Time for an overhaul of my 1.9 '98 BMW Z3 Individual

Matt Barnes said:
cheers mate...yeah happy with this afternoon's effort...with that bracket, the head just sheared off...so if I can't get the shank out I'll need to play with my rivnut set! 😀
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Ah man, that was the nightmare I was trying to avoid. Keep us updated on that one haha. I've found a garage near my mother's house who have an induction heater (i.e. on a loop) that will hopefully free that particular screw on mine in due course.
 
DrWong said:
Seems there's still some loose stuff there that would prob be helpful to rid of first mate. This was what mine looked like before I applied the gel, pretty smooth in comparison.

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For getting rid of loose paint and rust, I'd highly recommend poly paint and strip discs with an angle grinder. They work amazingly well and are really benign to good metal (won't grind it away). They're kind of pricey and wear out quickly, but well worth it.

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cheers for that...yeah I went a bit further than I planned..but I need the jacking point replaced anyway so a section needs to be cut out
 
oooooo one thing to add..... my handbrake cables were well and truly welded into the tubes..... so I clamped a set of mole grips around the ferrule... and hit it with a hammer.... worked a treat !!

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welll it's a new day......and a new dilemma...... I need to get the rear end higher so I can get the front wheels off the ground..... can I jack from the chassis leg and then put axle stands there?...only ever jacked from the pads and the diff before.... cheers...
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Althulas said:
I’ve have done and used some padding of rubber to minimise the cup of the Jack and stands marring the body work, just be careful of the cars balance with all the stuff removed from the rear end.
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cheers.... I saw in your rebuild that you had jacks there, but didn't know if you had jacked it up by it.... I have no rear end and can't use the jacking points... I need to get the arse end as high as possible as I'm on a slight slope, to get the front wheels off the ground
 
last day of my week off..... waiting for my tungsten carbide drill bits and tungsten carbide Dremel attachment to be delivered, so.... I left that bloody axle nut alone for once …started cleaning the Diff and it's coming up very nicely.... MIGHT try and metal polish the end plate and lacquer it... don't know yet

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Managed to save the label.... is it worth getting this redone ?... or don't people bother ?

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found a piece of threaded rod and some nuts and "mocked up" removing the bushings.... somehow I don't think 6mm rod is going to cut it :whistle:

looks like I'll be ordering some 12mm rod or something similar... not found any holes in them....... yet

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so... onward plans are.... to get the axle stands on the chassis rails instead of the sills, get the front wheels off and focus on getting the sills as clean as possible...…then (hopefully) get a mobile welder in to put in a patch, and maybe plug weld some smaller holes.

jet wash and clean the whole underside, jetwash and clean the tank...… grind off any corrosion on joints. brackets or seams, treat with the POR15 I have.
Then apply a layer of Lechler Epoxy (when I've ordered it !)....

I've ordered two cans of Fiji Green.... sorry.... "Fidschgruen".... and because it's being shipped from Germany.... 14 quid delivery !

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once the body is sound..... start getting all the mechanicals back together....
 
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Sorry England Ladies... that was a hell of a game... but ....today was all about VICTORY !!!

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Cobalt drill bits weren't really doing anything, just effectively denting the steel.. so tried hammering and chiselling

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I invested in some tungsten carbide drill bits...and I wasn't overly impressed.. then both snapped.... and I got a tungsten carbide Dremel milling tool which was my utter saviour ... it sacrificed itself right when I was about to break through...I've already ordered a replacement Dremel bit

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Once I was confident I had an opening all the way round... I started hammering that driveshaft like nobody's business...it took a hell of a lot of hammering but eventually gave in.....
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Hub has superficial drilling damage but the splines are intact... I'll weigh up whether to replace the hubs when I start the strip down

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Now that mental hurdle has been overcome, it's time for the stripdown and clean up!
 
Matt Barnes said:
Sorry England Ladies... that was a hell of a game... but ....today was all about VICTORY !!!

