New M Roadster Owner

[goodgulf]

Hello all, I just won an auction on BaT for a '99 Yellow Z3M; my first BMW.

I am a bit nervous about the whole process (not being able to pre-inspect, etc.) but I decided what the hell and now I "own" it - barring any shenanigans.

I'm trying to decide whether to ship it home, or drive it (which would be ~3000 mile trip). I'd like to get it inspected and get anything necessary fixed up before such a drive (so I don't blow something out) - but I'm looking for any community suggestions/recommendations before I take this on the road for an extended, hard run.

And then moving forward, suggestions beyond that. I read the Z3 pre-buy guide, that's a great starting point. Anything else I need to really pay attention to right away?

Thanks! Excited to join the community.

[Venom13132]

Hello all, I just won an auction on BaT for a '99 Yellow Z3M; my first BMW.

I am a bit nervous about the whole process (not being able to pre-inspect, etc.) but I decided what the hell and now I "own" it - barring any shenanigans.

I'm trying to decide whether to ship it home, or drive it (which would be ~3000 mile trip). I'd like to get it inspected and get anything necessary fixed up before such a drive (so I don't blow something out) - but I'm looking for any community suggestions/recommendations before I take this on the road for an extended, hard run.

And then moving forward, suggestions beyond that. I read the Z3 pre-buy guide, that's a great starting point. Anything else I need to really pay attention to right away?

Thanks! Excited to join the community.

I have shipped a few cars that had lower miles to keep them off the car. If you add the cost of travel and your time it's usually cheaper to ship. That being said my M roadster I bought sight unseen and flew out and drove it 800 miles home all in one day. But it has high miles and I knew it wasn't in great condition. Whenever I get a new to me car I always change the oil and wiper blades.

[BigRig]

Congrats, goodgulf!

I was watching that auction with interest (as I'm guessing a few on this board were) and think you got a really nice (and unique!) car at a fair price. I paid similar for a one-owner 1999 Estoril Blue MRoadster w/~60k on it back in the fall and have been really happy with it so far!

I don't have advice on shipping/driving for you other than to say that I'd be pretty comfortable driving mine a long distance, and on the surface it seems to be in similar condition to the one you just purchased.

Congrats again!

[rf900rkw]

I quit following BaT when they stopped being "bring a trailer" and started being just another online auction house. Where is the car located?

[s8ilver]

I quit following BaT when they stopped being "bring a trailer" and started being just another online auction house. Where is the car located?

Still a few projects to be had...
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...i-cabriolet-3/

OP's car was/is in Oklahoma. I was watching it and debating a 700 mile one-way trip. My silver and black cars would have been jealous of the Dakar.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1999-bmw-z3-3/

[goodgulf]

Ah sorry I've got multiple threads going. The posts in this one weren't showing up for me. Anyway, the car is in Madill OK, which is 2 hours from the nearest airport to begin with.

I have a contact in Houston that I could get the car to for a quick check-out, but that ups the drive home from 2k miles to 2400. It goes up to 3k if I drive it west so I can take it north up the Pacific coast, but what a trip that would be.

My concerns are it is 57k miles, and water pump?

[z3forlife]

Listen to it and if it's not dripping or squealing I wouldn't worry to much about it now. You can sort that once your home. I had a 2.3 for years and replaced the WP under original warranty which was still on the car at 197k when I sold it. PCH is a great drive. Pick a route that allows you to hit as many national parks as possible on your way home. The convertibles are a great way to see the parks

[Venom13132]

I say if you have the time do the scenic drive. But if you just want to get the car back on a time/cost factor I would just ship it.

[sjdennis]

Congratulations man! Looks like a great car. I think if you are talking about 3000 miles, I would have it shipped. My son and I drove mine home to San Jose California from Dallas Texas. It was a great trip!

Good luck to you and your new ride and welcome!

[Pelican Parts]

+1 great looking car and I agree with the above members - if you have the time, take the drive and enjoy the scenery. Give it a once over and maybe get a quick oil change on the way. 57k miles is nothing, so it should be ready for the road! Share some photos if you decide to go that route..

[goodgulf]

Reviving this thread.

Had the car shipped, and inspected. Clean bill of health except for cracked main belt.

Since then, I've put about 300 miles on it, and I have one nagging concern (well, 2 concerns - 1 minor 1 maybe not).

The gear shift doesn't want to return to a "neutral" position from 5th gear. It springs to neutral quite well from the left (1st/2nd) but not from the right. I'm wondering if that's the issue being described here in the FAQ:


"Manual Transmission Shifting:
The manual transmission shift lever may lean to the right (5th gear) or may be difficult to put in 1st and 2nd gear. This indicates worn shift pins, sometimes due to excessively aggressive driving or due to mileage. Replacement parts about $100. The transmission needs to removed and special tools are need for the service. BMW does not publish service instructions for the Z3 transmission, so a seasoned transmission specialist will need to be consulted. These issues may be resolved with a simple fluid flush and change."

The bigger issue for me... when the car is cold (newly started), I get a strange sound from the transmission (sometimes) when I engage 1st or Reverse (only). It's a loud, whining metallic noise - but not a grinding or clunking. At first I thought I was just out of pracitce with the clutch (been driving auto's) and was either riding the clutch too long or not giving enough throttle, but now I'm not so convinced. so:

1) it only happens when starting to move in 1st or reverse
2) it only happens when cold (like, the very first time i move the car only)
3) i can generally avoid it if i give more gas while letting out the clutch

My first thought is fluid, but I would have thought during inspection that would have been sorted.

