New To Me, Low Mileage ZHP, Recommendations on First Maintenance

[mercury26]

So I just picked up my first ZHP (and E46) this week in the Los Angeles area, drove it back to Denver. So I am putting together a list of work to get done in the next couple weeks. The car is 2005 sedan manual fairly low mileage, 61,500 when I picked it up and not close to 63,000, while not a lot of records the car was well taken care of.

Here is my list of work, let me know if I am missing something or should drop it.

1. Suspension

- Replace Lower Control Arm Bushings, was considering Z4M (PPI and owner recommended replacement)
- Lower Control Arms
- Alignment


2. Cooling System

- Expansion Tank and Cap
- Water Pump, considering Hepu Metal Impeller version
- Lower/Upper Radiator Hoses
- Thermostat
- Belts (both of them)
- Pulleys, considering going with stock
- Temp Sensor
-Hydraulic Belt Tensioner Kit (ECS)

3. Brakes

- Fluid flush/replace

While I would love to do the work myself, my schedule is slammed right now and will go with a local independent (BMW specialist that I have used before).

Thanks

Chuck

[ZHP_Brandon]

You seem to be on the path to success with your list, I would say the cooling system should be #1 on your list, then suspension, brakes. I would say look into a valve cover seal, check for any Vanos wear and tear, 100% Do NOT forget to check your DISA VALVE because you'll go crazy trying to figure out whats wrong if its not already broken (error codes for days lol), maybe one day if your car is a sedan take the time to see if your car has burnt ZKW bowls, if you do, I say capitalize on this 4th of July sale that TheRetroFitSource.com is about to have. I paid full price for my kit, but it was worth every penny to me

Best of Luck and last but not least,

Welcome to family.

- Brandon [emoji1417]


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[mercury26]

The brakes have already been addressed by the previous owner. I will run a scan on the car with my VAG-COM, which can at minimum pull an error codes (and clear them).

How can you check for burnt bowls?

Thanks

Chuck

[johnrando]

List sounds good. I would recommend cooling system first. Yup on disa, and eventually VANOS. And, welcome! Pics?

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[ZacharyMikel]

Congratulations on the car!

I like where you're going with maintenance, I have recently performed most of the things on your list with my car. It's worth every penny you spend on it. Even if you're not upgrading to higher-performance parts, getting the vehicle back to the way it felt first being driven off the dealership lot is always good!

[fredo]

Welcome, Chuck ! In for pics.

[Vas]

Cooling system and then suspension bits.

Go with the z4m fcab and z4m rtab. At 60k the front control arms are still fine. Then get it aligned

[mercury26]

Go with the z4m fcab and z4m rtab. At 60k the front control arms are still fine. Then get it aligned

Which rear trailing arm bushings, seems to be a fair amount of bushings in the rear suspension. Do you have the part numbers for the Z4M parts? I have the front but not the rear.

[BMWCurves]

Welcome! As others have said, it sounds like you're on the right path for maintenance, and definitely do the cooling system first.

I refreshed my suspension a couple of months ago when I had ~50k miles and documented it pretty extensively. I wanted to go for an OEM+ feel so it's got mostly BMW parts except for Koni Sport shocks/struts and Z4M RTABs/FCABs. You can take a look at my thread on it here along with part numbers:

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?16182-Help-with-Suspension-Refresh-at-50k-miles-10-years

[mercury26]

I just got the car back from the shop on Thursday after getting all the work above completed. All I can say is whoa! The new FCAB and RTAB (to a lesser degree as they were not that bad) made a HUGE difference. The steering before was squirrely on bumps, which I knew was not how the car should feel. The car feels so much better after new bushings and a 4 wheel alignment. I went with Lemforder stock FCAB and Lemforder Z4M RTAB on the car. The other work did not change the car, but makes me feel better (i.e. cooling system).

Next on the list...

- Install OEM TCU Bluetooth Setup
- Replace Center Console/Cup Holder (the material is peeling and since I have to remove to add the BT antenna, the small jumper cable is NLA)
- New Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires
- Gloss Black Kidney Grills (need to personalize it a bit)

A little bit a time...

[Vas]

Glad to hear you are liking the car. Post some images of it if you can.