4th BMW, 1st ZHP - Somewhat of a Project

[Racuerex]

Hey all - I just acquired a 2004 ZHP A/T, my aim is to go OEM plus, get the car right and get everything functioning 100% and sprinkle in some tasteful modding.

Silver (6/10) with gray interior (7/10)
145K
Looks to be garaged mostly
Has a custom speaker box between the trunk and back seat - 2 JL 8's I think, may ditch them.

To do list:
Gaskets / seals - (Valve cover, vanos) valvecover is leaking a bit, may do M56 valvecover while I'm at it
Cooling system overhaul - Not sure if water pump/expansion tank/thermostat has been replaced
Figure out what's up with the vibration over 50mph (going to try tire balance first)
Headlight reflector bowls are burnt out, needs overhaul/new lights.
New Shocks / H&R Springs, suspension assessment
General inspection of everything

Cosmetic - Not so urgent:
Get original rims de-curbed
Fix bumper disconnect from fenders, patch scrape/hole on passenger side
Get new rear bumper lower insert
New pillar pieces
Headunit - my god the stock nav is horrible
Replace dead pedal
Remove colors from kidney

Parts Needed from Dismantler:
Gray dead pedal
Driver door ZHP trim peice (or full set of black pieces)
Passenger side front turn signal
Rear bumper diffuser
Front M-tech bumper (if cheap enough)
Window switches (both sides)
M Steering wheel
Front armrest
Rear back window "deck"
Front / middle / rear pillar interior peices


33675

[704sw]

Always love me a TiAg sedan.

Welcome aboard.

[Vas]

Looking forward to updates

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[Racuerex]

Always love me a TiAg sedan.

Welcome aboard.

Thanks, I really wish old alacantara didn't make BMW seats look like an old couch these days. My steering wheel is either flattened where people hands usually sit or looks like a sheep dog where it rubs (I guess?), I'm probably going to end up replacing 30% of the interior!

[johnrando]

Welcome! Good luck with the work, and keep us posted.

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[ZHPizza]

Welcome! I did the M56 valve cover with my vanos refresh and love it. Ripped out the entire CCV system and never have to worry about it again.

[fredo]

Welcome, sir. And congrats. You will love this forum.

[Racuerex]

Welcome! I did the M56 valve cover with my vanos refresh and love it. Ripped out the entire CCV system and never have to worry about it again.

So about that - it’s basically just pop the valve cover on and that’s it?


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[ZHPizza]

So about that - it’s basically just pop the valve cover on and that’s it?


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Ehh it's a little more involved, but yeah that's the gist of it. I opted to go through everything and do it as right as possible:

- thoroughly cleaned out the M56 donor valve cover
- replaced the diaphragm in the built-in CCV
- glued the diaphragm cap back together after the tabs all inevitably broke during removal
- replaced the dipstick tube with the M56 tube (you can also cap off your OE tube)
- ripped out all of the original CCV tubing/canister/etc
- capped off one inlet the air distribution piece and ran a hose to from the valve cover to the other inlet
- did vanos seals and spark plugs before reassembling with the new M56 specific valve cover gasket, spark plug gaskets, and bolt gaskets

I've had no issues with it since install and would recommend the swap to anyone. Let me know if you have any questions!

[Racuerex]

Ehh it's a little more involved, but yeah that's the gist of it. I opted to go through everything and do it as right as possible:

- thoroughly cleaned out the M56 donor valve cover
- replaced the diaphragm in the built-in CCV
- glued the diaphragm cap back together after the tabs all inevitably broke during removal
- replaced the dipstick tube with the M56 tube (you can also cap off your OE tube)
- ripped out all of the original CCV tubing/canister/etc
- capped off one inlet the air distribution piece and ran a hose to from the valve cover to the other inlet
- did vanos seals and spark plugs before reassembling with the new M56 specific valve cover gasket, spark plug gaskets, and bolt gaskets

I've had no issues with it since install and would recommend the swap to anyone. Let me know if you have any questions!

Awesome, did you follow a guide or tutorial? I’m going to the dismantler this weekend and am going to try and find one, those eBay prices for $200+ are kind of ridiculous for me because I live in an area that literally has 100 dismantlers; we have like 5 that specifically only do BMWs.


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[danewilson77]

Welcome. Sounds fun.

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[Racuerex]

Welcome. Sounds fun.

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Thanks!

[ZHPizza]

Awesome, did you follow a guide or tutorial? I’m going to the dismantler this weekend and am going to try and find one, those eBay prices for $200+ are kind of ridiculous for me because I live in an area that literally has 100 dismantlers; we have like 5 that specifically only do BMWs.


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These are the two links that I studied for inspiration/parts lists. It's really easy on our cars since we don't need to mess with coil packs or anything.

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1120102

https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1066308

The M56 parts should be super easy to come by since you're in Cali. You just need the valve cover and can grab the dipstick tube or cap yours off. Whichever.

M56 valve cover (P/N 11127521086) with oil cap attached (P/N 11127500568)
dipstick tube (P/N 11437515399)

I can dig into my parts list and see what all you need for gaskets and such.