Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

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zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Hi

My Z3 failed its MOT on the front left lower ball joint excessive play.

I want to change all the lower links, drop links, bushes etc anyway, and can get the parts with no issue.

However, the little brackets that connect the bottom of the stabi bar drop links to the lower wishbone do not come with any of the kits.

Other than paying £28 each from BMW, does anyone know where to get them from?
Potentially Part No. 31351127263.

Many thanks
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colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by colb »

Search on Ebay using the part number brought these back
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-E ... SwWxNYuUh9
£9.05 + £3 postage all the way from Latvia.

Also http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-E ... 2197539132
Cheaper but probable same seller in Latvia £4.39 + £3 post

Is this what your after?
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Hi

Yeah - that's exactly what I am after...but I should have added that I want them sameday/next day.

Just spoke to my local BMW dealer (Stephen James in North London) and they are only £7.10 each plus VAT!
So, I shall get some genuine bits. The only problem is, if you do not have an account you have to walk in, pay, then return to collect when the parts arrive - you cannot pre-order over the phone!
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colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by colb »

Best bet then from BMW, I normally pop in the stealer armed with the part number order and pay for it and the parts are usually in next day, if your early they sometimes arrive same day.
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Cheers

I live in London, work near Miltin Keynes. The BMW dealer theee was happy to get the parts in, I will collect and pay tomorrow.

I managed to fit the lower wishbones and rear bushes today after work. It would have taken less than 2 hours were it not for the left hand inner bush fixing nut refusing to budge, so i has to split the nut with a home made pad saw (hacksaw blade gaffer taped to a piece of wood) to split it; which took ages as there are ps pipes and hoses and no space at all!
I just cut the lower ball joints and stabi fizings with an 0.9mm cutting disc; there was no way they'd come off!

I got the wishbone set from here...
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/322347985871?NAV=HOME

It says O.E parts, I can't vouch for that, but they look pretty much exactly the same as the parts I removed, except far less rusty!
mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by mrscalex »

zgeekster wrote:Hi

Yeah - that's exactly what I am after...but I should have added that I want them sameday/next day.

Just spoke to my local BMW dealer (Stephen James in North London) and they are only £7.10 each plus VAT!
So, I shall get some genuine bits. The only problem is, if you do not have an account you have to walk in, pay, then return to collect when the parts arrive - you cannot pre-order over the phone!
I think there must have been a recent price reduction. Last year when I needed some I was was quoted £40 each from 2 separate dealers!

I'm not saying your wishbone set isn't any good (it might be brilliant). But I will stick my neck out and say I doubt very much it is OEM, especially as it's made in Turkey.
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Made in Turkey - by a company called 'Wonga'! (I thought Wonga was just a morally suspect payday loan company)

I work in R+D in the car industry for a Japanese manufacturer, we do have parts supplied from Turkey, but generally it will be a larger OEM such as Bosch, TRW, or harness suppliers who have a plant there due to the cheap labour rates.
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Argh

The brackets I got from BMW are rears, not fronts and they won't take them back as they are such low cost! They are shockingly poor quality too, the weld studs are off-center, the sides aren't parallel, and the bending radii vary!

They are thinner material than the fronts, and the weld stud is shorter, so I cannot use them.

Front ones are nearly £30 each.

This evening I shall mostly be making Sway Arm brackets, in my shed.... :roll:
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Brian H
Joined: Tue 16 Dec, 2008 19:55
Posts: 2505

  Z3 roadster 3.0i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by Brian H »

zgeekster wrote:Argh

The brackets I got from BMW are rears, not fronts and they won't take them back as they are such low cost! They are shockingly poor quality too, the weld studs are off-center, the sides aren't parallel, and the bending radii vary!

They are thinner material than the fronts, and the weld stud is shorter, so I cannot use them.

Front ones are nearly £30 each.

This evening I shall mostly be making Sway Arm brackets, in my shed.... :roll:
Believe it or not, the rears are designed the way you describe, not poor quality.
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Oh, ok, but the weld studs are off centre rather randomly!

