E46 Things
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BHF looks like a good time
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Wow. Your head looks huge in that helmet.
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Gr8 shot
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Wow. Your head looks huge in that helmet.
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Just noticed the instructor waving! Hahaha!
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Just noticed the instructor waving! Hahaha!
Yes I didnt notice this right away either. I remember him waving but figured it was just at a corner worker he knew. The instructor was great. Hope to bump into him again in the future.
The amount of 70+ year olds out on track was promising. Makes me feel like there may be plenty of time left in life to play
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Yes I didnt notice this right away either. I remember him waving but figured it was just at a corner worker he knew. The instructor was great. Hope to bump into him again in the future.
The amount of 70+ year olds out on track was promising. Makes me feel like there may be plenty of time left in life to play
Seeing all of these old dudes at the track has made me decide that I want to be a driving instructor when I retire.
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Picked up a new daily driver. I will miss the Datsun but the fuel economy was painful and I was ready for something new that had better utility for kid things and bike things.
Time to wash the M and put it away until a freak November warmup happens or Spring comes.
the winter to-do list:
-check/adjust valves
-check vanos bolts
-clean throttles
-replace throttle and cam sensors while the plenum is off
-replace belt tensioner pulleys that have gotten noisy in the last few weeks
-rotate tires side to side
-bleed brakes and clutch
-change oil
-glue C-pillar fabrics
-install the new Injen S54 intake coming out in December
-underdrive pulleys?
- code the brake pad warning light off??
-look for tiny oil leak which is probably the PS reservoir.
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Actual footage of @SteelBlue bleeding his clutch
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Valve cover is off to check VANOS exhaust hub tabs , check cam bolts, and valve clearances.
I had to see what I am dealing with first before ordering parts. If an exhaust hub tab is broken its no less than $400 to get back in the game with a used one on Ebay, usually people opt to spend about $600 on a cyro treated hub and another $150 on a modified oil pump disk that prevents future failure.
Everything checks out good so far.
Broken tab shown below for reference (Not mine thankfully). The tab can dislodge, cause timing to jump and cause unexpected meetings between valves and pistons.
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The internet is full of forum posts of people with vanos hub failures, cam bolt failures, and rod bearing failures on engines with as low as ~36k miles as well as original engines over 100k without an issue.
General rule of thumb is to consider replacing rod bearings at 100k or sooner depending on use. Cam bolts are good once replaced, loctite applied, and torqued correctly. VANOS seals deteriorate fairly often. I hear that performance improvements can be felt in replacement where the seals were only a few years old.
I feel fortunate that this car is a 2005 as it seems to help the odds with some of the issues a bit. Unfortunately these S54 issues last well into the final years of Z4M production and the bulletproofing onky happens in the aftermarket world. That said, plenty of important improvements have been made after 2003.5 including the oil pump pickup screen (known to fatigue and cause oil starvation) as well as rod bearing and rod bolt diameter changes (11mm to 10mm) and bearing clearance changes.
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The “VANOS lockdown” has begun!
To-do:
-Replace problematic cam bolts with upgraded bolts + oil resistant loctite
-Replace VANOS seals with new/improved Viton seals
-Re-drill oil pump disk with smaller holes to prevent exhaust hub tab breakage
-Install anti-rattle kit with new diaphragm springs
-Install upgraded Nylatron upper timing chain guide
-Replace VANOS solenoid with rebuilt Beisan Systems unit (incorporates a few preventative fixes to eliminate failures)
I received most of the parts for this project today including the cam timing tools, crank lock pin and valve adjustment shims. I forgot a couple small items but I am in no hurry.
I had read that the Z4M cant use the same crank locking pin as the M3. Now I know why: the Z has an electric fan instead of a mechanical fan. My M has an electric puller fan in lieu of the mechanical fan and it is not easily removable without removing the radiator or condenser since it is mounted through the radiator fins with zip strips. Since the crank locking pin is too long to fit in the hole with the fan in the way, I opted to shorten it.
All aligned at TDC:
The solenoid was removed, I got it shipped off to get my core $ back
This is one reason I could never be a mechanic for a living. I blow a lot of time cleaning things as I go. Here is the valve cover with all the varnish on the inside removed
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