16- Z3 Replacing the Seatbelt Clip Pt2

The question here is; do I cut the plates to get them around the hub?

07.05.22 After much deliberation and review of finances and debating my needs for using a car; without stressing my back out any more than it has to, I had decided to allow a local mechanic with a typical purpose equipped garage, also with a hydraulic lift; to do the job for me. Crawling on a mucky, damp ground or floor, just doesn't appeal to me at this time of year, especially after stripping the wheel down to correct the job once before, without success. I have made the commitment and the mobile mechanic will collect the Z3 and I am assuming he will also drop it back to me. As mechanics go, he has done some previous work for me in the past on various cars and he has proven to usually get the job done, reasonably priced, with at least 30+ years of experience to-boot. However, I did enquire around to other garages for prices and he had proven to be my best alternative; after varied quotes. So back to who I know, 'the proof of the pudding' so-to-speak and who will do the job to a satisfactory standard? (I do take each case at a time concerning my reviews, especially when other people work on my vehicles). So booked in for next Thursday morning, after the school rush, (12th May 2022). The car will only be used once or twice within this period on short journeys. I will be supplying the new back plates, shoe pins and springs. Price quoted, to do the job around the £45 per side, this was a good quote... So we shall see, concerning any additional costs that maybe added...it is never straight forward as one thinks on the day. (I will update the details after the job has been completed to add to my review). The list of outstanding jobs is still high, this one, unfortunately has not helped to diminish them.

12.05.22 Where do the days go? The time has come, the general unnecessary items have been extracted from the car, i.e. tools and personal belongings and the Z3 is ready for being picked up by the local mechanic, today... does anyone else feel the anxiety before they send their pride and joy to a garage?

Well worth the anxiety it seems, my local mechanic could not do the job, kept the car for half a day, before returning it, one can only presume he has never done this particular job before, or it was not as straight forward as many with experience would conclude, so this was weird, or he had a more pressing job and it may have been more worthwhile to him from a time point of view...either way this was just speculation, so it looks like I may have to look around for someone else to do the job. Since the car was back early; I decided to carry out a few errands, it has proven to be sounding out more from when I had worked on it.

Going off script a little, I don't have the equipment to do the job properly or immediate family members to help anymore, it may be down to the age old scenario, they are always available for others and the family take the back seat as a distant memory or it is whether it is more beneficial to them or not. So much for the moral upbringing, many have tried.... This seems to be the culture nowadays and I believe I have been 'cancelled' by them, (another fad that is going around at present) or I have only just come to terms with the concept, of all things, really! I don't live with them and haven't done so for many years and it has been for good reason, like this one. I know I have nothing to be ashamed of, on my side at least, however we can all say that based on our own perspectives can't we.... I am still in the dark, as to why and what 'spider's web truths have been spun' and are circulating, with very little communication over the past twelve months, one is reluctant to even think about it. I can only put it down to; opportunist delusional party or parties leading the, 'soap opera culture,' whilst they are looking down at their mobiles of Facebook and Twitter. They are near enough 'millennials,' they seem to be leaning towards the far left, so from what we have seen via the media, we can guess what that could indicate? We only have to look at politicians in the USA and UK, media and the behaviour of the bureaucrats to mention just the tip of the iceberg. Well that is just an odd thought that crosses one's mind daily. So what can I say? My other family members are of further a field and live out towards at least two corners of the UK, they also have their complex lives to work out as, we all do. Travel could also be expensive as to today's cost of living has skyrocketed too, this makes visiting a once in a blue moon decision! This is life...; for me at least. One consolation though; and to move back to script or topic... I did ask the 'mechanic' how much I owed him for the trouble of looking at least, he did suggest to me to forget it, I did ask him again to just make sure, as I didn't want him to be out of pocket; and he returned the same answer, so at least he is 'old school' and it is this type of culture I do appreciate, as it makes life so much easier and gives faith in humanity, 'one also knows where one stands'. Perhaps a lesson in life for us all to appreciate?

As mentioned, the car was returned back reasonably early, an opportunity to complete a few errands; during my excursions, I did notice steam coming out from under the bonnet/hood and ended up having to stop to investigate. The top radiator hose had come off, (So, the zip tie had not worked, who would have thought! ;)). That was down to me dropping the original hose clip down into the bowls of the engine compartment during my other 'pooped' project of refitting a replacement AC fan, with the hose clip hidden somewhere, never to be seen again. I looked high and low at the time, hence the zip-tie.. on top of that, today, the fuel was also very low, and the car was running on fumes. I had only noticed this when the warning light had come on, it was a 'hold one's breath situation', you know the one! I had only topped it up a couple of days before too! (The cost of fuel is ridiculous). The petrol garage I'd pulled into had closed down temporarily due to a software glitch at all of the pumps ? And customers were having to wait a good 10-20 minutes, (why no one had, had the courtesy to tell those of us waiting whilst they were having problems on the forecourt is your guess!). I didn't wait after 10 minutes, I did manage to get to 'another' garage via a song and a prayer, topped up with some relief, petrol as well... they didn't stock what would be classed as essentials such as radiator hoses, clips etc. only mobile phone accessories.. again, really? I ended up going to a local car parts retailer to get some adjustable hose clips and then proceeded to fit one. As the problem was with the top hose it was a quick repair. The radiator had enough water in it, just! To get me back home. I was also close to home, this was a bonus. On parking up; and after inspection back at my garage there was no noticeable lasting damage to the cooling system from what I could see and I was ready to top-up the radiator; however it was still a little too hot and cold water could crack the head. A couple of cannisters with water in them, placed in front of the car; would be a good reminder for me to top-up when the radiator had cooled down and for when I went out again. Friday 13th was the following day, (Yes I Know....) by this time I was ready to see what else was going to land on me.... and yes, all this seemed to be another period of hit and miss and I was well overdue for some more, considering the non eventful period I had, had. Did I mention I had received a speeding ticket just a couple of miles over the speed limit, recently?

