Hello from Cali

[GotZHP]

Hello Everyone! My name is Nick and I just recently purchased a 2004 BMW 330i ZHP. The car is Silbergrau Silver with a black interior and 105,xxx on the odometer. I am the 3rd owner. Car was leased for a year year (~10,000miles) then purchased by the previous owner. The previous owner paid for a maintenance package when he purchased the car, but unfortunately, I ended up with an incomplete work history.

I've put about 1,500 miles on the car since I purchased it about a month ago. I came from a Subaru BRZ, so quiet a change in type of vehicle, but with this said, I love the ZHP! I've owned a 1997 Volvo 850 R Touring, 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Sedan, 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX Sedan, 2014 Subaru BRZ, and now the ZHP.

The dealer I bought the car from did some work to it including:
-New front tires, rotors, and pads
- New alternator
-New Valve Cover Gasket
- New Front lower control arm bushings
-Smogged

Since owner the car, I have created a healthy list of maintenance to be completed. I have already dug in and started to do some work. There is so many things going on with the car, I'm going to make a maintenance / build thread to lay them all out.

Let's just say I have almost every common e46 problem going on. My list includes, but is not limited to = Faulty / broken DISA, OFHG leak, Window regulator problem, door locking problem, and I still have the ORIGINAL expansion tank!! I am fairly handy and knew what I was getting into with this car so I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

Anyways, here are some pictures of my ZHP! Keep an eye out for a build thread popping up soon as I've already done some work and taken lots of photos. I will be creating some DIY this weekend as I have a package from Turner Motor Sports coming tomorrow!

[BMWCurves]

Welcome! Good looking ZHP and nice garage.

Do start a project/maintenance thread. It's good to have a second set of records somewhere (if you aren't already doing so) and I always enjoy reading through other people's maintenance.

[derbo]

welcome and congrats!

[3ZHP]

Welcome!


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[egiles14]

Welcome! Glad to see you made it over to this forum.

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[Vas]

Welcome

[slater]

welcome! you should be able to knock off the DISA/OFHG/cooling system overhaul in an afternoon, it's all in the same place so best to do it all together!

[johnrando]

Good looking car. Welcome. What part of CA?

[danewilson77]

Nick,

Welcome.

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[AggieBlake]

welcome! you should be able to knock off the DISA/OFHG/cooling system overhaul in an afternoon, it's all in the same place so best to do it all together!

Peter, you make me laugh! You must be awfully fast with a wrench, my friend. OFHG and cooling system rebuild took me about 8 or 9 hours since it was my first time with this engine.

Nick, good luck and good choice on the Turner kit! That's what I went with for my cooling system overhaul and have been very pleased.

[slater]

Peter, you make me laugh! You must be awfully fast with a wrench, my friend. OFHG and cooling system rebuild took me about 8 or 9 hours since it was my first time with this engine.

i had never done a cooling system overhaul or OFHG on one of these cars until i did mine... i did both jobs separately; the cooling system took me 2hrs, the OFHG took me 3hrs. i was really surprised at how easy it was after reading about folks bemoaning the job on here. ;) if you do both jobs together you can definitely save some time.

this is all barring any complications, mind you - prayer helps. :)

[AggieBlake]

To be honest, it could be done in the ~5 hours you mention. I took my time because (1) it was fun, and (2) as an engineer-by-training, I can be a little OCD. With the OFH off, you can clean a lot of the engine that is otherwise inaccessible. I spent a full hour cleaning. I also decided to replace my radiator, pulleys, and belts at the same time which added a little time to it. Plus I had a couple 6-year-olds running in and out of my garage. That cost an hour, I'm sure :)

[GotZHP]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! I have been posting on another e46 forum for about a month, thinking that with a larger e46 audience, I would get more responses. ZHP Mafia has already proved my wrong!

Can't wait to start sharing what I have done for work so far and post up some photos and A LOT of questions I have. This is my first ever BMW. I've mainly owned Subarus. I am already enjoying working on the M54B30 engine. Very logical and thought out. I have really enjoyed my Flat-4s over the years, but because of the engine layout, simple maintenance tasks (eg; Spark Plugs!) can be a huge PITA.

