Z4 timing chain

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   Hi new here. I’ve had a 06 plate 2.0i z4 for 2 years and no complaints at all. Last month the engine light came on and I took it to sytner, it ended up being 2 sensors and a rocker cover gasket, cost me 920 in total. 5 weeks later the engine light has come on again and now it’s the timing chain and both cats. The oil leak is still there and they think it’s the two little seals at the front. All the work comes to close what the cars worth so I told them to leave it. I’m more concerned about getting the timing chain possibly changed then worrying about the cats another time. And I’m on here to see if anyone knows a good mechanic that could do the job at a lesser price than sytner. I’m in the Essex region. Any help would be good. Cheers brad 

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Bradspangles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Member Joined: 23 Jul 2020 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bradspangles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Z4 timing chain Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 4:33pm
	Hi new here. I’ve had a 06 plate 2.0i z4 for 2 years and no complaints at all. Last month the engine light came on and I took it to sytner, it ended up being 2 sensors and a rocker cover gasket, cost me 920 in total. 5 weeks later the engine light has come on again and now it’s the timing chain and both cats. The oil leak is still there and they think it’s the two little seals at the front. All the work comes to close what the cars worth so I told them to leave it. I’m more concerned about getting the timing chain possibly changed then worrying about the cats another time. And I’m on here to see if anyone knows a good mechanic that could do the job at a lesser price than sytner. I’m in the Essex region. Any help would be good. Cheers brad

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NickDE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Region Chair North East Chairman Joined: 14 Mar 2015 Location: Newcastle Status: Offline Points: 1139	Post Options Post Reply Quote NickDE Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 9:46pm
	You're definitely thinking along the right lines. A good independant will deal with a 14 year old car and for a much lower price. I can't help you with a specific recommendation as I'm not local. When the Essex Region start monthly meets again pop along and I'm sure you will get help.
	Darkness gone, Tronic gone, Solo gone, DBA gone, go Darknes2, go Frozen, go Black Pearl, go Echo. RIP The Vibrator

Bradspangles Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Member Joined: 23 Jul 2020 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Bradspangles Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 23 Jul 2020 at 10:07pm
	Thank U for replying and hopefully if they come back with a good price and I’m able to keep the car I’d like to come along to the next Essex meet

Mike Fishwick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Forum Member Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Location: France Status: Offline Points: 2753	Post Options Post Reply Quote Mike Fishwick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 24 Jul 2020 at 1:45pm
	Why are you sure that the timing chain is in need of replacement? Even if it is rattling a little, the usual problem lies in the tensioner. You do not tell us the type of engine you have, or the mileage covered, but fourteen years for a timing chain is not much of a life, unless your engine is one of those dreadful designs where the engine has to be removed to replace the rear-mounted chain and sprockets, which wear each other out for a pastime. Perhaps BMW should remember that their middle initial stands for 'Motoren.' Your last problem sounds as if both camshaft position sensors were replaced, but in my world I periodically remove them and wipe away the thin layer of metallic dust which clings to the sensing face, 'blinding' it - for zero cost! I also change the engine oil at 5000 mile intervals, which has many benefits, not least of which is a reduction in the amount of such debris. Extended oil changes are the worst thing you can do to an engine. Fault codes are only guides, and require interpretation coupled with logical diagnosis. The EML light is the same. It is not uncommon for fault codes which have been read after an EML warning to signify 'Lambda voltage implausible.' This can prompt people who like to replace expensive items to first change the Lambda probes, and then even fit new catalytic converters . . . all to no effect except emptyiing one's wallet! In such a case, what the Lambda voltage is telling us is that the mixture strength is excessively weak. I have read - and experienced - a few of these cases, all of which were actually caused by a torn inlet bellows between the air flow sensor and the throttle body - which can be repaired for about £10. Some people give the impression that a code reader etc is essential, but after 130,000 miles the nearest my Z3 has ever had to having anything connected to it is when I reset the service interval lights - by sticking a piece of wire into the data link socket! I may be cynical about dealers, but having bought my 2.8 Z3 when it was about 18 months old, I had the MoTs carried out by our local dealer. During the four years my car spent living in the UK the MoT certificate told me that the carbon monoxide emissions had exactly doubled every year. Exactly doubling per year really is beyond coincidence . . . No doubt at the fifth MoT the levels would have caused a failure, necessitating new converters . . the price of which would be used to prompt 'Sir' to think about buying a new car . . . Instead of this scenario we moved to France, where after sixteen years every two-yearly Controle Technique (French MoT) gives the CO levels as ZERO! This has been repeated at different test stations, and rather than being tested on a cold engine at 'fast' idle (which does not mean a lot) it is carried out on a hot engine and catalytic converters while under accelleration from idle to 3000 rpm - a far stiffer test. The test stations do not undertake repairs or sell spares, so they have no motive to be pessimistic. So - this experience made me very suspicious of BMW dealers, who of course would not be breaking the law by overstating the emission level, as distinct from understating it to keep a 'dirty' car on the road. If the emissions test was carried out with a cold engine and converters, the levels would be high - but not exactly doubling every year! It sounds as if you have now realised that BMW dealers cannot be relied on to do much except demand crazy prices to change oils and filters - and even then very few of them change the vital small 'O' rings inside the engine oil filter. Anyone who charges about £100 to interrogate the fault memory ( a 10-minute job) followed by a labour charge of at least £100 per hour should be avoided. To be fair, they simply cater for their main customer profile of business users, for whom money is of no consequence. Find a good independant specialist and stick to them. Edited by Mike Fishwick - 24 Jul 2020 at 3:34pm
	A Z3 is not just for Christmas - it's for life!

Daniel1000 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Club Member Joined: 10 Sep 2012 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 57	Post Options Post Reply Quote Daniel1000 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 Sep 2020 at 11:42am
	Hi, I have always used PMW in Chelmsford, both for the E46 M3 trackday car that I used to run and the 2008 E85 Z4 2.0 Sport that I have now. I have always found them to be knowledgeable and cheaper than the main dealers. You could give them a try. Regards, Daniel Edited by Daniel1000 - 12 Sep 2020 at 11:42am

Robert Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Club Member Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 137	Post Options Post Reply Quote Robert Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 Sep 2020 at 12:18pm
	Brad, I would be very skeptical of what sytners says. Back in the day when I had a 320d, which was I think four years old at the time, sytners reported the electric fan needed replacing among other things. I took the car to an independent and their plugin diagnostic tool showed the setting for the fan was 0. Yes, turned off. Now I had never experienced any overheating problems and I, myself, could not have turned it off so did it do it itself? The independent garage turned it back on and all was well and they continue to service my cars to this day. Rob.