I bought a heavenly headache.

[SilverbackGuerilla]

(Sorry for this short essay)
My name is Craig and I am new to the bmw world having bought a 2001 Z3 2.5i recently. I am a long time enthusiast, though in the past I usually paid for most work to be done. I bought this very cheap ($2.5k),high mileage (170k) roadster with the intent on doing all the work myself in order to bring it back to health. I am a somewhat recently separated disabled veteran after serving 8 years as an Infantryman in the Army, and wanted a hobby and project car to take up my time (which this car certainly has the past 4 months) when I'm not busy with schoolwork. I moved to the sunny state of Florida near Boca Raton and figured what better of a project here than a new roadster. This is my second roadster, my first being a miata. It has been a very rainy spring/early summer here.

So now on to the car...
The roadster is an impala Braun with tan interior. It came with a 'holy' tan top and the msport steering wheel and I believe wheels(they are the thick 5 spokes). The previous owner was the second owner and the car resided in Arizona before finding it's way to Florida so there is no rust. I'm not sure if it was the older man i purchased it from or the first owner who not only put a subwoofer,stereo, and 2 amps as well as a hideous and horribly painted body kit. The front and rear bumper appear to be similar to stock but side skirts and fender panels are a cheap fiberglass 'Vader' style. The fenders now have giant fake side vents and pushed the fenders out nearly 2 inches. I am torn on these because the car does look great at certain angles and they have grown on me since I repainted them, I love the stock look but I have more important projects to tackle.

My roadster was purchased with a light show on the instrument cluster; the airbag, DSC,ABS, Brake,airbag and SES are all illuminated and the oil sensor light now illuminates briefly though the oil was recently changed and is at normal levels. To top it off my tachometer only works rarely on this manual transmission car. When it isn't working it will some time rise when accelerated and then fall at it's own will.You can also tap the dash to get it working. I dont personally need a tach but have been wanting to teach my partner to drive stick because I use her Audi Q5 when I need to buy large things for our house and such. Regardless of the tach I dont really want her driving it at the current state, though it has not yet left me stranded I have gone into 'limp home mode' a couple times briefly.

I enjoy writing and probably could have summarized so far so I will try to summarize the problems and what I have done other than repainting the bumpers fenders and side skirts and changing the tan top to a new black top and fluid change.

The car has had vacuum leak problems throwing misfire, lean codes, and camshaft position sensor intake(cps) code.

First round of maintenance:
*Replaced Valve Cover Gasket/ Spark Plugs
*Changed out Upper/Lower intake boots
*Swapped out old vacuum lines that I could find and the SAC hose.
*Changed fuel filter
*Swapped out Camshaft position sensor with advanced auto parts sensor (dont believe its OEM but not a 30 dollar Chinese)

From there car has stopped stalling at idle but still running lean and misfiring and a CPS code.

I recently refurbished my DISA valve with parts from multiple junkyard DISAs. The car is now running much smoother though still rough at cold start and sometimes will be hesitant a lower rpms. It is also now showing codes for fuel trims exceeded for both banks( Possible fuel pump?)

One thing that really stands out to me is when it is hesitant at lower rpms I can hear the exhaust's valves opening slightly off of timing. I can hear the hesitation. I've searched and am yet to find someone else describe that sound difference. This is leading me to believe it's my vanos seals, so I have a vanos seal kit coming and that's my next project. I also have a new ccv and a oil catch can and am not sure which one I want to do since hearing the extra vacuum can help the piston seals when running a catch can.

Lastly I have replaced all the brake sensors and while checking the cruise control fuse I noticed that the wiring had been removed from the fuse slot entirely. Underneath inside the fuse box I also found a purple wire that's end was stripped and then taped up. I also replaced lower conyrol arm mounts because my steering was shaky and would catch on rough roads. I know I need new shocks/struts but the engine is my priority.

I have wanted to do everything myself but might break down and take it into a European specialist so that they can pinpoint what needs to be done.