Any thoughts?

thanks

[Venom13132]

The gear shift doesn't want to return to a "neutral" position from 5th gear. It springs to neutral quite well from the left (1st/2nd) but not from the right. I'm wondering if that's the issue being described here in the FAQ:


"Manual Transmission Shifting:
The manual transmission shift lever may lean to the right (5th gear) or may be difficult to put in 1st and 2nd gear. This indicates worn shift pins, sometimes due to excessively aggressive driving or due to mileage. Replacement parts about $100. The transmission needs to removed and special tools are need for the service. BMW does not publish service instructions for the Z3 transmission, so a seasoned transmission specialist will need to be consulted. These issues may be resolved with a simple fluid flush and change."

The bigger issue for me... when the car is cold (newly started), I get a strange sound from the transmission (sometimes) when I engage 1st or Reverse (only). It's a loud, whining metallic noise - but not a grinding or clunking. At first I thought I was just out of pracitce with the clutch (been driving auto's) and was either riding the clutch too long or not giving enough throttle, but now I'm not so convinced. so:

1) it only happens when starting to move in 1st or reverse
2) it only happens when cold (like, the very first time i move the car only)
3) i can generally avoid it if i give more gas while letting out the clutch

My first thought is fluid, but I would have thought during inspection that would have been sorted.

Any thoughts?

thanks

the shifter not returning to neutral is the shift pins in the transmission. They are not expensive and easy to replace.... with the transmission out. It doesn't hurt anything to drive with them as is but it is a heck of a lot nicer with fresh pins installed. I replaced mine last year. While I was at it I replaced the clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder, and put steel braided clutch line in. I also replaced a few of the plastic items in the shifter assembly. I had a leaking clutch master cylinder also that I replaced when I did all of that also. I put a 325i slave cylinder in so it raised the clutch engagement point a little further off the floor with the pedal, which I like a little better.

[Mr Bingley]

I would go ahead and change the transmission oil--it may or may not address your problems, but it can't hurt and it's relatively inexpensive and easy to do. That is not something that would have been addressed in an inspection in any event. I went with AMSOil. It is probably also a good idea to change the rubber clutch line--again, cheap, can't hurt, and might make a difference. More extensive solutions involve pulling the transmission, so eliminate these two first. Do your research on both jobs by searching the forum, but here's a thread on AMSOil and here's one on clutch line changing.

[Tim95M3]

Well you're going to have to remove the transmission to replace the shift pins/etc... So while you're at it, replace the clutch and throwout bearing, which is most likely the noise you're describing.

[goodgulf]

Thanks all. I'm noticing more and realizing that things I thought maybe were minor should probably be addressed. The shifting is "crunchy" in all gears, and engaging the gears gives a "jerk" to the car every time I let out the clutch. It is easy to get used to issues quickly, especially when you have no frame of reference on the car to begin with; or to think they are problems between the seat and the pedals/steering wheel. But, taking a step back, shifting is just not smooth at all.

How much of this is just characteristic of the transmission? Should I expect smooth shifting, or do all of these trannies have more crunchy shifting, in general?

[sjdennis]

In my experience, the shifting of my M has always been a little less smooth than other manual cars I own and have owned. If you notice it all the time then there could be one of the issues discussed above.

As others have suggested start with a fluid change which really does make a difference, and then change the rubber hose from the master to the slave cylinder with an aftermarket stainless one.
Here is the one I installed:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ecs-part.../009535ecs02a/

What happens is that the rubber gets more flexible as it ages and expands when you depress the clutch pedal reducing the force on the slave cylinder and the clutch peddle disengage point gets lower and lower to the floor. The transmission gets harder to shift because the clutch is disengaging less and less.

Good luck!

[Vintage42]

... The shifting is "crunchy" in all gears, and engaging the gears gives a "jerk" to the car every time I let out the clutch... shifting is just not smooth at all. How much of this is just characteristic of the transmission? Should I expect smooth shifting, or do all of these trannies have more crunchy shifting, in general?

When shopping I drove a 2.3 with 35,000 miles that shifted like that, plus had a stiff squeaky clutch. I dreaded every shift. I found one what shifted nicely and that was a factor in choosing it.

[goodgulf]

I don't have problems with clutch disengagement, there is considerable room between floor and full engagement point, so I think hose is probably OK. I'm going to swap out the fluid then take it on a 700-mile trip next weekend, and we'll see if there's any improvement. It sounds like for sure I need to do shift pins, so I can figure out if there's more to be done still.

Thanks again.

[goodgulf]

Update: 700+ mile trip went great. New tranny oil is in, both belts replaced. There was a cracked tensioner that was discovered while changing the belts so I fixed that, too.

The crunchiness is less than before, and the return to neutral position from right for the shifter now seems to be heat dependent. After a warm-up period, the gearshift snaps back into neutral as it should. But, it still sticks (a little, but less than before) while cold.

I've found the source of the metallic noise! While I was stopped today, just after backing out of my spot in the company garage, I had the wheel turned fairly far. With the clutch in, not moving, I turned the wheel further and I could feel the power steering engage. At this point, the RPM's dropped from about 750-800 to around 500, and the noise appeared. Releasing the wheel brought the RPM back up and the noise disappeared. I could repeat this as many times as I wanted simply by turning the steering wheel. This was consistent with my observation that adding throttle would also remove the noise (I guess, by raising RPM).

My thought here is that engaging power steering pump (?) is putting a load on the main belt that causes the transmission RPM's to drop, which causes it to come close to stalling - or something. Any ideas from experienced mechanics on what this really means; where to look; what to fix? Is this perhaps as simple as power steering flush/fill?

Thanks!