13.05.22 With water now topped up, (the reminder worked!) I had also asked around the day before, during my errands at one or two car retail outlets; as I was still looking for quotes for someone to do the rear dust plate fitting, there was one contact based in Earlswood, about 10 miles away, (in fact there were a fair few, when googled, this one; I was told they usually worked on BMWs, so I contacted them.) ' They came across confident and as if they had done this job a few times before, they also had a pool car, as to get me back home and back to pick up the car on completion of the work, this was very helpful, as they seemed to be out in the sticks. This time the quote was £60 per side as long as there were no hiccups... It would have been more if, I had not already supplied the parts and they explained they would cut and manipulate the one piece plates rather than strip out the diff and hub arms. Not ideal and one could question the skills of 'fitter-mechanics' today in this country? Needs must! This kept the quote down. They can only fit me in by appointment towards the end of the month, (25th May in the morning), no real urgency here at the moment, the scraping noise is only periodically on any one journey, however; I would not consider using the Z3 any more than I have to before the job is done. Again, we shall see what further events awaits.

25.05.22 Today the Z3 goes to another garage, this one is based in Earlswood, early morning rise, drop off at 8:30am with explanation to the problem. With the supplied parts, wheel-lock socket left and contact detail recorded, the mechanic asks me if I want both or one side done. As I don't want the job to be half done and the car to be lopsided, metaphorically speaking, my answer was obviously for both sides, I hand him my keys and he explains what he would be doing, fair dues, he was confident, sociable and then he handed me the keys to the pool car, a red diesel BMW hatchback, to get me back home with the instruction that the Z3 should be ready around 4pm.

The garage site was situated out within the 'sticks', through the country lanes and was in a very picturesque area, a long drive of course stones and a parking forecourt with further driveway to the garage with a good number of various models of BMWs parked up, next to it. The garage was of good size, spacious and looked to be well equipped also. All this, on the grounds of another business, it was functionally and environmentally pleasing to look at, well, in my opinion. I even saw another Z3, same colour with black soft top, (now was that a good thing, my anxiety increased to the first notch at least....?) In situations like this, I imagine my car becoming a donor, or is that just me with paranoia that I have manifested to do with garages in general over the years? Shaking off that thought a little, I now await....

- OK! Collected the car 15:30 paid over the quote for labour, by a great deal and paid for at least a litre of Brake Fluid, (this part is a little dubious, I can normally get away with using much less)? And VAT. This is near the cost as if I was having the plates fitted via the conventional method, in my opinion! Placing this to one side, I now have the scraping sound on both sides, I am a little disappointed! As soon as I got back home about 15 minutes later, I contacted the garage and the mechanic told me he would have it back in, sometime the following day when a pool car was available.

26.05.22 Good to his word the mechanic called me via phone, suggesting he would contact me later today; as he was waiting for the pool car to return from another job. Some may suggest that I should have been angry about the problem however, this doesn't accomplish anything, bearing in mind, this particular job of fitting dust plates does occasionally require a good run to settle them in, mainly to adjust to the behaviour of the vehicle. The problem is really at starting off or slowing down at junctions or during cornering, this could also indicate that the problem may be with the brake adjustment and there is also the wheel alignment/tracking to consider also? There is also the heat being generated from the brake shoes and pads, transferring heat to the new plates so, a number of things to be factored in. Would it have been any different if the dust plates had been fitted like the manufacturers process, without the cut in the metal? (via the diff and bearings)? Difficult to say, but most likely not from my experience; as the vehicle weathers and forms to it's characteristics over time, adjusting to the dynamics of the vehicle. It is a trial and error process. By going via the diff. method would also make the job more expensive and increase the labour costs. The added split in the backplate, does also allow for the distribution of stresses and reduces the chances of this type of problem arising, in theory at least! Unfortunately not in my case, .... (nothing new there then!). Also note: Most later models of vehicles in general today, have gone over to the split plate design; for easy access and to reduce the cost of this type of repair, so do shop around and enquire if having to replace this item).

It is around 14:30; I dropped the car off after a phone call, it is about an hour or two later, another phone call to say the adjustment had been completed and the Z3 was ready for pick up, it was all down to a re-manipulating of the plates as they can be 'too flat' on the hub, perhaps requiring a very slight convex centre fitting. Either way the problem was solved and it had been tested OK at this point. The adjustment didn't cost any extra; fortunately. The drive back was a big improvement, so we can put this down to another job done! (Credit goes to: AutoKraft Services Ltd, BMW Service Specialists, Earlswood and I am sure I will use them again if and when required).