REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum


Welcome to the REVscene Automotive Forum forums.

Registration is Free!You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.


Go Back   REVscene Automotive Forum > Automotive Chat > Vancouver Auto Chat

Vancouver Auto Chat 2016 VAC Community Head Moderator: Raid3n

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 07-31-2010, 08:50 AM   #1
Head Moderator
 
Lomac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1982
Location: Great White Nor
Posts: 22,661
Thanked 6,462 Times in 2,081 Posts
'05 BMW Z4

I'm going to be checking one out later today and was just wondering what sort of things I should be looking for. I'm familiar with the Z3 and its quirks, but know virtually nothing about the Z4. Are there any common rust spots? Mechanical issues? Common failure points?

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Advertisement
Lomac is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2010, 11:22 AM   #2
I Will not Admit my Addiction to RS
 
skylinergtr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 569
Thanked 279 Times in 105 Posts
The Z4 is a great car. I'm guessing you're looking at the 3.0i and not the 2.5i? I drove both and even the 2.5i was still fun. Whats the mileage on the one you are looking at? In terms of rust spots, bmw's are generally pretty good at not rusting. I would suggest looking at door jams, and bottom of fenders. The M54 engine is a great engine, although it makes less power than the new N52/N54 engines I really miss the bass rumble, and the roar it makes while taking the revs up. Its got a massive engine bay so working on it should be pretty simple, and easy to access things. I remember changing a waterpump and thought it was pretty stupid because there is a crossbeam right in front of it and you need to unbolt the crossbeam and push it forward and squeeze the waterpump out. I remember also trying to figure out a coolant loss issue in a Z4 and apparently theres a coolant line under the intake manifold that is hard to see, but only access is to take out the intake manifold. Like any other BMW, depending on mileage it will probably need suspension bushings at some point. If its an automatic transmission, depending on the mileage i would suggest replacing the so called "lifetime" fluid if you want the car to last. Stan's Transmission in Vancouver can do a great job for that. Let me know if you have any other questions, definitely some more info on a particular car would help.

Good Luck.
__________________
-Rod

1995 BMW 530i
1990 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
2002 Ford Explorer EB V8 4x4
2005 Acura RSX Type-S (SOLD)
1999 BMW 540i
skylinergtr is offline   Reply With Quote
This post thanked by:
Old 07-31-2010, 11:33 AM   #3
Head Moderator
 
Lomac's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1982
Location: Great White Nor
Posts: 22,661
Thanked 6,462 Times in 2,081 Posts
I'm familiar with awkwardly placed waterpumps... The KLZE in my old MX6 required the entire engine to come out, especially once it was running solid motor mounts.

It's a 3.0i I'm looking at, and the mileage is just a smidgen over 100k's. It's a 6spd. Slush box? Pft! They're only suitable for minivans and old Cadillacs! I'm going to find out when (or if) the timing belt was replaced, along with any other repair work. The price seems slightly lower than the rest out there, so I'm just concerned it's been in an accident. I usually pretty good at spotting non-manufacturer welds, so hopefully I wont have to look too hard if that's the case.
Lomac is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2010, 11:59 AM   #4
I Will not Admit my Addiction to RS
 
skylinergtr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 569
Thanked 279 Times in 105 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lomac View Post
I'm familiar with awkwardly placed waterpumps... The KLZE in my old MX6 required the entire engine to come out, especially once it was running solid motor mounts.

It's a 3.0i I'm looking at, and the mileage is just a smidgen over 100k's. It's a 6spd. Slush box? Pft! They're only suitable for minivans and old Cadillacs! I'm going to find out when (or if) the timing belt was replaced, along with any other repair work. The price seems slightly lower than the rest out there, so I'm just concerned it's been in an accident. I usually pretty good at spotting non-manufacturer welds, so hopefully I wont have to look too hard if that's the case.
sounds pretty good. The M54 is chain driven, all BMW's other than the M20 engine are timing chain driven. I would suggest getting a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) done if you are seriously interested in the car. At 100k for a 2005 i dont see too much failures happening, but things like spark plugs, valve cover gaskets, waterpumps, etc need to be replaced after 100ks. Make sure the front headlights are OE Bosch/Hella. Make sure they also dont fog up when water/moisture is around them. Also make sure what the maintenance history is. BMW does their oil change service every 24k which seems like an awful lot, i would be suspecious of sludge, but it all matters to do with compression and how it drives. If it all checks out, replace the oil and drive the shit out of her to clean her out.
__________________
-Rod

1995 BMW 530i
1990 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
2002 Ford Explorer EB V8 4x4
2005 Acura RSX Type-S (SOLD)
1999 BMW 540i
skylinergtr is offline   Reply With Quote
This post thanked by:
Old 07-31-2010, 02:20 PM   #5
Revscene.net has a homepage?!
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 1,231
Thanked 28 Times in 12 Posts
the crankcase vent valve and hoses are commonly replaced on the m54 engine with decent mileage. as with all other cars of similar mileage, check for leaks when you get the car up on a hoist. water pump/thermostat/rad hoses/expansion tank/fan clutch are commonly replaced. power steering pressure hose should be inspected for leaks. depending on how the car was maintained, repairs can get very costly.
//RacingSpirit>> is offline   Reply With Quote
This post thanked by:
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:59 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.
Revscene.net cannot be held accountable for the actions of its members nor does the opinions of the members represent that of Revscene.net