This evening I made my own, sprayed in gloss black and fitted. I made them from 25 x 3 mm steel, and bolt through the bottom into the wishbone. They look rather neat!

The emissions concern worries me... I fixed the blowing exhaust which was after all the sensors and now there are no leaks at all. I was going to return for a retest tomorrow so I can use it this weekend, but I thought I'd check if I can see the O2 sensor readings... I can.

Front sensor is nice and happy reading about 0.45v and varying.
Rear sensor; 0v. All the time.
No DTCs logged.
I suspect that this is the true cause of the failed emissions .
I guess i need to have a fiddle with it!
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BladeRunner919
Joined: Fri 17 Feb, 2012 20:18
Posts: 2225

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by BladeRunner919 »

Does the car definitely have a rear sensor? Many UK cars only have a sensor before the cat (my '98 Z3 and my 2000 Subaru Legacy only have one). Remember, the post-cat sensor is there purely to monitor wheter the cat is functioning correctly by ensuring that post-cat emissions are within tolerance. The pre-cat sensor is the one that the ecu uses to ensure that fuelling is correct.
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Hi

Yep - its definitely got a post cat sensor (its a 2001 1.9 8v), and the harness has rubbed and seems to be bit damaged.

I have ordered a new one from Eurocarparts - they have a massive sale on line this weekend - up to 60% off.
I will fit the new one tomorrow morning and monitor.

I could possibly sneak the car back for a sniffer test this afternoon, as fixing the leak may well have fixed the issue, but I doubt it.
gookah
Z Register member
Joined: Thu 07 Aug, 2008 09:51
Posts: 2737

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by gookah »

zgeekster wrote:I have ordered a new one from Eurocarparts - they have a massive sale on line this weekend - up to 60% off.
I will fit the new one tomorrow morning and monitor..
unlike the one they will have next week or last week,,.... Does anyone ever buy from Eurocarparts in the week?
same with their sister company Car Parts 4 Less, only they are usually cheaper to begin with so therefore only need a weekend sale of 13% (every weekend)
all they do is bump the price up to a ridiculous amount in one store for a month so they can call it a sale and get around the rules.
Its MFI all over again


Edit: just looked on both sites for rear calipers

Eurocarparts.............. £166 each, less massive 60% = £99
Car Parts 4 Less......... £113 each less 'only' 13% = £98

So eurcocarparts sale is certainly massive..... ! it needs to be.. Don't be suckered by 'sales' to get to prices that are actually their true prices, and whatever you do, dont buy during the week
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I have an element of 'M-styling' on my car, If that's a good enough reason for the manufacturers to adorn a 320 with the M badge, then its certainly a good enough reason for me..
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

I get your point, certainly...

I was going to order parts off ebay, but have to wait until next week to receive. The service EuroCarParts offered was what drew me in, I can get the part this afternoon for £40.

Plus - a similar company - GSF, were wanting £110 for the same part, same as my local independent motor spares supplier.

Seemed like a good deal to me!
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Ah ha.... after all that it was just the leak AFTER the second O2 sensor that caused it.

I took it back to be sniffed after i had sealed the joint and it was all fine.

I still don't get why the O2 sensor after the cat is always reading 0v?

Another year's motoring lies ahead!
therealdb1
Joined: Tue 25 Jun, 2013 21:47
Posts: 263

  Z3 roadster 2.0

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by therealdb1 »

The post-cat sensor is probably reading near to zero because after the cat there is no oxygen to measure?
The pre-cat sensor is obviously working and setting the fuelling correctly.
Alternatively the post-cat sensor may be faulty but since it does not affect the mixture it doesn't matter anyway. As Bladerunner says many cars do not even have a post-cat sensor fitted!
As a matter of interest what lambda value did the emissions test give?
zgeekster
Joined: Wed 19 Apr, 2017 07:25
Posts: 21

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Z3 Front Stabi Drop Link Lower Brackets

Post by zgeekster »

Hi

Yeah, thats what the MOT chap said, it only there for when it goes monsterously wrong and will throw a DTC with MIL on.

Lambda reading was 1.017 when it was Ok, 1.070 when it failed.
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