zroadster.net

by **aceman** » Sun 18 Apr, 2010 21:56

Hi All,

I have noticed a few people on here recently have been tackling the common problem of worn seat bushes on the Z3 which causes the seat to rock backward and forward under braking and acceleration. Having looked into this and what is required to rectify the problem I have manufactured some seat bushes which can be installed in the seat mechanism to eradicate this common problem.

I am offering these for sale for £10 plus £2 P&P for a complete set (8 bushes). This is about a 3rd of the price of others for sale elsewhere on the net. If you require a set please PM me with your details and I will be in touch with payment details.

International orders are welcome please add £4 P&P hence total cost of £14.

Fitting instructions are available on the Internet including videos on YouTube;

Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM4KSnA58EI
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxrPelM9G0
Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fdDHzykwOo

Many thanks to earthwormjim for posting a very good "how to" on fitting these bushes. Here is the link;

http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30402&highlight=

Just an update to say preferred payment is through PAYPAL for your own protection and peace of mind. Cheques are also accepted but you will have to allow for them to clear before I post the bushes, please email or PM for details.

Click the link below for Paypal payment;

Paypal ordering

Anyone wishing to contact me directly then please email me on;

ian.grayson@blueyonder.co.uk

by **shantybeater** » Mon 19 Apr, 2010 07:14

Great idea mate, what material did you use?

Just a suggestion but you may want to trial fit these and test their durability. I say this because it's a 4 hour+ job for a reasonably capable individual to complete and I'd be more than slightly peeved if they started packing up a few months later, it's certainly not a job I'd want to repeat in a hurry

by **aceman** » Mon 19 Apr, 2010 07:17

They are made out of nylon sheet similar to the whalen ones and one of the members on this site has fitted them successfully this weekend without problems.

by **shantybeater** » Mon 19 Apr, 2010 07:21

Ok cool I was thinking more longer term like a few months to see if they hold up, I'm sure they will though

You may want to advertise on z3mcoupe as well, there are bound to be others interested

by **Robin** » Mon 19 Apr, 2010 08:29

This would be a useful thread to go in Zed knowledgable as sticky.

by **aceman** » Mon 19 Apr, 2010 12:16

Replies sent to those that have PM'd me.

by **indizee** » Tue 20 Apr, 2010 07:54

HI, I'll be ordering a set very shortly, I already have a PM thread with you.

Just watching the first video, could you give a small procedure as to what to disconnect, including the battery so I and others can avoid the Airbag Warning light issue that is mentioned. i.e does disconnecting the battery as step 1 avoid this issue, but what issues might arise by disconnecting the battery to other systems within the car?

by **johnz3** » Tue 20 Apr, 2010 18:22

Hi,

Did this on Sunday and did not disconnect the battery. The instructions from Doug Whalen only said to put some masking tape over the ignition so as to not put the key in and attempt to turn on the ignition.

by **aceman** » Tue 20 Apr, 2010 19:11

Disconnecting the battery is always advisable when working with anything electrical in the car. If you do disconnect the battery the only thing I can think of which will be effected is the radio depending on which one you have installed and will probably loose its settings needing the security code inputting when powered back up so make sure you have the code before starting.

by **indizee** » Fri 23 Apr, 2010 18:43

Johnz3, I guess you didnt get an airbag warning ligth after you fitted the bushes with the battery still connected?

by **johnz3** » Fri 23 Apr, 2010 19:20

Hi,

No airbag light came on.

With the drivers side I taped over the ingnition and put the cars keys out of the way - No light

With the passenger side I just kept the keys out of the way - again no light

Hope that helps

by **indizee** » Sat 24 Apr, 2010 09:44

Thanks Johnz3, just about to do mine today, nice weather, sunny etc.

by **beemz** » Sat 24 Apr, 2010 16:55

indizee wrote:Thanks Johnz3, just about to do mine today, nice weather, sunny etc.

Let us know how you get on please, particularly with the airbag light. I picked mine up from aceman this morning and will be fitting shortly. Nice fella he is and all. Also a very nice Zed he has, was a pleasure to meet.

by **aceman** » Sun 25 Apr, 2010 21:36

Thanks Beemz nice to meet you too, you'll be on the lookout for a hardtop later this year then :wink:

To all those that have enquired there are still plenty of these available and another batch will be posted out tomorrow for all those that have paid.

