Just starting out with this '04 ZHP

[smacame]

Hey Everyone,

I recently joined the ranks of the ZHP owners club with this '04 in Imola Red with a 6 speed manual transission and black leather interior:
http://i.imgur.com/HdkkJBVl.jpg

It's in immaculate shape inside and out despite its 185k miles.

The day I bought it there developed a substantial coolant leak so it was towed home then driven to the shop a few days later. It was on the original clutch so that's getting replaced, and it should be back to me in the next few days. I'm hoping :fingerscrossed that there's not too much more uncovered while the shop has it.

Other things on the to do list:
Oil Pan gasket leak
Oil lines saturated
Driver's window regulator slow
Aux input

Looking forward to learning a lot from this great community!

[danewilson77]

Welvome. Glad you're here.

"No flamesuit required"

[fredo]

Welcome, sir. Car looks sharp !

[WOLFN8TR]

Welcome....looks clean!

[Vas]

Welcome. Looks great for the miles.

[3ZHPGUY]

Welcome, I like the color combo. :shift

[brettbimmer]

Welcome, I like the color combo. :shift
+1. Car looks really nice! G/L with the repairs, and welcome to the mafia!

[Johnmadd]

:jawdrop welcome

[johnrando]

Welcome. Good list, good luck getting it done.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[mbeckel]

Welcome to the forum. The best forum on the innerwebs, guaranteed. BTW, excellent color choice

Sent from in the bushes

[Ryans323i]

Welcome. Love the picture, car looks beautiful! Congrats on the acquisition.

Not sure what kind of maintenance has been performed on the car. If you know from the previous owner, let us know and maybe we can point to other issues that may arise. The current issues you've discovered are typical with that mileage. When replacing the oil pan gasket, go ahead and replace the steering coupler (part #32301094703) ~$50. The steering coupling has to come apart anyways and replacing this part will improve steering feel immensely.

You mentioned leaking oil lines, fwiw the most common leaks visible from the top of the motor are oil filter housing gasket, power steering reservoir bottom hose (not oil, it's atf, but it's wet looking), VANOS oil line, CCV and it's hoses, and valve cover gasket. If these haven't been addressed yet, they probably need to be addressed now/soon.

Sorry to throw so much info at you, but high mileage BMWs are awesome! I love seeing them on the road, and with a little maintenance they'll stay on the road. My Lucy has 205k+.

[cakM3]

Ryan mentioned the power steering reservoir bottom hose as well as several other good areas to be aware of. I recently had this issue as well as a failed power steering pump (easy to replace by the way). These hoses tend to crack as they get older so keep an eye out for them :thumbsup

One other thing to add regarding power steering reservoir, you will see what appears to be leaking from the top part of the reservoir. If you turn your steering wheel to the locks on either side while maneuvering your car, some power steering fluid will come out due to back flow of the fluid back into the reservoir and it comes out thru the cap. If you look carefully, you will see a hole on top of the cap (I will have to take a pic and post in your thread later today). This is normal so don't be alarmed. I thought the gasket to the cap was bad allowing the leak. It was the fact that I was turning the wheels to the wheel lock forcing the power steering fluid thru the cap. Keep that in mind….

If you have any question throughout your ownership, this is a great site to pose them w/o "attitudes". Welcome to the forum and nice choice in color of your ZHP :thumbsup

[danewilson77]

If you have any question throughout your ownership, this is a great site to pose them w/o "attitudes". Welcome to the forum and nice choice in color of your ZHP :thumbsup

+1

"No flamesuit required"

[EDS]

Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about the coolant leak. You are the second person I have heard about having a coolant leak the day they bought an e46. Best of luck with the maintenance.

[Pip]

Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about the coolant leak. You are the second person I have heard about having a coolant leak the day they bought an e46. Best of luck with the maintenance.
I also had a coolant leak the day I bought my ZHP. Culprit was the expansion tank.

[smacame]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I can't wait to get the car home and take some photos. My friend back in high school had the e36 below.

The previous owner had the car for about a year and neglected it after getting an M3. He didn't get service records from the owner before him and didn't keep records himself.

It has some silly aftermarket RGB angel eyes. The color can be changed by pushing a button on a little white box in the footwell. If I hold the momentary button they start flashing different colors. The front turn signals are LEDs and trigger the double-fast blink, so that's another thing to put on the to-do list.

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag96/smacafee/IMG_20141223_205022_zps8d9cc20e.jpg

http://i1300.photobucket.com/albums/ag96/smacafee/IMG_0020jpg_zps4d40803e.jpg

[oldzilla]

Welcome

[ELCID86]

Welcome from another 185k IR car. Your looks a tad bit shinier than mine!


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[smacame]

Got the car back from the mechanic last Friday and I'm up to 186.5k now! (drove ~800 miles this week) The new clutch feels awesome and the oil leak appears to be slow enough to not need addressing just yet.

[BADCLOWN]

looks to be in amazing shape for the miles, true gem there.

[NoVAphotog]

Got the car back from the mechanic last Friday and I'm up to 186.5k now! (drove ~800 miles this week) The new clutch feels awesome and the oil leak appears to be slow enough to not need addressing just yet.

Sweet! Car looks awesome, definitely one of the best combos! :shifty

Welcome to the site and the Imola club.

[Whammy]

Welcome!!!