New again :)

[Enemy]

Hello. I joined this site a while back when I had my first ZHP. It was a 2003 330i Alpine on Alcantara. A rarity around here it seems. I only had it for about 6 months and sold it off, regretting this ever since.

Well, on Friday I was able to get into another! This time I have a 2004 TiAG Sedan with grey leather interior. She has 171k on the clock and seems mechanically in shape. Engine and trans offer no issues at all. I do however have some cosmetic things to work out and the suspension needs help.

I picked her up for $5k off a good friend who's enjoyed her the last three years and have already dumped a good bit of money on some goodies that are in the mail :D Let the fun begin!

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/IMG_20130505_175847_zps703a8e40.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/IMG_20130505_175858_zpsbbb73e55.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/IMG_20130506_062944_zpsf0313de0.jpg

[Mtnman]

Welcome back!

[Tnhl1989]

For 5k that's not bad at all. Just saw a guy purchase a 05 330ic with 44k miles. Thing was so fresh.

[Don Adolfo]

Nice ride; that was a good deal. I can imagine your happiness to be behind that wheel again.

[BimmerWill]

Congrats on the find sounds like a steal! Glad you were able to find one! Welcome back!

[danewilson77]

Nice ride; that was a good deal. I can imagine your happiness to be behind that wheel again.

+1

HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA

[johnrando]

+2. Welcome back. $5K, what a steal.

[E_Rak]

Wow great deal! Good luck with the car, hopefully I'll be following suit soon.

[kayger12]

Welcome back.

[WOLFN8TR]

+3 What Steal ! Welcome back....

[Stigissimo]

wow, great looking car. Welcome back man!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Welcome again.

[bmshen]

5k, wow, that is awesome! You are my twin on the outside, TiAg sedan with dark tint...I've got black leather interior. Welcome back!

[Enemy]

This place is pretty active. That's good to know. I'll have a lot of questions probably.

Looks like Koni FSD with Eibach Pro is the way to go, along with replacing everything else I can think of or afford, for my suspension rebuild.

I'm actually taking her in for Inspection II on Saturday. Will wait to see what happens and move on from there.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[Avetiso]

Stole that car. Good for you. Welcome!

[Snowboardinwny]

What a steal ha. Welcome back!

[derbo]

Welcome back. $5k is dirt cheap!

[JupiterBMW]

Welcome back. I'm glad car value isn't determined the same as house value, otherwise you would've killed the value on all of OUR cars as well. But, $5000 is an amazing pickup! Enjoy your time here.

[Enemy]

My friend paid $12,500 for it mid-2010. I found it for him on Bimmerforums.com and helped him arrange the sale, he drove to WV, bought it, and drove it daily for a few years. He always took it to BMW for service and during his ownership, BMW replaced the diff. He needed to trade it in to get his wife a new car as they are expecting a baby, and the dealers offered him like $3800. I offered to help him sell it, maybe settle for $7,500 at the lowest which I think would have been fair, but he didn't want to wait weeks or months or go through the hassle. So, I did what any good friend (and ZHP lover) would do... offered $5,000 and here I am.

Here's a list of all the stuff I already ordered, and is being shipped to me as we speak:
- Headlight Covers w/Gaskets
- D2S Bulbs 10,000k
- LED Angel Eyes from Khoalty
- Halogen Bulbs 7,000k for High Beam
- OE Fog Lights w/Covers
- Halogen 2500k Fog Light Bulbs
- LED Interior Bulbs
- LED License Plate Bulbs
- Tow-hook License Plate Holder
- TiAG License Plate Frames
- Driver's door handle key-hole cover TiAG
- Smoked (darker) Side Markers
- Clear corners, black trim
- Eagle Eye LED Tails, smoked
- Matte Black Kidney Grilles
- Black Carbon Fiber/White Roundel Overlays, all
- Alcantara shifter and e-brake boots
- Clubsport M-Tech Splitters

As far as maintenance goes, she got Pirelli P Zero Rosso 225/40 front, and 265/35 rear (I know rears call for 255).... an alignment, fuel-filler cap is on the way along with drivers window switch, the high-gloss window trim on driver's side needs new clips, and needs an oil change.

