Z4MC refresh

[krohn27]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

Every time I drive the car I noticed these smears of something on the inside of the instrument cluster lens. I found some time today to pull the cluster, dismantle to get the lenses out, looks like someone got carried away with spraying an interior protectant.

While I had it apart I was temped to black out that irritating flashing tire inflater light but I think I'll wait until I can find someone who is good with INPA get him to code it out.

Hey there, just wanted to share that i showed the below text to my friend who has the INPA software and it worked like a charm. My car is a 2008 Z4MC.

KBUS_RDC - K-BUS TIRE PRESSURE CONTROL (RDC) = nicht_aktiv - not enabled
AKUSTIK_ASC - AUTOMATIC STABILITY CONTROL (ASC) WARNING GONG = nicht_aktiv - not enabled

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by krohn27

Hey there, just wanted to share that i showed the below text to my friend who has the INPA software and it worked like a charm. My car is a 2008 Z4MC.

KBUS_RDC - K-BUS TIRE PRESSURE CONTROL (RDC) = nicht_aktiv - not enabled
AKUSTIK_ASC - AUTOMATIC STABILITY CONTROL (ASC) WARNING GONG = nicht_aktiv - not enabled

Thanks krohn, I was helped by a local Z4MC owner who is handy with INPA, he coded it out permanently, no more flashing tire.

[grannyknot]

I made it to the track today for the first time with this car, very pleased with how the car performed.
Lots of little things I want to adjust or change a bit, I can see why so many coupes get changed over to track cars, stiff as hell.
Lost the front roundel at the end of the straight, looks like it was hanging on by some glue.
The first real run on the new tires, I'd say they are broken in now.

[wdb]

Supercar stiff. Nice rubber.

[grannyknot]

I hate to do this so early in the season but I think I'm going to pull the car off the road now and start the tear down, the list of things I want to accomplish by next spring is getting longer all the time.
Here's my list,
-drop the entire drive line, suspension, brakes, media blast and refinish all parts with new bearings, seals, bushings and gaskets.
-rebuild the engine completely except for the pistons and rings
-rebuild the diff and change over to 3.91 gear ratio from the stock 3.64
-remove the glass from the hatch lid and repair the rust spot in the bird bath, paint the entire hatch to match.
-install a Severin tune
-have the paint buffed out, ceramic coated and PPF, at least the front half of the car and possibly the whole car.

I'm sure there is more just can't think of it right now.
Some good news on the rust spot, I was afraid that it might have eaten it's way through the metal and perforated into the lid but I removed all the trim and can see everything is still solid inside.
My car didn't come with a belly pan and to buy one it will be something like $600-700 to get it to my door. I just can't do that, I don't mind spending the bucks but not for a piece if plastic.
So I picked up a sheet of aluminum and have started building an air baffle/ skid pan, it will be a lot stronger than stock, a pound or so heavier but a lot smoother for air flow.
It's not finished yet, still some trimming and finishing to do.

[grannyknot]

I had the AC system drained last week, tomorrow I'm having the hatch glass removed and then I can start the tear down.

Everything has arrived to overhaul the diff and up the ratio to 3.91
The new Cocomats showed up today, while I've been waiting for them I have been thinking I spent way too much on what was probably some cheesy aftermarket mats made overseas but I'm happy to say they are very well made.

Hand made in SC, good heavy weight, rubber backing, rubber heel rest and no sliding around.
I'll get to use them once tomorrow before they go back in the shipping bag for the winter.

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

I had the AC system drained last week, tomorrow I'm having the hatch glass removed and then I can start the tear down.

Everything has arrived to overhaul the diff and up the ratio to 3.91
The new Cocomats showed up today, while I've been waiting for them I have been thinking I spent way too much on what was probably some cheesy aftermarket mats made overseas but I'm happy to say they are very well made.

Hand made in SC, good heavy weight, rubber backing, rubber heel rest and no sliding around.
I'll get to use them once tomorrow before they go back in the shipping bag for the winter.

Well done grannyknot -
Agreed, I had reservations about spending that much on floor mats....until I unpackaged them and observed the uber quality and fitment; I chose red and black to match the Red Roadster's colors.

[grannyknot]

The rear glass is out and I can see now it was a good call to have it removed as the rust had crept under the seal and up the other side.
Drained the diff, engine and coolant today, pulled the radiator/AC condenser to clean them and look what I found between them.
Safe to say no one has taken those apart in the last 14 yrs.

[racerbruce]

Well done grannyknot -
Great to stop the rust and do it right; talk about a large deficit in heat exchange - I've never taken these apart; is the AC condenser in front of or behind the radiator?

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by racerbruce

Well done grannyknot -
Great to stop the rust and do it right; talk about a large deficit in heat exchange - I've never taken these apart; is the AC condenser in front of or behind the radiator?

Looking from the front, the power steering cooler is that horizontal loop at the top, the AC condenser is next behind that and the rad is behind the AC.
Yes, certainly worth the effort of disassembly.
Multiple passes with compressed air, a hard jet of water from the back, degreaser and an old tooth brush, most of what came out was sand.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

The rear glass is out and I can see now it was a good call to have it removed as the rust had crept under the seal and up the other side.
Drained the diff, engine and coolant today, pulled the radiator/AC condenser to clean them and look what I found between them.
Safe to say no one has taken those apart in the last 14 yrs.

Ha! You should see the stuff Porsches collect. It's a routine maintenance thing with the water cooled cars.

Here's mine; I figure they were last done approximately 30K miles ago:

[racerbruce]

wdb!
It looks like Autumn's entirety collected here!

[grannyknot]

In the last few days I've dropped the exhaust system, heat baffles and drive shaft. The oil and crud on the heat baffles is from a leak in the input shaft seal on the diff
Some wear on the centre bearing rubber and Guibo, not as much as I thought there would be but the CV joint was kind of crunchy so I had to order a new one. Funnily enough the U joint is just fine so will leave that.

[wdb]

I had to do the diff input seal on mine, it was seeping. Replaced the giubo and center bearing while I was there. All the metal flexy bits were okay.

[grannyknot]

I pulled the engine out today, it's so civilized being able to work on the engine with nothing in your way.
The clutch was almost shot, big leak coming from the shifter rod seal,

[racerbruce]

Great documentation and progress grannyknot -
Your 91,000 mile refresh is really taking shape.

[grannyknot]

I think I stumbled upon the ultimate way to detail the engine bay, get that pesky engine out of the way.
My shop is at the top of a little hill so I rigged up a 2 ton winch to help bring disabled cars inside, it also allows me to roll out those cars for a quick wash.

The cams look good, pretty smooth and over all clean, a sign of regular oil changes.
The oil pan is also clean with no sediment, although the injectors are also in good shape I think I'll send them out for a cleaning and rebuild.

[maupineda]

What is your mileage, very clean inside

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by maupineda

What is your mileage, very clean inside

91,000 miles, yes very pleased about the overall condition, usually these engines are stained dark amber from the Castrol 10w60 but the colour on this one is quite light so maybe the previous owner was running Liqumoly instead.

[grannyknot]

The new UUC selector rod seems to be about 3/4" too long so may have to cut that much out and re weld.
- Nasty little seal to pull.
- Polished up the fuel rail, stock vacuum tube beside it then both polished.
- Throttle bodies before and after, the one on the left is the best I can get it with a brass wire brush and lye based industrial cleaner, the one on the right is wet blasted with fine glass beads.
- Had the H&R shocks off and noticed they are made by Bilstein
- Once the calipers were cleaned up they were in great shape.
- If you ever have to replace the output seal on the trans prepare yourself, a 36mm socket with an impact wrench, it is glued on with thread locker from hell as is the driveshaft output adapter, that took a 5 ton gear puller to remove.

[grannyknot]

Bad day in the shop today, not only destroyed my new rubber surround that goes around the windshield but I also cracked the windshield

Now that I've screwed it up I know why, the part of the rubber surround that inserts between the glass and the roof at its smallest measurement is 4mm.
The gap on the right side of the car is 5.8mm, the gap on the left side is 2.8mm so force it and you crack the glass.

On the coupes at least these surround trims must have been installed when the windshield was installed.
I should have just had the windshield removed, there goes another $1,000 plus some installation costs.

Had the bearings and the regulator switched out on the alternator and pressed in the new bushings on the Lollipops.

[86Zed]

Originally Posted by grannyknot

Bad day in the shop today.

My windshield was "crooked" from the factory as well with a much tighter gap on one side. I recommend switching out the weatherstripping on a warm day and using soap - I made a small crack in mine as well during the job. Held fine for 6 years but the weatherstripping would come loose during high speed driving and I would need to pop it back in.

Windshield and trim replaced via insurance last fall after a semi truck and rock, much cleaner looking 🤞