Difficulty finding replacement exhaust - 2002 BMW 1.9i

[Lightbluez3]

Hello all

I am new to this site and will be posting some photos of my car in due course. It's a 2002 BMW Z3 1.9i. I believe it's the M43 engine, but please correct me if I am wrong.

At the moment, the exhaust is blowing in several places, mostly around the Y shaped bit where the two pipes converge coming down from the engine. I have seen people mention that these can be welded up, although I think that the exhaust may be a bit far gone for that kind of repair.

I have been looking for a replacement exhaust and have learned that the original exhaust comes as one-piece, but the replacements now come in two parts. I have managed to find the replacement front pipe and catalytic converter, albeit this is harder to come by and more costly than I thought it would be.

However, I am discovering it is even harder to find the second part of the exhaust from the catalytic converter backwards. I have seen the Supersprint back boxes, but these are simply out of budget and ideally I'm looking for just a standard back box to fit onto the new front pipe and catalytic converter.

I am hoping to try and get my Z3 back on the road for summer in the coming months and it would be great if anyone can provide advice or suggestions, as to where I am best looking for a replacement exhaust at a reasonable cost.

Thanks in advance.
Mac

 

[Jimbob_OD]

Mac,

Are you looking for new or second hand? Where are you based?

I tried to source a new cat back exhaust last year and it was impossible. Only ones I could find were in Germany and wouldn’t deliver to the UK.

 

[IainP]

Where are you?
If anywhere near Perth I can weld the exhaust up for you, done a couple of M43 manifolds in the past.
Also have an M44 exhaust, I expect I could put a flange on the rear section to match what you already have.
South of England, @spursfaninacoupe is your best bet.
Don’t throw the old converter away, they’re worth money apparently.

iain

 

[Andyboy]

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Lightbluez3]

Mac,

Are you looking for new or second hand? Where are you based?

I tried to source a new cat back exhaust last year and it was impossible. Only ones I could find were in Germany and wouldn’t deliver to the UK.

Hey

Ideally I'm looking for new, although would not say no to a decent second hand part given the difficulty I'm having with finding the parts. I'm based in North Staffordshire.

I have found new cat back parts of the exhaust listed on German auto-parts websites, but even these are showing out of stock. I hadn't even checked if they would deliver to the UK or not.

 

[Lightbluez3]

Where are you?
If anywhere near Perth I can weld the exhaust up for you, done a couple of M43 manifolds in the past.
Also have an M44 exhaust, I expect I could put a flange on the rear section to match what you already have.
South of England, @spursfaninacoupe is your best bet.
Don’t throw the old converter away, they’re worth money apparently.

iain

Hey

I'm based in North Staffordshire, so quite a distance from Perth.

I was also hoping to replace rather than repair, but it is looking like an seemingly impossible task. I think a friend of mine might know someone who is handy with a welder who could have a go at it for me.

Thanks
Mac

 

[Lightbluez3]

Pardon our interruption...

Thanks for the suggestion!

How much might a replacement cost from BMW? I'd rather avoid calling if it's an eye watering sum.

 

[Jimbob_OD]

Thanks for the suggestion!

How much might a replacement cost from BMW? I'd rather avoid calling if it's an eye watering sum.

I can confirm - it is eye watering! Seem to recall it was about £900+

 

[Stevo7682]

@spurs fan in a coupe
@Andyboy
Both are breakers on the forum and may be able to sort you out with a decent cat back system for your m43.
Klarius used to do a rear section for the m43 but it was about £600 m44 rear section are out there but the angles are slightly different from the centre box back and most of the aftermarket ones are not always the best sounding due to smaller lighter back box i was lucky and managed to source a rear section to replace mine .
If the forum breakers cant help you need to keep an eye out fir m43 breaking 1.9's make up the bulk numbers of Z3 so there are still decent original exhaust systems still out there.

The m44 has the same kind of problems with its cat front pipe all the uk aftermarket cats are 12 months use at best i have a german euro 3 cat equipped one on ours which seems to be coping ok.
But this is the joys of older cars aftermarket supplies of genuine and copy parts becomes less and less available which inevitably leads to higher prices for the best condition parts.

Stephen.

 

[Trevor /chedder]

Not that cheap but...

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Lightbluez3]

I can confirm - it is eye watering! Seem to recall it was about £900+

Yes, that's quite a bit more than I would ideally want to pay.