I get a buzz from my power steering. I will need to research what fluid is correct for our cars. I saw something about Pentosin, and I don't want to make the mistake of throwing ATF in there if it needs Pentosin instead. I've already been through the mess that creates with an E31 I had. I will flush the fluid and hope the buzzing stops. If not, I know I'm looking at a new pump. Suspension refresh is definitely going to be my major project.


Other than that... no issues! Car runs great. Looks good.

[Torxuvin]

Welcome back. Looks like a fun pickup.

[Enemy]

Also, I'm looking for the following just in case one of you can help (I think I already posted a WTB here):

- Headliner, Anthracite, No Sunroof
- B pillars, Anthracite
- HK Tweeters, Front
- Black OEM Mats, carpet
- Rear windshield spoiler

[Enemy]

Welcome back. Looks like a fun pickup.

Thanks.... so far it has kept me busy every day since Friday :)

I'll be cleaning that interior for ages. I plan to take it all apart and thoroughly clean each door panel, remove the seats from car and clean as best I can, shampoo and spot stain the carpet, etc etc etc.

I saw a thread of someone complaining about the "crayon" smell. My car doesn't have that. I miss that smell :(

[echo46]

Nice

[Tnhl1989]

They only offer 4k? Really? That's odd!

[jayjay_dee]

welcome back and congrats on that steal...

i can feel how excited you are flipping that car...

[Enemy]

I'm stoked about this car. Going all in, off the bat. I want this car right by end of month.

I have some clunking going on in the front. Need to figure out where to start. It's more noticeable now with the quieter tires. The previous front tires were worn on the inside edge, and rears were bald in the center. Now I have fresh Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires all around and I can hear the noise much better.

[RITmusic2k]

Welcome back, and congratulations! Best of luck getting her all sorted!

[Torxuvin]

They only offer 4k? Really? That's odd!

Yeah. Many dealers don't give you much of anything over 100k miles. Often the cars just go to auction.



I'm stoked about this car. Going all in, off the bat. I want this car right by end of month.

I have some clunking going on in the front. Need to figure out where to start. It's more noticeable now with the quieter tires. The previous front tires were worn on the inside edge, and rears were bald in the center. Now I have fresh Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires all around and I can hear the noise much better.


Worn lower control arms or FCABS maybe? Could be throwing the alignment off? I've not heard of tires getting bald in the center unless they were way over pressure.

[Enemy]

I think rears could have been over inflated. PO didn't really keep with things like that. I also don't hear any clunking or anything from the rear, and the car actually feels fairly in control, not sloppy. Alignment was just done 2 days ago. Toe was way off.

I think I'm going to do control arms, tie rods and end links in the front for now, see what happens there. The Firestone shop (conveniently across form my office) that did my alignment and tires, told me that the shocks seem to be in good shape so I'll take their word and not worry about that off the bat.

Since I'll be doing control arms, tie rods and end links soon... should I do anything else while I'm in there? Sway bar?

[Torxuvin]

I think rears could have been over inflated. PO didn't really keep with things like that. I also don't hear any clunking or anything from the rear, and the car actually feels fairly in control, not sloppy. Alignment was just done 2 days ago. Toe was way off.

I think I'm going to do control arms, tie rods and end links in the front for now, see what happens there. The Firestone shop (conveniently across form my office) that did my alignment and tires, told me that the shocks seem to be in good shape so I'll take their word and not worry about that off the bat.

Since I'll be doing control arms, tie rods and end links soon... should I do anything else while I'm in there? Sway bar?

Do Front Control Arm Bushings come with the new arms? I can't remember... anyway you'll need another alignment after replacing those parts unfortunately. Hopefully you have a lifetime alignment there? I would see if you can get a spotter and go over some low speed bumps to find the problem. Something should be loose. Have you checked at the strut towers in the engine bay?

[Enemy]

I haven't properly checked anything yet. I will look for the obvious though probably this Saturday when I finally have some free time.

I did get a lifetime alignment by the way. I always do on my cars :)

I'm looking at something like this:
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-330i-M54_3.0L/Suspension/Refresh_Kits/Level_2_-_Front/ES205227/

AutohausAZ' price for control arms kit, tie rods, and end links is like $425 though... but doesn't have the top mounts or reinforcement like ECS does.

[fredo]

Welcome again ! You got a sweet deal on this ZHP.