With all the headaches this car has caused I still have fallen in love with this roadster. I love the extra power in comparison to my nb miata.The looks are better as well. With every piece of maintenance work I have done the more power the z3 has gotten back and i cant wait till the car is running healthy and reliably. Thanks for anyone who has read this far and I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Craig

 

[Low Rider]

Welcome to the forum Craig

 

[t-tony]

Hi Craig, firstly I hope your disability doesn't restrict your enjoyment of repairing your project too much. I had a Miata years ago albeit the NA Eunos after which I had a 2.0 Z3 and now I have a 3.0 Z4. I'm sure you will really appreciate the car when you get it back it's best.
I can certainly agree about the Florida spring weather this year too, we have a home in Kissimmee and when we were there 5 short weeks ago we took a trip down the Keys to see how they were coping after Irma. Out of 22 days we were over there I would think at best we had 6 proper Florida sunny hot days. The worst time we've had there in 25 years of visits. Good luck with the car and keep us updated.

Tony.

 

[SilverbackGuerilla]

Hi Craig, firstly I hope your disability doesn't restrict your enjoyment of repairing your project too much. I had a Miata years ago albeit the NA Eunos after which I had a 2.0 Z3 and now I have a 3.0 Z4. I'm sure you will really appreciate the car when you get it back it's best.
I can certainly agree about the Florida spring weather this year too, we have a home in Kissimmee and when we were there 5 short weeks ago we took a trip down the Keys to see how they were coping after Irma. Out of 22 days we were over there I would think at best we had 6 proper Florida sunny hot days. The worst time we've had there in 25 years of visits. Good luck with the car and keep us updated.

Tony.

Thanks Tony!
I'm used to brief showers followed by immediate sun but not weeks of dreary black and grey skys. Feel like I'm in a humid UK. I fear with the climate this year's hurricane season may be worse than lasts. My dissability is from Traumatic brain injury and PTSD, took a bit too many blasts to the head! I am now like a nerd with a learning dissability having issues with memory and concentration. Fortunately I kept all my limbs and my good looks.

Welcome to the forum Craig

Thanks, the last forums I was a member on were a Mazda6 forum when I owned a Mazdaspeed6 in '08. I was hoping there might be a roadster community on reddit.com. There's not quite the large community as miatas but I think I like the uniqueness that brings of the Zs.

 

[t-tony]

Yep, know what you mean re the thunder showers which are soon over and done with. I was talking to a guy at work last week who is a British Army Vet, he too had suffered similar injury to you and this has led to him losing his sense of balance meaning he can no longer ride a motor bike which was his passion however he came to me to test a VW based Trike which he can ride OK as the problem of balance is minimised. He's coming back for re test tomorrow so I'll hopefully take some pictures. He is planning on using this Trike to fund raise for the "Help for Heroes" charity here at home.

Tony.

ps. I'm having similar fears regarding Hurricane season but there's little we can do but wait and pray.

 

[FRANKIE]

(Sorry for this short essay)
My name is Craig and I am new to the bmw world having bought a 2001 Z3 2.5i recently. I am a long time enthusiast, though in the past I usually paid for most work to be done. I bought this very cheap ($2.5k),high mileage (170k) roadster with the intent on doing all the work myself in order to bring it back to health. I am a somewhat recently separated disabled veteran after serving 8 years as an Infantryman in the Army, and wanted a hobby and project car to take up my time (which this car certainly has the past 4 months) when I'm not busy with schoolwork. I moved to the sunny state of Florida near Boca Raton and figured what better of a project here than a new roadster. This is my second roadster, my first being a miata. It has been a very rainy spring/early summer here.

So now on to the car...
The roadster is an impala Braun with tan interior. It came with a 'holy' tan top and the msport steering wheel and I believe wheels(they are the thick 5 spokes). The previous owner was the second owner and the car resided in Arizona before finding it's way to Florida so there is no rust. I'm not sure if it was the older man i purchased it from or the first owner who not only put a subwoofer,stereo, and 2 amps as well as a hideous and horribly painted body kit. The front and rear bumper appear to be similar to stock but side skirts and fender panels are a cheap fiberglass 'Vader' style. The fenders now have giant fake side vents and pushed the fenders out nearly 2 inches. I am torn on these because the car does look great at certain angles and they have grown on me since I repainted them, I love the stock look but I have more important projects to tackle.

