#ZedShed GazHyde - 2001 2.2i Sport Topasblau-metallic - 'Rosie'

[Lee]

I'm surprised Gary did What's more worrying is where did they go?

This is prime example of why I prefer working alone or the help of one other.

 

[GazHyde]

What's more worrying is where did they go?

I'm just going to go and sit in the corner of the room for a while

if all you need are the large cupped washers Gaz I might easily have some spare ones at work. If you can't get any let me know what size and hole diameter they are.

Lee thinks he has a source, but will PM you later if we get stuck!

 

[Brian H]

What's more worrying is where did they go?

My money is that they are in the dust cover tube

 

[Brian H]

Lee thinks he has a source, but will PM you later if we get stuck!

They are common across 3 series, Z3, Z4 and Z8 so should not be too hard to track down.

 

[GazHyde]

*whistles shiftily*

 

[Brian4]

Come on Gary where did you find them? All sorted now.

 

[GazHyde]

A mate of @Lee had some spare and he was going to Lees for some work on his 3 series.

 

[Brian H]

Glad you got it sorted

 

[oldcarman]

Well that was a fun journey this morning. Looks like one of the new replacement shock top mounts has failed. About 15 miles from home after dropping my daughter at school, and started getting a banging when the passenger rear wheel hit any imperfection in the road. Felt like the rear end was going to fall off when I hit a manhole cover... Couldn't see anything by the side of the road so limped home carefully, but noisily!

Couple of likely options to check, first being the shock top mounts (I could see the shock was still fixed at the bottom)

Lets have a quick round of "spot the difference"... No prizes... It's just for fun

Drivers side:
View attachment 11270

Passenger side:
View attachment 11271

My my, searched as hard as I can they both look the same! Even tried the old glasses. Are you sure there's a problem?? lol JIM

 

[oldcarman]

I think Tony's been around collecting them! Probably mounts them on a wall in his garage like trophy heads!! lol glad you're back in business Gary!! JIM

 

[TaffZee]

Great Write up Gary Even owning up to cocking up, something I need to look at, got a strange clicking sound when I take a right hand bend, coming from the rear offside. Will investigate when it gets warmer.

 

[GazHyde]

I'm always happy to confess when I cock up. As I was saying to someone last night, sometimes knowing how not to do something is more useful! Well that's my story anyhow!

 

[t-tony]

So long as you know the difference Gaz, all's well that ends well.

Tony.

 

[spurs fan in a coupe]

Glad you got it sorted Gaz

 

[David Cullen]

but the parts havent been found still, no? nice to have it sorted though, good job ;-)

 

[Lee]

Nope, we came to the conclusion when they were removed the whole assembly was binned not knowing we still needed those large washers. I say we someone other than myself. But its a lesson learnt and no-one was harmed in the making

 

[GazHyde]

Part 5 - Excessive oil use diagnosis continued. Removing the rocker cover!

One of the theories about excessive oil use was the accumulation of crud at the top of the engine. To determine if this is the case with Rosie we needed to investigate further.

We had thought we might be able to have a look with a borescope which Zedonist brought down with him to Lees. After a few minutes it was pretty obvious we couldn't see nothing of any use... On to "plan B" which is to remove the rocker cover, which gives us full access to the top of the engine for a good look.

The process for removing the rocker cover is pretty straight forward, didn't really take any pictures of the process as I had oily hands. Spark plugs looked fine enough as they did when we checked them a few months ago.

Pictures of my engine, from which you can see I'm not suffering from the top of the engine clogging up! Looks very clean and tidy under there for 106,000 miles

 

[DivideBYZero]

That is testament to fantastic engineering. Looks great at over 100k.

Mine only has three thousand to get to the 100k mark.

 

[GazHyde]

Been a while since the last update on Rosie. Today was MOT day - a pass with a advisories on rusty brake pipes. Always a relief to get through an MOT without anything major found.

I've been thinking the last couple of weeks of what I'm going to do with her cosmetically. Pretty much have the concept in my mind of what I'm going to do to her, but will be a bit of a departure from the norm. I've fallen in love (literally) with 2 sets of wheels that I've never seen fitted to a Z3 before. I'm discussing with a company that sells them whether they will fit or not. My maths say no, but he says yes with the following statement "they are a more aggressive fit and they will sit more flush to the arch with the 8.5" et35 and 9.5" et40 but there is loads of room in the arches to be able to run this without a problem".

Fitting the wheels I'm contemplating will require the suspension being lowered which is something I'm still hesitant about. The rear end is in top nick, but the front suspension is a little tired. Have been reading up on the recent suspension thread about TA Technix coilovers, and will most likely fit a set of these. The advantage I see with the coilovers is that I can play with the ride height to ensure I make the most of the wheels.

Whilst the car was at head height on the ramps being tested I could see the rust starting to bubble in the usual places under the paint. This being the door sills and the rear quarter panels where the stones like to bounce. God I hate rust, but as I shall be going with a vinyl wrap I will sand down, treat the rust and leave it looking like a patchwork quilt till it's wrapped.

 

[miller1098]

Buddy I hope it's a platonic relationship your having with the wheels, literally.i know love can manifest itself in very funny ways,but keep a grip pleeease