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Cobalt drill bits weren't really doing anything, just effectively denting the steel.. so tried hammering and chiselling

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I invested in some tungsten carbide drill bits...and I wasn't overly impressed.. then both snapped.... and I got a tungsten carbide Dremel milling tool which was my utter saviour ... it sacrificed itself right when I was about to break through...I've already ordered a replacement Dremel bit

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Once I was confident I had an opening all the way round... I started hammering that driveshaft like nobody's business...it took a hell of a lot of hammering but eventually gave in.....
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Hub has superficial drilling damage but the splines are intact... I'll weigh up whether to replace the hubs when I start the strip down

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Now that mental hurdle has been overcome, it's time for the stripdown and clean up!
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Excellent job Matt, congratulations, well done for persevering :thumbsup:
 
At last nice one, you can buy reasonably priced hubs on eBay if you need to, that’s what I opted for in the end. At least you have that replacement drive shaft offer, one less headache. If you look on YouTube for a channel called Restore it you can find a vid of a drive shaft restoration. I reused my old boots as the rubber was still in great nick and of better quality than eBay specials. I replaced the ties with stainless steel ones.
 
Althulas said:
At last nice one, you can buy reasonably priced hubs on eBay if you need to, that’s what I opted for in the end. At least you have that replacement drive shaft offer, one less headache. If you look on YouTube for a channel called Restore it you can find a vid of a drive shaft restoration. I reused my old boots as the rubber was still in great nick and of better quality than eBay specials. I replaced the ties with stainless steel ones.
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thanks mate...I actually follow Restoreit..he's doing up an E30...he's clinical! just watched his Diff video
 
after my week off that passed quicker than time being sucked through a black hole... I had a quick 15 minutes playing after work.....so had a go with my new toy.... it might shock you that I've never owned an angle grinder before... always plugged away with a drill.... so it was play time !

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decided to peel off at least a week's worth of Deox Gel "cooking" under the plastic.. washed it down with soapy water, dried with a towel... then attacked it with the knotted wire cup.. just as a first pass... like I say.. only had 15 minutes.....there's some nice bright steel in places that gives me hope....

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before I got too carried away I decided to stop grinding... and gave it a quick squirt of zinc primer to stop it flash rusting until I have time for another go.... then I'll grind it down as flat as possible and wrap it up in Deox Gel again as per @DrWong 's advice...

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just need to source either a jacking point section from a donor, or use the jacking plate option like @Althulas did. but …the Deox Gel is looking good and I'll grind back to as much bright steel as possible soon.
 
I found the chassis areas I'd cleaned to bright steel with Deox gel didn't flash rust or rust at all, even when left for weeks whilst I treated other areas. Same with the insides of the outer sills - used Deox gel and no flash rust. This was during summer though.

The suspension parts (anti roll bar and brackets) that I cleaned in Deox C crystals (i.e. dissolved in water) flash rusted immediately though. Odd.
 
DrWong said:
I found the chassis areas I'd cleaned to bright steel with Deox gel didn't flash rust or rust at all, even when left for weeks whilst I treated other areas. Same with the insides of the outer sills - used Deox gel and no flash rust. This was during summer though.

The suspension parts (anti roll bar and brackets) that I cleaned in Deox C crystals (i.e. dissolved in water) flash rusted immediately though. Odd.
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guess I'm getting a little paranoid about rust knowing I've got to get a section chopped out...I can't do anything now till Friday..then I want to grind as flat and shiny as possible..then put Deox Gel on again for the weekend
 
Topcoat paint....Fidschgruen ( Fiji Green)...correct paint code ordered from Germany..keeping it real..keeping it OEM colour....this had better be worth it!
 

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so Bank holiday Saturday... so it was time for a little bump and grind !!
Decided to start grinding back the subframe with my new angle grinder, poly discs and knotted wheel.... yes I know you don't have to go back to bare steel but I was having fun playing....:D
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it's coming up really well..... though I'm not sure if someone has been here before.... don't think that's factory weld spatter !

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i was busily minding my own business grinding away on the exhaust hanger...and my bloody Dremel packs up !... had that for about 25 years.... no spark, no bang.... just stopped.....:oops:

so I took it apart and nothing obvious.... school of thought seems to indicate the Stator might have given up the ghost...
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so that forced me to turn my attention to the sill again... this time I took @DrWong s and @Althulas advice and went right back to bright steel.....I'm actually thinking/hoping ? I might actually save the jacking point and get a patch butt welded in ?... it's the lighting but that definitely shiny (where it's not pitted !) =))


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Then it was on for another layer of De Ox Gel.... I actually found it easier to tape the back piece of plastic in first, let it hang down, then liberally apply Deox Gel...then fold up the plastic and tape it up, rather than applying the plastic afterwards....so I'll let this cook for the rest of the weekend...

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