Many thanks,

by **henrycrun** » Mon 26 Apr, 2010 06:43

Another reason for playing safe by disconnecting the battery, is to avoid the pyrotechnic seatbelt tensioners detonating.
OK, I know it shouldn't happen, but if it did, you would't want to have your head down there....

As you know, even the seat motors are still live with the key out

by **johnjo** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 10:17

PM sent Aceman :lol:

by **indizee** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 10:43

Fitted my seat bushes at the weekend, took 1 hour for the first seat(including tea and sandwiches), and 25 mins for the second seat (I'm a dab hand with a bench sander). Once you've done one, its easy and quick to do the second. I made mine a really tight fit when placing the bushes between the metal threaded block. Bit fiddly getting the rails back in after bushes have been fitted, but it's just a case of lining up the rails to the marks (That you should make before dis-assembly) so they fit in the exact place before putting the seat back in the car.
I didn't disconnect the battery, just put the keys in my pocket and remembered not to switch the ignition on. No airbag lights.

The you tube videos are good, bit long winded, it's easier than it looks.

All in all, job worth doing. If anyone needs help and lives close by, I'll be glad to help.

by **OXO** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 10:43

aceman wrote:They are made out of nylon sheet similar to the whalen ones and one of the members on this site has fitted them successfully this weekend without problems.

What are the OEM ones made from?

by **indizee** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 10:45

Rubber, and mine were completely disintegrated.

by **aceman** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 12:42

Indizee glad to hear you got them fitted OK. Your experiance is very similar to most me included, the job is easier than anticipated especially after doing the first one.

Still plenty more of these available to anyone considering tackling this job.

by **maxman** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 20:16

Thanks for the super quick posting ,mine arrived today.

by **aceman** » Tue 27 Apr, 2010 20:23

All part of the service

by **Mr B** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 06:53

mine also arrived PDQ and have already been fitted, much easier than the video shows to be honest, they make a simple job look complicated!

my tips
- i used a piece of 3x2 timber as a template and marked the position of the hole for the large screw and the edges of the 'block' and simply mde sure it matched up when replacing it! just be careful when withdrawing the shaft from the seat runner not to 'turn' the shaft.

- also make sure you apply the plastic spacers evenly - which makes me wonder why they cant be supplied as a ready made replacement - as the threaded block needs to be central in its 'holder' and its a pre determined size, is there a reason why the new spacers cant be supplied to the correct size thickness?

oh, and i didnt disconnect the battery - seats operate wthout the ignition being on (i dont consider unplugging a couple of connections to be 'working on the cars electrical system', on the basis that i wouldnt disconnect the battery to fit a new bulb also if you disconnect the battery how do you move the seats backwards and forwards to gain access to remove them?) and didnt put any tape over the ignition barrel - i just put the keys where no-one would mess with them or attempt to put them in the ignition, result - no airbag light!

by **aceman** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 08:31

The problem with supplying the bushes at any given thicknes is every car will have different varying states of ware hence you need to adjust the bushes thickness by sanding them down to suit your particular cars seat ware. Unfortunatly there is no easy way round this but to sand them down evenly.

by **Mr B** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 12:38

hi aceman

i am not sure that i agree with you? the shims go into a metal holder which is a stock size, the threaded block is a stock size, its only the crappy rubber bush that disintegrates and you replace that in its entirety. so you then just need to replace the crappy rubber bush, the other two items remain at the size they were manufactured to surely. or am i missing something?

by **aceman** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 15:22

You are quite right in that it is the rubber bush that perishes and shrinks in size that causes the problem and the nylon bushes in effect are packing them back out to minimise the play but this is by far a cheaper solution than going to BMW for the bushes to be replaced in their entirity. It has taken at least 10 years for the bushes to reach this stage in their life so it is likely to be another 10 years before this job will need readdressing again.

by **Mr B** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 15:35

Just to be clear - I am NOT being critical, i bought the bushes from you and am more then happy, it does fix the issue and is a very cheap method to do so!!

i was hopefully trying to suggest an improvement - but to be honest i am sure most people are more than happy to sand them down to fit, i just thought it would be easier if they came ready sized as the size would be the same for every repair, rather than needing to 'sand' them dow to the required thickness !

