1999 Z3 2.5 Questions

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SLGreg - 18 May 2007 01:24 GMT

Hello all,

Just bought a '99 Z3 2.5 stick last Saturday and am lovin' it. Owner's
manual shopping on eBay as we speak (have you seen the prices for
them?!!) and am sittin' in the dark here...

If you experts could be so kind as to answer a couple questions for
me, that would be great. Hope I'm not in violation of the FAQs or
anything about the group. If so, my apologies.

1. After an hour or two sitting, hot or cold, for about a minute
after start up, there is a "whirring" sound, like a blender on puree',
that lasts for about 60 seconds (same length of time, each time). The
offending unit is in the upper left hand corner of the engine bay.
What the hell is it? Is hearing it typical? A pre-heater of some sort?

2. As soon as I blast the fan blower, through the face vents, the
middle vent control's on/off/flow wheel slams itself shut.
grrrrr.....any suggestions (besides black electrical tape to hold it
open ;-) ?

Thanks guys.

- greg

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RJD - 19 May 2007 15:40 GMT

> Hello all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> - greg

Greg:

The whirring sound is the blower that sends extra air into the exhaust
to decrease the "light-off" time of the catalyst. It runs until the
system reaches the correct operating temperature. Mine runs for the
first few minutes after starting the car in the cold condition. If its
unusually loud you might have a hole in the rubber tube that goes from
the blower to the engine. It has a protective heat shield over the
tubing but with time you can get a hole in the tubing very close to the
point of connection with the engine. Run your hands over the tubing
while the blower is runing. If you feel any air rushing out of the heat
sheild you need a new rubber hose.

You AC duct needs to be replaced. Its a small part but a pain to get to.
You can go to www.realoem.com to fidn a drawing of the AC system along
with a list of parts. Its one of those things I'd let the dealer fix
just because its hard to get to and you'll usually end up breadking
another componnt trying to get to it.

Good luck

Ron

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SLGreg - 19 May 2007 18:00 GMT

>The whirring sound is the blower that sends extra air into the exhaust
>to decrease the "light-off" time of the catalyst. It runs until the
>system reaches the correct operating temperature. Mine runs for the
>first few minutes after starting the car in the cold condition.

Thanks, Ron. I suspect the blower motor might need a lube. I will
check the tube, also. Thank you for the education/explanation and for
setting my mind at ease ;-)

>You AC duct needs to be replaced.

Actually...I invented a great fix for it last night. Std. black
electrical tape, folded onto itself in about 2" strips. Take tweezers
and gently slide them in with on either side of the air-duct wheel
itself (think of the strips as washers). Mine took three. You barely
see them.

It tightened my center air-duct flow-wheel right up and now it easily
stays put in the on position with the blower on high.

Thought I'd pass this quick fix on to anyone else having similar
probs.

Thanks again, Ron.

- greg

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Tom K. - 25 May 2007 21:49 GMT

> Hello all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> grrrrr.....any suggestions (besides black electrical tape to hold it
> open ;-) ?

IIRC, the same thing would happen on my '97 Z3 2.8 - but only at full fan
speed. My solution was to gradually increase the fan speed until the vent
closed, then back off a tad to keep it open. Of course, most of the time,
the top was down and the heat/AC was either off or blowing warm air thru the
heater vents. Enjoy your Z!

Tom K.

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Oscar@nowhere.com - 26 May 2007 08:52 GMT

>> Hello all,
>>
>> Just bought a '99 Z3 2.5 stick last Saturday and am lovin' it. Owner's
>> manual shopping on eBay as we speak (have you seen the prices for
>> them?!!) and am sittin' in the dark here...

Do BMW actually do "OWNER's MANUALS"?

>> 2. As soon as I blast the fan blower, through the face vents, the
>> middle vent control's on/off/flow wheel slams itself shut.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>Tom K.

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