First Post have question on handbrake compatibility with z3

[joncrz]

So I recently bought an 325i and am in love with it minus the part where the PO thought it would be a good idea to remove all the internals for the hand brake effectively leaving the fate of the car on my engine when parking (Atleast have perfect compression ). Anyways in my search for handbrake internals I came across the article in the wiki here on e30zone explaining I could use z3 handbrake internals... does this also extend to z3M ? I am picking up shift linkage and steering rack from a z3M and picking up the handbrakes would be convinient. Sorry if I missed the topic in another thread I searched for a while and couldnt find anything on z3M compatibility.

[Grrrmachine]

The question here isn't really on whether Z3M parts fit, but on why you think using second-hand brake shoes is a good idea

[Brianmoooore]

I'm the person that originally did this, but should point out it was done because they were available, were low mileage, and I needed them right then, not as an upgrade. The fact that they produced the best handbrake I've ever come across on an E30 was a bonus, but might also have been a coincidence.
ETK says that the expander, its pin and the adjuster wheel are the same for both a 2.8 Z3 and a Z3M, but the shoes and spring set are different, so you can get the non service parts from your donor at least.

[joncrz]

Awesome, you actually just reminded me that realoem exists lol. What exactly is ETK? I saw that on realoem the spring kit is different (as well as brake shoes), but the odd thing is that in the diagram the springs look the same. I think the difference lies in either the length of the spring but more likely the spring kits bolts might be different (something that is harder to see via diagram). Taking that into account I also noticed that z3 springs for sure are different from e30 springs, but you were able to swap them out... further making me believe it is different in another way (bolts).

Furthermore, I noticed that all the kits for sale when you google search it all look different from either z3 and e30 diagrams on real oem. Possible springs dont matter?

so eliminating springs, the differences, according to realoem, is the brake shoes and expanding lock. on e30zone article why does it say to keep the expanding lock? if realoem is correct then it should not work since they are different. Were you able to retrofit it somehow?

Lastly, on the e30zone article implies the adjuster is the same in both e30 and z3. Real oem disagrees? any insight as to why?

I guess my best bet is to buy it and see if it works. Ill report back with results.

[Brianmoooore]

ETK = BMW electronic parts catalogue = what realOEM is based on.
Pictures in the ETK are generic pics, and don't necessarily look like the part in question, especially in detail. A few parts don't look even remotely like their illustration in the ETK!
The Z3 parts I used weren't all identical to E30 parts, but the whole assembly fits perfectly.
The reason I needed these parts in a hurry was an E30 that wpas booked for a MOT test, but insisted on pulling the retaining pins through the backplate. A close inspection showed that the hols in the backplate were bent out of shape rather than rusted, but after beating them back into shape, things still didn't assemble right.
This was a car I'd just bought, and in the service folder I remembered seeing a recent invoice for handbrake shoes, so I did a check on the part number on the invoice, and discovered that these were (IIRC) E21 shoes. GSF strikes again!
Comparing these with a set of genuine E30 shoes, I could see that the holes for the retaining springs and pins were in a slightly different position, resulting in the pins being at an angle when these shoes were installed on the E30 backplate.

[Grrrmachine]

I ordered the Z3 shoes and spring kit, and while the retaining pins fitted fine, I couldn't get the shoe springs to fit at all, and ended up reusing the E30 ones.