[BCS_ZHP]

Enemy,
Jack up the left or right front of the car (do each side, best to check each one), grab the wheel that is off the ground at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions, try to move the wheel in & out to see if you hear that clunking sound. If you do, it's FCABs, we can change those in an hour and a half tops, in my garage, I'm just up the road from you. You can buy them at the dealer or order online, and the consensus is to stay away from the Meyle FCABs as they are failing prematurely.
Bruce

[Enemy]

Thanks Bruce. I appreciate the offer and I'll report back soon once I try that out.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[static667]

Welcome back, man. Good to see you're jumping right in.

Sent from my yet to be hacked GS3.

[danewilson77]

I think rears could have been over inflated. PO didn't really keep with things like that. I also don't hear any clunking or anything from the rear, and the car actually feels fairly in control, not sloppy. Alignment was just done 2 days ago. Toe was way off.

I think I'm going to do control arms, tie rods and end links in the front for now, see what happens there. The Firestone shop (conveniently across form my office) that did my alignment and tires, told me that the shocks seem to be in good shape so I'll take their word and not worry about that off the bat.

Since I'll be doing control arms, tie rods and end links soon... should I do anything else while I'm in there? Sway bar?

FSM's and CAB's

HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA

[UdubBadger]

nice find

[Enemy]

Did as Bruce suggested and there was a bit of play and some noise. Definitely not the same clunk I hear while driving, with little ol' me pushing and pulling the wheel, but I heard something. I can only imagine it at speed being perhaps the same clunk I am complaining about. I guess it's worth a shot to replace just those bushings and see if that does it. I also thought about the FSMs like Dane mentioned.

[BCS_ZHP]

You should get very little to no play in the front wheel when pushing 9 & 3 o'clock positions and definitely no noise. If you did hear a noise then it's probably the FCABs, $150 from the dealer and $100-125 aftermarket. I'm doing some brake jobs on Saturday morning, bring it up, we'll check it, and if that's it you can run by the dealer and buy a set. I should have time to help/teach you how to replace them that afternoon. Look my cell number up under the "Members Only" section, I'm on page 1, then send me a text so I can send you my address, actually I think that's there in the same place.

[Enemy]

For fun, some of my previous Bimmers.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/419418_10152203335155019_2039335487_n_zpsfe0a16a1. jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/408606_10152203334465019_1182155422_n_zps8f014e49. jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/photobucket-48037-1332906099720.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/548152_10152203334575019_80205485_n_zpsa98a8732.jp g

[Enemy]

Forgot one :)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Revoldo/002.jpg

[Enemy]

You should get very little to no play in the front wheel when pushing 9 & 3 o'clock positions and definitely no noise. If you did hear a noise then it's probably the FCABs, $150 from the dealer and $100-125 aftermarket. I'm doing some brake jobs on Saturday morning, bring it up, we'll check it, and if that's it you can run by the dealer and buy a set. I should have time to help/teach you how to replace them that afternoon. Look my cell number up under the "Members Only" section, I'm on page 1, then send me a text so I can send you my address, actually I think that's there in the same place.

I'll definitely contact you. I was going to take the car in to a local indy for an Inspection II that day, but I could just do that a later day. Thanks.

You guys rock, by the way. I always thought the gents over at the Bimmerforums E31 forum had to be the best bunch out there, but ZHP Mafia is just as awesome as those guys! I'm happy to be here.

I realize this is an intro thread, not in a technical section of the boards, but while we're at it, I also have what sounds like a power steering whine going on at all times. If I move the steering wheel, it quiets down and may not even be whining, but as soon as I let go of the wheel it's back. I'm thinking of a new reservoir and fluid flush. Only other thing it could be would be the pump, correct?

[johnrando]

Nice set of cars.

[Enemy]

I still wish I had them :(

[Avetiso]

Love the z.

[Enemy]

See this link for the latest on my clunky suspension:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?9788-Suspension-Front-Clunks

tl;dr version: Took it to Firestone. They think end links, I think not.

[Enemy]

Here's the link to a build thread I started.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?9803-Enemy-s-Build

[Dave_B]

Very nice! Glad to see another TiAg sedan in here.

[Enemy]

Thanks. She's coming along.

I received the roof spoiler yesterday and the club sport style splitters. Headlights and BSW speakers come in this week as well. Other than that, only stuff I'm still waiting on are tune-up/maintenance items... all filters, fluids, belts, plugs... etc.