Z3 Seat Motors and Gas Struts

[Wallas]

Good day all

I'm new on the forum, but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I have a 1999 BMW Z3 2.8i, which I thoroughly enjoy. With that said, it has some issues that I'd like to sort out:

1. The seat motors on both sides are dead. I checked that the switches work, and there's power coming through, but I need new motors. I checked with Bemow Spares, but they don't have anything right now. Any idea where I might be able to source motors?

2. The gas struts in the boot lid are quite floppy, and I'd love to replace them. However, they seem to be a bespoke size and Midas can't supply a generic. My local BMW dealer doesn't seem too interested in assisting either. Any ideas?

3. The reception of the radio is really not great. I've checked that the antenna lead is plugged in properly at the back; and I've also checked it at the antenna itself. All seems okay, but still terrible reception. Any suggestions?

4. Finally, the dash upholstery seems to have come undone in front of both the instrument binnacle and the passenger airbag (see pic). Is this something I can tackle myself, or can you recommend someone who works with this type of thing to help?

I'm in Northcliff, Johannesburg, but happy to take the car anywhere in Gauteng for help.

 

[Peter@AEW]

1. The seat motors on both sides are dead. I checked that the switches work, and there's power coming through, but I need new motors. I checked with Bemow Spares, but they don't have anything right now. Any idea where I might be able to source motors?

It is possible that the seats have been "jammed" in one position.
The seat is a combination of geared rails as well as wire and electric motor.
The motor turns a set of gears which have a wire with a spiral on it.
Sometimes they get stuck.

2. The gas struts in the boot lid are quite floppy, and I'd love to replace them. However, they seem to be a bespoke size and Midas can't supply a generic. My local BMW dealer doesn't seem too interested in assisting either. Any ideas?
Give Theo a call at Fourways BMW tell him I referred you 0113671600

3. The reception of the radio is really not great. I've checked that the antenna lead is plugged in properly at the back; and I've also checked it at the antenna itself. All seems okay, but still terrible reception. Any suggestions?
The antenna is powered and has an amplifier at its base so check for corrosion,

4. Finally, the dash upholstery seems to have come undone in front of both the instrument binnacle and the passenger airbag (see pic). Is this something I can tackle myself, or can you recommend someone who works with this type of thing to help?

Speak to Yusuf at Seat Covers tell him I referred you 0614181431
You may need to try him a few times however his company is worth the wait.

Welcome to the BMW fold

 

[Wallas]

Excellent! Many many thanks for the detailed reply. I will start following up ASAP - can't wait to get the Z3 back in pristine condition. I'll post updates...

 

[Wallas]

Good afternoon, on the eve of the national lockdown. I promised I'd give feedback once I'd made progress, so here goes:

Peter's advise was fantastic, and I immediately made contact with Yusuf. He is very professional, and was able to make my repairs without any problems. Once he explained that he needed to replace the leather on the instrument cluster, I requested that we do the dash in "BMW red" as a custom job - the additional cost was negligible.

Once the dash was done, Yusuf suggested that I consider doing the centre parts of the seats, as well as the door panels, in the same colour. We bargained a bit about the cost, since this was getting a bit steep to my taste, but in the end I feel it was worth the money.

Overall the job looks OEM, and I've already had one fellow Z3 owner ask me about it - referred him to Yusuf as before...

In terms of the struts for the boot, I never managed to get hold of the guy that Peter recommended. He still works at the dealership, but in maybe 12 calls, he was always busy. I was planning on getting hold of him once the interior was done, but in the mean time I came across a lady by the name of Nola on Facebook. Her and her husband make gas struts to order, and they can do just about any size and length you can imagine. They also have a massive data base with all the pressures for the various struts, and they made a pair of struts for my Z3 boot in a couple of hours.

They not only charged me only R250 per strut, but delivered them to my home free of additional charges. If you are struggling to find gas struts, I highly highly recommend them:

Nola Howard (Custom gas struts):
0640722007

They are based on the East Rand of Joburg, but send struts all over the country.

As things stand, my Z3 is now in excellent shape. Next items on my to-do list:

1. Sort out the reception of the radio
2. Have the car serviced and thoroughly checked, as I didn't get a FSH when I purchased the car
3. Possibly have someone breathe on the engine just a bit, in order to get some more response lower in the rev range

Other than that, I'm a pretty happy camper!

 

[JuanP]

Good afternoon Wallas, I have a similar problem with boot struts on my Z3 and looking at replacing it . Have done aftermarket struts before on one of my other Bm's (E39 5 series) and had to remove it later and replaced by Original BMW parts as aftermarket struts were too stiff and would eventually damage boot hinges . Those struts you fiitted, are you still happy with it ? ....if so, I would also like to give Nola a call.

Have just recently bought my Z3 and also in process of going through it. Just finished work on the wife's X5 and next to go onto the lift
will be the Z3 ........so soon as the weather picks up ....hate cold garage floors !