My roadster was purchased with a light show on the instrument cluster; the airbag, DSC,ABS, Brake,airbag and SES are all illuminated and the oil sensor light now illuminates briefly though the oil was recently changed and is at normal levels. To top it off my tachometer only works rarely on this manual transmission car. When it isn't working it will some time rise when accelerated and then fall at it's own will.You can also tap the dash to get it working. I dont personally need a tach but have been wanting to teach my partner to drive stick because I use her Audi Q5 when I need to buy large things for our house and such. Regardless of the tach I dont really want her driving it at the current state, though it has not yet left me stranded I have gone into 'limp home mode' a couple times briefly.

I enjoy writing and probably could have summarized so far so I will try to summarize the problems and what I have done other than repainting the bumpers fenders and side skirts and changing the tan top to a new black top and fluid change.

The car has had vacuum leak problems throwing misfire, lean codes, and camshaft position sensor intake(cps) code.

First round of maintenance:
*Replaced Valve Cover Gasket/ Spark Plugs
*Changed out Upper/Lower intake boots
*Swapped out old vacuum lines that I could find and the SAC hose.
*Changed fuel filter
*Swapped out Camshaft position sensor with advanced auto parts sensor (dont believe its OEM but not a 30 dollar Chinese)

From there car has stopped stalling at idle but still running lean and misfiring and a CPS code.

I recently refurbished my DISA valve with parts from multiple junkyard DISAs. The car is now running much smoother though still rough at cold start and sometimes will be hesitant a lower rpms. It is also now showing codes for fuel trims exceeded for both banks( Possible fuel pump?)

One thing that really stands out to me is when it is hesitant at lower rpms I can hear the exhaust's valves opening slightly off of timing. I can hear the hesitation. I've searched and am yet to find someone else describe that sound difference. This is leading me to believe it's my vanos seals, so I have a vanos seal kit coming and that's my next project. I also have a new ccv and a oil catch can and am not sure which one I want to do since hearing the extra vacuum can help the piston seals when running a catch can.

Lastly I have replaced all the brake sensors and while checking the cruise control fuse I noticed that the wiring had been removed from the fuse slot entirely. Underneath inside the fuse box I also found a purple wire that's end was stripped and then taped up. I also replaced lower conyrol arm mounts because my steering was shaky and would catch on rough roads. I know I need new shocks/struts but the engine is my priority.

I have wanted to do everything myself but might break down and take it into a European specialist so that they can pinpoint what needs to be done.

With all the headaches this car has caused I still have fallen in love with this roadster. I love the extra power in comparison to my nb miata.The looks are better as well. With every piece of maintenance work I have done the more power the z3 has gotten back and i cant wait till the car is running healthy and reliably. Thanks for anyone who has read this far and I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks,
Craig

Welcome to the forum from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey......................Frankie

 

[Althulas]

Hi Craig and welcome to the forum from Oxfordshire. You said you changed the sensor for an none cheapie item but the thoughts and experience from members on here is buy none oem end up buying twice. You could always pull one from scrapyard hopefully it will either work or not, good call with the vanos seals as they do make a difference. I suppose you’ve already checked all the rubber pipe work in the engine bay as there’s quite a few that can cause uneven running if deteriated.

 

[Shelly]

Hi and welcome to ZroadSter

 

[Slam]

Hi and welcome from London

 

[Tom Martin]

Hi and welcome from Oz.

 

[Mazza]

Hi and welcome from the South Coast of England.

 

[Redline]

Hi and welcome from Warwickshire, right in the centre of England.
Great write up on the work on your car and hope all the work helps your rehabilitation

 

[mrscalex]

You sound like a switched on and clued up guy. You’ll find most if not all of your answers on the forum and your indicated knowledge will help you to take on board and implement.

If it’s any consolation I recently found out my long term medication was responsible for the memory loss and concentration I had noticed over the last year or so. I am struggling to do my day job concentrating on complex spreadsheets and business problems. But apart from the fact I take more breaks and work in shorter stints my ability to work on the Z3s is the same.

I would break out your technical issues one at a time and post in separate threads. You will get better responses in that way.

 

[DavidM]

Welcome from Ireland! Have you any photos of your car?

