We bought our car in November with 20k miles on it in near perfect condition. The Carfax report that I recently got showed no fluid changes, so I decided to get them replaced right away. Took it to the dealership yesterday to set up a good baseline. Had flushes and fills done on all fluids and poly subframe bushings installed. I supplied Amsoil for engine, tranny and differential and Ireland bushings. Total tab came to $1870. Excellent service manager and technicians. They called early after drop off and asked if I knew about the missing viscous clutch fan. I told then I had deleted it and the reason why. He said "Yeah, when they go, they do a lot of damage under the hood". Hearing that reinforced my decision to delete it. The dealership is about one hour away and the water and oil temps were rock solid where they should be all the way down and back home. The original bushings looked good, but definitely were softer than the new poly bushings. Should have lots of trouble free years to look forward to.
Well done with the maintenance, enjoy your summer driving.
1999 2.8L Z3 Roadster,
2000 3.0L Z3 Roadster,
There is only one thing more pleasurable than working on a Z3, that's driving it top down on a fine day.
Thank you sir. Looking forward to it.
BMW MOA 696, BMW CCA 1405
So, would there be enough rise of the needle to alert me to an over temp situation?
Yes it will from my experience. Lost a head gasket and it warned with plenty of time to stop before any serious damage. 1st time it happened in the 99 2.3 when I lost a belt due to a bad idler pulley
Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it. Put 100 miles on today out pleasure cruising and neither gauge went above half. When we got home and I was backing it into the garage, the electric fan kicked in.
I couldn't feel any difference with the new poly bushings, but with only 20k miles, the OEMs probably felt the same. One thing that I did notice though is that the car purred like a kitten at highway speed. What a great car! So much fun.
Last edited by Tigershark48; 05-25-2019 at 09:44 PM.
If you see the needle move past the usual stationary vertical, overheating is beginning. You should shut the engine off as soon as you can to investigate if there is a coolant leak or broken belt.
The problem is that you may not notice the movement until the needle is into the red. By that time, there could have been so much coolant loss and heat in the head, that damage has been done.
I like the digital ScanGauge on the console because I think it gives more warning time. If temperature exceeds the usual 206F, I am concerned. I don't think the needle moves until around 225F.
Last edited by Vintage42; 05-26-2019 at 08:16 AM.
BMW MOA 696, BMW CCA 1405
With all fresh fluids and the low miles on the car plus living in Wisconsin, I would think overheating wouldn't be a concern for a very long time. We also will be driving mostly at highway speeds with zero city driving or commuting.
Doesn't it feel great to have a vintage roadster with so low miles in such great condition? Just remember the car is still an OLD CAR. Don't think you can ignore the details, and drive it like a new car. That is when you ill run into trouble.
Maybe I'm too detail oriented, but I went the full route on the fan delete. I installed a Stewart high flow water pump, lower temp thermostat, Zionsville radiator, Spal electric fan with lower temp switch. I also replaced every rubber hose on the car. The originals were 20 years old, and i don't trust any rubber 20 years. My only suggestions would be to look closely at your radiator, and think about the lower temperature switch for the auxiliary fan. I initially did what you did, and I had a failure of the electrical connection going to the auxiliary pusher fan. Temperatures rose pretty quickly in the 90 degree heat in stop and go driving. That is why I added the Spal. Not needed, but, in my opinion, cheap insurance. The radiators on these cars perform well, but they have a lot of plastic components that may or may not age well. Just keep an eye on it. Otherwise, enjoy the ride!
All original hoses here and no desire to break plastic fittings. When you say rubber I can say the major hoses are quite silicone rich. Now, expansion tanks are another matter.
And plastic radiators... when I threw the belt and the needle went to red (there’s a light too so it’s hard to miss) by the time I got stopped the expansion tank and radiator had developed hairline cracks and wouldn’t hold pressure. They were 10-11 years old though so no big surprise.
All good advice. Thank you.
I agree with Mark Beilick--the cooling system was inadequate as originally engineered, and so low miles is no assurance that it won't let you down--especially if you have no evidence that the fluids were regularly serviced during the last 20 years. That and the subframe/trunk floor/cross-member assembly are the car's two main weak points. With both addressed, it will provide many years of trouble free fun (seat rail bushings and glove box reinforcement aside). Plan on putting the top up a little more than twice a year as you can't wash it with the top down, and you will want to wash it frequently. I keep an extension handle Swiffer 360 Duster and refills in the trunk to dust it between washings, which helps, but it gets dirty just sitting and looks so good all clean and shiny...
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