Z4MR Engine Air Filter
 

What's the interval for this? I see "replace microfilters" as part of the Inspection I service, but I'm not 100% that's the engine air filter. Follow-up question, is the carbon filter on top of the engine filter ever supposed to be replaced? Cleaned?

I just bought my 2006 Z4MR at 61K miles, have less than 1k extra on it. I bought a new engine air filter and, tonight when I replaced it, I saw how filthy the old one was. It had a date stamp on it from 2006. It seems pretty ridiculous that the dealership never changed it (plenty of BMW dealer records in the CarFax, including a CPO on the car), but not completely unbelievable. But, this is why I'm doing maintenance myself, as much as I can.

-Ian

This is how very dirty that old one was (new one on right). I hope that it had an old date code because it sat around for four years...

Is there an official vehicle service history that shows that both Inspection I and Inspection II were done? Surprisingly, the air filter is only specified to be changed at Inspection II, but I just changed mine as part of Inspection I. It wasn't even close to being as dirty as yours.

The microfilter is the cabin air filter, and should also be replaced at least during Inspection I and Inspection II.

More importantly, Inspection I and Inspection II also call for a valve adjustment. Inspection II also calls for replacement of the transmission fluid, differential oil, and spark plugs. The brake fluid should also be flushed every two years.

Do a search here for "2007 Z4 Service Maintenance Checklist".

You can't buy the carbon filter by itself.

Congrat's on your Z ! If that air filter looked like that I would change the oil and oil filter also. Just for peace of mind. Good luck with your new baby !

Already planned to do oil this weekend. Sending sample to Blackstone for analysis, too. I have a long road trip planned for next week, so may change again soon after to attempt to take any dirt/crap out with the oil.

That would be why I couldn't find the part number. So, is it part number 13717839018, "Intake Muffler"? I don't see a further breakdown of the Intake Muffler, but that document you posted says "air filter assembly lid" needs to be replaced. There is nothing labelled as such on RealOEM. http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...74&hg=13&fg=20

Is there any service interval for replacing the carbon filter, or is it also concerned a "lifetime" part? Seems it must be considered lifetime, due to the lack of availability.

I got the results from Blackstone for my first oil change on the Z4 M Roadster which I did on 10/5. The official service history shows that after the 1200 mile service the oil was changed 13 months later and again 18 months later. Then it was out of warranty on time. After that all I knew was that the original/previous owner had the oil changed by a BMW mechanic at a BMW dealer but off-the-books on the weekend. The last oil change was done last November. The original owner rode his motorcycle more than drove this car and only averaged a tad over 6,000mi./yr. Here's what Blackstone said:

""You weren't sure on the oil type, so we're happy to confirm that it was indeed 10W/60 oil. We can also report that it looks like the previous owner took good care of this BMW. Universal averages show typical wear levels for this type of engine after about 4,900 miles on the oil. We don't know how long this oil was run, but with wear this close to average, we think something in the 4,000-5,000 mile range would be a good guess. The TBN was still plenty strong at 4.0, so lots of active additive was left (1.0 is too low). Now, go out and have some fun." "

I just completed the valve adjustment this afternoon and everything went smoothly. All Inspection I items are now complete and the car is in good health!

:thumbup: :roundel: