1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for MOT

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 11:21

As per subject looking for an exhaust to get my Z3 through the MOT.

Don't really care what make etc as long as it's going to get the car through the MOT and is priced accordingly. Although to be honest I don't really want one of these £100 brand new Ebay jobs.

Can pick up anywhere within a 1 hour radius of Swindon or Swansea or anywhere in between down the M4 corridor.

Thanks!

jonzee · Post by **jonzee** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 14:23

Guy on ebay goes by the username fleabagmonkeyface he is based in Marlborough and breaks loads of z3s, his mobile is listed on his ads.
I have bought quite a lot of kit from him and its all been spot on.
Give him a bell he is bound to have what you want.
Simon

Del · Post by **Del** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 15:54

May be a challenge to find a decent OE used one (I have seen one or two over the years) as the Z3 (M44 engine) ceased around 1999. The difficulty with the inexpensive ebay ones is that they do not have a flattened section where it passes under the rear subframe, and so the exhaust can bang against the subframe.

Personally for other cars, I have found that GSF sell good quality aftermarket exhausts - they use a firm called Bosal which supplies a lot of OE parts in the car industry. For the M44 rear they want £235 whereas a custom stainless one costs around £350 +

BladeRunner919 · Post by **BladeRunner919** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 16:14

Del wrote: The difficulty with the inexpensive ebay ones is that they do not have a flattened section where it passes under the rear subframe, and so the exhaust can bang against the subframe.

However, that is very easily rectified with a blowtorch and a hammer, so shouldn't be a deal-breaker.

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 19:54

I'm going to leave the fitting to the garage precisely in case it puts up a fight although I still so want to give them something they don't have any hassle with otherwise the labour will go up.

So that's why I want to avoid the cheapo new stuff on EBay.

I don't expect to get an OEM unit off a 16 year old car (I'm not sure I'd want one that old) so I'm looking for a recent ish mid range Bosal type I suppose.

Just need to find a good un. Any tips for testing it in any way like if it should make a certain sound when tapped?

Btw I know I'm being tight but it needs various other non MOT work and budget is tight.

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Thu 23 Apr, 2015 22:38

jonzee wrote:Guy on ebay goes by the username fleabagmonkeyface he is based in Marlborough and breaks loads of z3s, his mobile is listed on his ads.
I have bought quite a lot of kit from him and its all been spot on.
Give him a bell he is bound to have what you want.
Simon

Thanks. Am in touch with him and hopeful.

MarkAP68 · Post by **MarkAP68** » Sat 25 Apr, 2015 12:17

I bought a brand new one from ebay in germany recently (£47, delivered in 3 days), it fits perfectly although not as quiet as a genuine one it sounds better than the blowing one I took off

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Sat 25 Apr, 2015 21:38

MarkAP68 wrote:I bought a brand new one from ebay in germany recently (£47, delivered in 3 days), it fits perfectly although not as quiet as a genuine one it sounds better than the blowing one I took off

I can't find a second-hand one so I was going to take a punt on a cheapie off Ebay as there is some good feedback for at least one of the sellers.

Could you left me know the seller please? Thanks.

Rob56 · Post by **Rob56** » Tue 28 Apr, 2015 21:41

Might also be interested in one of these if someone finds a decent place to get hold of them, mine scraped the MOT the other day but there's no way it'll go through in 12 months time and I'd rather pre-empt and get it sorted sooner rather than later!

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Wed 29 Apr, 2015 18:23

Rob56 wrote:Might also be interested in one of these if someone finds a decent place to get hold of them, mine scraped the MOT the other day but there's no way it'll go through in 12 months time and I'd rather pre-empt and get it sorted sooner rather than later!

I've ordered mine from the same Ebay seller as MarkAP68 who kindly advised me. He was happy with his.

It sounds like a good option for the budget constrained amongst us. MarkAP68 advised it was a good fit (which is half the battle) even if it was a little more noisy.

I'll post back how it goes. It should arrive and be fitted by end of next week.

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Fri 08 May, 2015 21:27

The budget exhaust (£45.46 with postage) was fitted today. I let the garage do it just in case I had problems.

They said it fitted easily although when I asked them if it had a flattened section for the subframe they said no and that they had to heat it up with a torch and bend it.

It is a bit noisy but it's a pleasant enough noisy if that makes sense, ie it sounds a bit throaty.

With fitting being a shade under £60 I've fixed it for £105 total. Worth a punt if you're on a tight budget compared with £250-£350 at your local exhaust centre.

And it got the car through the MOT which is the main thing

The ebay seller is only-exhaust. It shows a UK address but comes from Poland in under a week. Packaging not the greatest but it did the job.

MarkAP68 · Post by **MarkAP68** » Sat 09 May, 2015 09:58

Shame you couldn't have done it yourself to save a few more quid....I must have been lucky as mine cleared the subframe easily

gookah · Post by **gookah** » Sat 09 May, 2015 15:37

photo's are compulsory....you do realise

Rob56 · Post by **Rob56** » Tue 19 May, 2015 13:04

Incase anyone is interested - Here's mine from the same seller - Decent bit of kit, but definitely louder than the original that I removed.
Had zero problems fitting, there was a flattened section to clear the subframe all for £45- I had x10 more problems with my replacement cat pipe from Eurocarparts than I had with the exhaust fitting

MarkAP68 · Post by **MarkAP68** » Tue 19 May, 2015 17:00

Mine is the same and it had the flattened section too so was a doddle to fit....I got my cat off ebay, this was a lot easier to fit than the existing one I took off due to the top nuts from the down pipe to cat were impossible to get to on the existing one...the new one has a different shaped pipe so nuts are easier to fit

mrscalex · Post by **mrscalex** » Wed 20 May, 2015 19:55

As the other 2 of you who have bought from this seller say you had the flattened section for the subframe I suspect mine was no different and the workshop manager was mistaken when I asked him and he said no. He usually follows each job quite closely but might have been mistaken here.

I never took it out of the box before handing it to him to check myself.

zroadster.net

1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for MOT

1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for MOT

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Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for

Re: 1.9 M44 1998 rear exhaust section required urgently for