again, just to be clear - i am PERFECTLY happy with the bushes, and would recommend them to anyone looking for a simple and easy fix

by **Mr B** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 15:37

Just to be clear - I am NOT being critical, i bought the bushes from you and am more then happy, it does fix the issue and is a very cheap method to do so!!

i was hopefully trying to suggest an improvement - but to be honest i am sure most people are more than happy to sand them down to fit, i just thought it would be easier if they came ready sized as the size would be the same for every repair, rather than needing to 'sand' them dow to the required thickness !

again, just to be clear - i am PERFECTLY happy with the bushes, and would recommend them to anyone looking for a simple and easy fix

by **aceman** » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 18:36

Thanks I do appreciate all constructive critisism and appreciate the comments.

The only other thing I would mention which I was trying explain is that every seat fix will be different with varying levels of wear to the original rubber bush hence the need to sand them down to fit each individual application as some are worse than others and visa versa.

by **aceman** » Mon 03 May, 2010 21:19

I have had several enquires from international members so I have added a line to the first post to say that I will post to other countries for a small additional charge.

More bushes in stock so plenty to go around, I will be taking some to Newby Hall at the weekend so if anybody attending wants a set they can save on the postage.

by **soma** » Tue 04 May, 2010 00:14

Aceman you have a pm

by **aceman** » Tue 04 May, 2010 06:25

Reply sent earlier

by **Muzz** » Fri 07 May, 2010 20:33

Dude you have PM 8-)

by **dennisedlin** » Sun 09 May, 2010 11:27

Big thanks to aceman. I took the plunge and sorted out my drivers seat this morning. Took about 90 minutes following the many guides posted. The seat is now wobble free

by **aceman** » Sun 09 May, 2010 17:51

Glad you got it sorted, another satisfied customer

Many thanks

by **OXO** » Sun 09 May, 2010 20:13

aceman wrote:I have had several enquires from international members so I have added a line to the first post to say that I will post to other countries for a small additional charge.

More bushes in stock so plenty to go around, I will be taking some to Newby Hall at the weekend so if anybody attending wants a set they can save on the postage.

Yes, he sent a set to me here in France.. Thanks mate !

by **aceman** » Sun 09 May, 2010 21:08

Thanks for letting me know you got them ok.

Cheers,

by **Muzz** » Wed 12 May, 2010 09:26

Thanks Aceman recieved bushes now just got to find some nice weather so I can fit.
Dave

by **Muzz** » Sat 15 May, 2010 19:13

Job done took about 2hrs no airbag light :wink:

lucky enough only had to do drivers side.

by **aceman** » Sat 15 May, 2010 21:23

Job well done

by **groove65** » Sun 16 May, 2010 11:08

Did mine - easy job to be honest.

i think they will inevitably wear down again over time but should be good for a few years.

forgot to plug in one sensor tho before i switched on ignition so got the airbag light. :head:

local indie cleared it for me for £20

by **msassoon** » Sun 16 May, 2010 12:39

Thanks for these, fitted them in an hour and the seat is wobble free. Only needed two for the driver's side, but will store the rest in case :wink:

by **soma** » Fri 21 May, 2010 05:38

thanks Aceman...got mine in the mail last week....no more slippin n sliddin :drive

by **aceman** » Fri 21 May, 2010 17:38

soma wrote:thanks Aceman...got mine in the mail last week....no more slippin n sliddin

Great news feels so much better doesn't it.

Still plenty more of these if anyone is interested.

by **aceman** » Tue 08 Jun, 2010 18:36

Just a little bump to let people know these are still available if anyone wants a set.

by **aceman** » Wed 23 Jun, 2010 12:21

Few more people are enquiring about these so just to let you all know there are still plenty of sets available if anyone needs any.

by **alanj4353** » Wed 23 Jun, 2010 13:56

Just to let every one no my bushes have bin on my car for months now no moving at all best £10 ever and only tuck 1hour 20 mins to do both seats 8-)

by **VikingSven** » Sun 11 Jul, 2010 17:54

Do you have any of these left?

by **aceman** » Sun 11 Jul, 2010 17:56

Yes just I will PM you with details.

by **simon-g** » Sun 11 Jul, 2010 20:36

I would like a set too please if you have some left.

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