 

[Jack Ratt]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[SilverbackGuerilla]

Hi Craig and welcome to the forum from Oxfordshire. You said you changed the sensor for an none cheapie item but the thoughts and experience from members on here is buy none oem end up buying twice. You could always pull one from scrapyard hopefully it will either work or not, good call with the vanos seals as they do make a difference. I suppose you’ve already checked all the rubber pipe work in the engine bay as there’s quite a few that can cause uneven running if deteriated.

Yeah in the long run it is cheaper to buy the more expensive part because it works and will last longer. Its just so hard to remember that when you are attending university and living close to pay check to pay check. I went to the junkyard last week to collect DISA valves, to refurbish my DISAS diaphragm, and tried to grab a Camshaft Position Sensor off a car but didnt bring the appropriate tools to remove the vanos solenoid. Perhaps I will go back this week and see if its still there. I often get sent free items from amazon companies so that they can get reviews for products and received a Chinese sensor randomly the other day so i will give that one a shot too. I almost think its not the sensor itself that is bringing up the code.

As for vaccum lines, I believe i have replaced all of them except for the CCV hoses. I guess I have just been putting that off because it looks like a real pain, taking off the intake manifold. Im afraid I will not put it back together as well as stock. Is there a way to get to the ccv underneath the car? In the end it wouldnt hurt to take apart the Idle Control Valve to check and clean as well, considering the hesitation at lower rpms and rough idle is a symptom of faulty ICV as well.

Thanks for the welcome and Reply

 

[SilverbackGuerilla]

Welcome from Ireland! Have you any photos of your car?

Here she is before I picked her up. This was what enticed me to check the car out. It was a very deceiving picture as the car is/was in a lot worse condition than i thought, but i had already made up my mind I wanted this as a new project car.

I Plastidipped the wheels while changing rotors and pads as well as cleaning and painting all 4 rotors a orange/gold color( I had only painted the rear calipers yet here.) This is also after I repainted the bumpers and side skirt with a 3 gallon compressor/gun combo. Im working on cutting and buffing the paint to shine after learning painting with cheap equipment isnt a good idea. I may plastidip the entire car a satin brown as a cheap alternative because the whole car needs repainting. I also blacked out the bmw roundels for the time being as I would rather spend the money on engine parts but needed to do something to make the car look somewhat presentable.

The Dead Pedal was cracked so i Installed these to mend the issue.

Here you can see on The right the condition of the tan seats so i have mended them as well as redying them to black.

Lastly my attempt at making home made Halos. The headlights had a 100 percent coverage of yellowing over them so I buffed them clear as well.
The Z definitely does not look as nice as a lot of the Zs on here but I have only been at it 4 or 5 months whilst attending University and working at a Veterinary Clinic full time so I have to try balancing my time. It is easy to want to spend all my free time working on the car though my partner does not appreciate me neglecting her human needs.

Edit: I would also like to add that I have mixed feelings on the body kit. At certain angels it looks horrendous and other angles I like it. I love how the stock fenders accentuate the curves and wide stance of the Zs though and when i can afford to buy new panels will probably do so.

 

[SilverbackGuerilla]

You sound like a switched on and clued up guy. You’ll find most if not all of your answers on the forum and your indicated knowledge will help you to take on board and implement.

If it’s any consolation I recently found out my long term medication was responsible for the memory loss and concentration I had noticed over the last year or so. I am struggling to do my day job concentrating on complex spreadsheets and business problems. But apart from the fact I take more breaks and work in shorter stints my ability to work on the Z3s is the same.

I would break out your technical issues one at a time and post in separate threads. You will get better responses in that way.

Thanks, I would consider myself a nerd, in that I enjoy researching the hell out of topics Im interested in, as well as problem solving. That sucks about the medication and it doesn't help that spreadsheets arent the most enjoyable thing to look at in the first place. I started this thread as procrastination while writing an essay on China's Constitution for my Political Science class.

 

[DavidM]

Nice work so far - you can enjoy driving the Zed whilst improving the car at your leisure - which is just as enjoyable as the driving.

Good luck with the car and study.

 

[Dennis in Colorado]

Welcome from Colorado