 miles on it. It's definitely in need of a good bit of TLC as it has sat outside for the past 10 years and has had several owners. It needs a bunch of little things such as a DISA valve, cosmetic repairs (front left fender), interior repairs, to name just a few. My first order of business was running codes on it and I was getting P0171 and P0174 (both banks too lean), which to me indicates a vacuum leak. Checked the DISA valve and it's in awful shape; it wreaked of gas and the actual valve just rotates freely on the shaft and it looks like it almost has some melted spots on it.

I look forward to being a part of the community! It's going to be a lot of work to get this car to where I want it but I think it will be worth it. Plus, the price was right.

Pics are attached!

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:20 pm

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Despite those faults I can't help thinking you got a real bargain there. Good luck getting it fettled.

MikeyH · Post by **MikeyH** » Sun Nov 19, 2023 11:36 pm

Yes, a real bargain and a great colour, welcome to the forum

T_J_G · Post by **T_J_G** » Mon Nov 20, 2023 7:58 am

Welcome

Barty · Post by **Barty** » Mon Nov 20, 2023 10:49 am

Welcome, and sounds like you’ve got a nice little project for a great price

darich · Post by **darich** » Mon Nov 20, 2023 11:11 am

Bargain!! And welcome!

10Terp · Post by **10Terp** » Mon Jan 22, 2024 7:56 pm

Sorry for the double post...see post below. I think I hit submit once by accident when I meant to hit preview.

10Terp · Post by **10Terp** » Mon Jan 22, 2024 7:57 pm

Hello all. I've been chipping away at the myriad of work this car needs. Need to have it ready for Spring! Here's what I have knocked out so far:

Compression and leakdown test of the engine (it's healthy)

Inspected the cylinders with my boroscope. Good crosshatching on all cylinder walls, but lots of carbon buildup on the pistons

Rebuilt the DISA (was in awful shape)

Replaced the intake elbow (IAT bellow was cracked). Rigged up a smoke tester with a black and mild and fluid transfer pump...worked great, even though the car may have smoking habit now

Rebuilt the VANOS with new seals and rattle rings (check out how clean the inside of this engine is!)

Replaced the valve cover gasket and spark plugs

Replaced water pump and thermostat. No pics of the new parts on but here's the nasty mix of pink and green coolant that came out

Bavariane39 PCV mod

Reconditioned the headlights. The projector bowls also had the reflective coating flaking off, so I put a piece of HVAC tape to hopefully limp this projector along until I can find a new one.

It's been quite a bit of work and I have a lot more to do. Next up on the list is repainting this fender; I'm going to attempt this myself with a can of color matched paint and 2k clear cans:

I'll continue to post updates as I power through. It's got a few electrical gremlins I'll probably post about in a separate thread. Thanks for reading!

Beatman · Post by **Beatman** » Mon Jan 22, 2024 8:23 pm

Hi and welcome

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Mon Jan 22, 2024 10:25 pm

You've really been getting stuck in there. At the rate you are going you'll have a great z4 once you've finished.

R17SKO · Post by **R17SKO** » Mon Jan 22, 2024 11:41 pm

Welcome! Looks like a great project car and a steal at that price - enjoy!!

paddy wright · Post by **paddy wright** » Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:12 am

Welcome along.

Reamesy · Post by **Reamesy** » Sun Jan 28, 2024 10:57 am

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your bargain purchase. Looks a good car to be fair.

Good work so far. Keep us updated

Zedebee · Post by **Zedebee** » Sun Jan 28, 2024 11:21 am

Welcome to the forum.

I have never seen an undamaged fender with such bad paint. I’ve tried some rattle-can respray myself with mixed results. Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

MikeyH · Post by **MikeyH** » Sun Jan 28, 2024 1:06 pm

Yes my rattle can attempts didn't turn out very good so I will get someone to do mine now I've got the damage sorted myself.

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com