How to Remove and Replace your Soft Top Motor..56k Beware

[nvs]

I want to thank you for this write up! You rock, I've downloaded all your pdf's, words can't express how much I appreciate your hard work and time.

Our top on the Zed is beginning to have intermittent problems and I believe it's the pump. Out of curiosity how much was your pump? I found a few places online and it appears to be $1,000 give or take a few. I need to call my local BMW service department, but I'll have to wait until monday.

Thanks again.

[Shipkiller]

I paid a total of $525 (both pump and housing) from the dealer. I was going to get it from an online source, but the dealer had it in stock and I wanted to see the pump/motor first...

I seem to remember two different part numbers and a big difference between prices..

[twistedz4]

Excellent info!
Is the new pump housing required? Can the old housing be re-used and re-sealed?
thanks!

[Shipkiller]

Yes, you can reuse the old housing and sound suppression foam, but it will take awhile to dry out the foam....

[simtech]

Thanks Shipkiller

Just completed the repair, hard work but worth it, saved a fortune in dealer costs

[Shipkiller]

[powerontap]

This is our labour man

[JamesL]

Thanks for this Shipkiller. Have just spent a long day following these instructions and almost have a completed job. Had a moment of panic when putting the roof back in and it no longer folded all the way manually (even with the override pulled out), but I think this was just some air in the hydraulics as once I reattached the wiring, the roof seems to work perfectly. Wouldn't have been able to do it at all without this how-to.

A question for you though. How did you get the hoop back in the clips? We found this really hard and I'm hoping that once a few of the bolts are in, I'll be able to lever it in from inside the boot.

[Shipkiller]

Thanks for this Shipkiller. Have just spent a long day following these instructions and almost have a completed job. Had a moment of panic when putting the roof back in and it no longer folded all the way manually (even with the override pulled out), but I think this was just some air in the hydraulics as once I reattached the wiring, the roof seems to work perfectly. Wouldn't have been able to do it at all without this how-to.

A question for you though. How did you get the hoop back in the clips? We found this really hard and I'm hoping that once a few of the bolts are in, I'll be able to lever it in from inside the boot.

I just pushed them in. On the left side, I heard and felt it seat. I did not feel or hear the same on the right side, but looking at it from the inside, through the rear it was in place.

[simtech]

Hi JamesL

I bolted the rear of the hoop in three places, made sure the roof was half way, then lifted the hoop end slightly and placed over the clip and just pushed down, you can see the clips from the boot, putting the top back on the car was the hardest part of the job.

[JamesL]

Thanks guys.

simtech - that's the approach that I was going to try. I got as far as putting the 3 bolts in and then testing that the mechanism actually worked by connecting up the wiring and raising and lowering the roof, but as it was then 11pm, I thought I'd call it a night and finish the job another time. Good to know that my approach should work.

[twistedz4]

I also wanted to thank you for the write up. I got quoted $2500 at the BMW dealer to replace the pump on my 2003 Z4 (60k miles). I bought the pump for around $325 and had my mechanic follow your instructions. He charge me $600 for the labor which is way cheaper than the dealer. I would've tried it but I don't have a garage. Regardless I saved a lot of money. Thank you very much!

[JamesL]

Just wanted to say another quick thank you to Shipkiller and simtech for the instructions and advice. Managed to finish off the job successfully yesterday. Took ages, but it's all gone back together perfectly and I couldn't have done it without the help here.

Two tips of my own to add for anyone else who attempts this:

1) When you loosen the rear panels to access the cabling and unclip it, the clips on the passenger side (UK) can be slipped off the bracket that attaches to the metalwork by moving the lever in the middle of the back part of the clip to one side and pushing down. On the driver's side, the process is the same, but the clip is upside down, so you need to find the middle part underneath the clip and push upwards.

2) When you go to put the panels back on, there's a black plastic lug that is clipped into the bodywork next to the door seal and this needs to go into a slot on the back of the rear panel. You can just lever the plug out of the metalwork, pop it back into the slot and then push it back into the bodywork. I spent ages trying to bend the rear panel to slot back in and then removed the centre console to remove the rear panel before I discovered this little gem!

[willsm]

Hi,

New to the site and found a lot of very useful information here already.

Just to confirm, is it possible to remove/replace the soft top motor with fully removing the soft top or is this the first port of call?

Thanks
Willsm

[Ashaku1985]

hi Shipkiller,

I read you post a lot of times,I think I can do it , thank you.

But how can i release the air when I change the new motor? ( you mean that hood?)

You said up and down the top sevrel times, witch step is it?

I put the all top part backand just use it as normal sevrel times?

or just press release top buttom when I hast change new motor?

Thanks any way, I am going to di it in sevrel day