I will start copying over my build thread to this forum today and have a pretty lengthy detailed write up about the car, my intended use of it, the maintenance, and the mods I am planning.

I start a new job next Monday!!! Once the paychecks start rolling and the maintenance is complete, it will not stay stock for long:pimp:thumbup

[ZacharyMikel]

Welcome over, dude. Can't wait to see what you do with this thing! You've already got the first step down - getting on this forum!!


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[GotZHP]

Good looking car. Welcome. What part of CA?

I am in Goleta now, But will be moving to LA temporarily, then to Irvine. Starting a new job there this up coming Monday

[GotZHP]

Welcome over, dude. Can't wait to see what you do with this thing! You've already got the first step down - getting on this forum!!


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Yup

Finally made it over! Going to make this forum the main forum for posting now. Need to kind of copy and paste over my build thread. I've already done the first post with more details, so I'll likely summarize the past month in a couple of posts to get everyone up to speed

[GotZHP]

To be honest, it could be done in the ~5 hours you mention. I took my time because (1) it was fun, and (2) as an engineer-by-training, I can be a little OCD. With the OFH off, you can clean a lot of the engine that is otherwise inaccessible. I spent a full hour cleaning. I also decided to replace my radiator, pulleys, and belts at the same time which added a little time to it. Plus I had a couple 6-year-olds running in and out of my garage. That cost an hour, I'm sure :)

My plan will be to disassemble the front end completely. I plan to replace the pulleys & belts when I overhaul the cooling system (including new radiator!) My front bumper needs new aligning tabs/ hangers anyways.

I've started a build thread already so check it for updates!

New DISA valve showed up today!

[GotZHP]

Welcome! Good looking ZHP and nice garage.

Do start a project/maintenance thread. It's good to have a second set of records somewhere (if you aren't already doing so) and I always enjoy reading through other people's maintenance.

Thanks man, and yes that was a pretty nice garage. Only flaw was it was never wired up for electrical. I had a whole cord system going though. Unfortunately, I just moved. I know all the people still living in the house, so I'm sure I can access it still, but its not mine anymore technically :(

[CarbonZHP]

Good looking paint. Yeah, what part of CA?

[GotZHP]

Good looking paint. Yeah, what part of CA?

CarbonZHP ! was wondering if you posted here as well. I'll be crashing in LA for awhile, then ill be in Irvine.

Weekends will be spent in Santa Barbara though. Fvcking gorgeous Here

[fredo]

Welcome, Nick ! And congrats, your car looks sharp.

[johnrando]

There are a few of us SoCals on, a couple in South Bay, 1 Irvine, and then others scattered around like Carbon, Wyatt, Hieu, and some in SD. And PS, you shouldn't call it Cali :)

[GotZHP]

There are a few of us SoCals on, a couple in South Bay, 1 Irvine, and then others scattered around like Carbon, Wyatt, Hieu, and some in SD. And PS, you shouldn't call it Cali :)

I replied to the SoCal meet thread earlier today! Definitely want to join you guys.

So what should I call it. I guess Socal, since I'll be more south than here

[johnrando]

Xactly! :biggrin looking forward to meeting you at one of the (infrequent) gatherings.

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[GotZHP]

Xactly! :biggrin looking forward to meeting you at one of the (infrequent) gatherings.

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Me too. Hopefully my car will be running much smoother by then. Lots of work ahead of me

[oldzilla]

Welcome

[GotZHP]

Welcome

Thanks. My brother is visiting from Colorado this weekend:thumbsup

[ELCID86]

Thanks for sharing. I was Just in Frisco/Copper Mountain. Tell your brother he lives in a beautiful state!


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"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous

[GotZHP]

Thanks for sharing. I was Just in Frisco/Copper Mountain. Tell your brother he lives in a beautiful state!


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"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - anonymous

He is finishing up undergrad at Fort Collins this year. Great place, only been there once but will be out there for his graduation soon

[Edo]

Hi Nick and welcome. I just got my 04 last weekend. Cooling system is on the list, but maybe not all at once.

Ed