 

[Lightbluez3]

@spurs fan in a coupe
@Andyboy
Both are breakers on the forum and may be able to sort you out with a decent cat back system for your m43.
Klarius used to do a rear section for the m43 but it was about £600 m44 rear section are out there but the angles are slightly different from the centre box back and most of the aftermarket ones are not always the best sounding due to smaller lighter back box i was lucky and managed to source a rear section to replace mine .
If the forum breakers cant help you need to keep an eye out fir m43 breaking 1.9's make up the bulk numbers of Z3 so there are still decent original exhaust systems still out there.

The m44 has the same kind of problems with its cat front pipe all the uk aftermarket cats are 12 months use at best i have a german euro 3 cat equipped one on ours which seems to be coping ok.
But this is the joys of older cars aftermarket supplies of genuine and copy parts becomes less and less available which inevitably leads to higher prices for the best condition parts.

Stephen.

Hi Stephen

Thanks for suggesting the above breakers on the forum, I'll get in touch with them to see if they can help. If not, then I'll keep searching for someone breaking a M43 1.9i in the hope they still have the exhaust available.

I have read about the potential issues surrounding cats on aftermarket exhausts not lasting long. I don't do many miles in my Z3 in any one year, probably less than 1,500 miles, so hope this will help with longevity if I do go down the aftermarket exhaust route.

Cheers
Mac

 

[Lightbluez3]

Not that cheap but...

Pardon our interruption...

Hi Trevor

Thanks for the link, I had managed to find the front pipe/cat part of the exhaust for sale online, albeit there seems to be a wide variance in price for the same piece of pipe, which I found a bit odd. It's the cat back bit of the exhaust that I am struggling to source at the moment.

Cheers
Mac

 

[Synclare]

.

 

[t-tony]

Hi Stephen

Thanks for suggesting the above breakers on the forum, I'll get in touch with them to see if they can help. If not, then I'll keep searching for someone breaking a M43 1.9i in the hope they still have the exhaust available.

I have read about the potential issues surrounding cats on aftermarket exhausts not lasting long. I don't do many miles in my Z3 in any one year, probably less than 1,500 miles, so hope this will help with longevity if I do go down the aftermarket exhaust route.

Cheers
Mac

Low annual mileage does cheap cats no favours at all.

Tony.

 

[TriumphZ3]

I can confirm - it is eye watering! Seem to recall it was about £900+

If it had been only that!! 1998 1.9 front section from my local BMW Dealership - £1200 basic cost, add VAT plus a surcharge for the CAT of £200. Sadly my CAT was found to be totally empty - some PO had removed the entire internals - so no refund. It cost me around £1700 in total. The rear box was only £80. Half the price of what the car cost me originally.

 

[Lightbluez3]

Hello, I think I should have a complete M43 1.9 exhaust from a 2002 car, took it off as the cat was struggling at the MoT. Fitted a spare exhaust I had.
The exhaust is original and one piece.
I also have a good original cat that could be grafted into it if you know a welder.
Located just outside Lichfield.
P.S It's heavy!
Has the back box/pipework rotted? Usually it's just the little expansion box before the back box that rots, if that is the case most people just remove it and have a section of straight pipe welded in, does not appear to alter the exhaust note I'm told.

Hello

Thanks for your response, I was hoping to replace the front pipe and cat with a new part just so I know I'm not going to need to replace in the near future.

It's the join between the two pipes before they enter the cat that is peppered with holes and I think it would be difficult to repair.

Cheers

 

[Lightbluez3]

Low annual mileage does cheap cats no favours at all.

Tony.

Hello Tony

That's good to keep in mind! I was hoping that a replacement would last several years, but seems like that may not be the case.

Cheers
Mac

 

[Lightbluez3]

If it had been only that!! 1998 1.9 front section from my local BMW Dealership - £1200 basic cost, add VAT plus a surcharge for the CAT of £200. Sadly my CAT was found to be totally empty - some PO had removed the entire internals - so no refund. It cost me around £1700 in total. The rear box was only £80. Half the price of what the car cost me originally.

Wow! Well I think I'll be avoiding buying a replacement from BMW then, that is an eye watering sum.

Cheers
Mac

 

[Synclare]

Sorry misread your post. Thought you were after a good used genuine rear section which being non ferrous this would have provided.