Z4 Roof Doctor Required! - E. Midlands

[peng]

Part 4
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122363

Thanks!... wow that looks intimidating!

so replacing an hydrolic 'loom' is replacing the hydrolic lines? Why? is this because the lines go bad? how?(and would it help to treat them to prevent that?) sorry for any dumb questions!

[RobbiZ4]

so replacing an hydrolic 'loom' is replacing the hydrolic lines? Why? is this because the lines go bad? how?(and would it help to treat them to prevent that?) sorry for any dumb questions!

The hydraulic lines as well as the wires to the different sensors in th rear roof shell get weak over the years and finaly will break. Wires can be repaired for a while, but the hydraulic lines will break and can't be repaired.

The only spare part available is a single bundle of all cables and hydraulic lines in the roof, that has to be completely replaced. Since all hydraulic cable harnesses have been in use for around 10 years, the wear and tear is already very advanced.

[Pondrew]

As someone said earlier in this thread (think it was step_change) it would be very useful for the information contained in the relevant linked threads to be combined into one and then posted as a sticky in the E89 problems sections. This is, after all, the discussion section where many people may not look. Also, the "do a search" response for many problems is not easy due to the way this forum (and I'm not saying it's a bad thing because I am probably more guilty than most) tends to go off on a tangent with many threads, so is a nightmare for the software. Just a thought

[Pondrew]

Or just give Robbi his own section
How about an "ask Robbi the Roof" section? He would be answering the same 4 things every day though!

[RobbiZ4]

As someone said earlier in this thread (think it was step_change) it would be very useful for the information contained in the relevant linked threads to be combined into one.

Done.

[enuff_zed]

As someone said earlier in this thread (think it was step_change) it would be very useful for the information contained in the relevant linked threads to be combined into one.

Done.

Well done. Thank you.

[peng]

Part 4
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122363

Thanks!... wow that looks intimidating!

so replacing an hydrolic 'loom' is replacing the hydrolic lines? Why? is this because the lines go bad? how?(and would it help to treat them to prevent that?) sorry for any dumb questions!

Well... I should not have said anything... my December 2015 Z4 is now in the garage to have 4 hydrolic lines replaced. A few weeks ago I noticed that hydrolic oil was leaking from the passenger side... I've got a good indy that could source 4 new lines here (in NL) https://cabriotech.nl (replacing a bunch at once, so that we prevent the same thing happening later to a loom that has endured similar strains)

while we are at it all the microswitches are replaced also. (Since the roof is being disassembled now anyway)
Frankly... I'm a bit pissed off at BMW... the car has only done 60K and is 6 years old... this should not be possible! Looks like this will be an expensive repair...


I still think I'm lucky that my BMW guy wants to take this on though, most 'specialists' don't want anything to do with the convertible roof was my experience with my E46 cabrio, which ALSO gave me (expensive) roof problems

[RobbiZ4]

Part 4
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=122363

Thanks!... wow that looks intimidating!

so replacing an hydrolic 'loom' is replacing the hydrolic lines? Why? is this because the lines go bad? how?(and would it help to treat them to prevent that?) sorry for any dumb questions!

Well... I should not have said anything... my December 2015 Z4 is now in the garage to have 4 hydrolic lines replaced. A few weeks ago I noticed that hydrolic oil was leaking from the passenger side... I've got a good indy that could source 4 new lines here (in NL) https://cabriotech.nl (replacing a bunch at once, so that we prevent the same thing happening later to a loom that has endured similar strains)

while we are at it all the microswitches are replaced also. (Since the roof is being disassembled now anyway)
Frankly... I'm a bit pissed off at BMW... the car has only done 60K and is 6 years old... this should not be possible! Looks like this will be an expensive repair...

I still think I'm lucky that my BMW guy wants to take this on though, most 'specialists' don't want anything to do with the convertible roof was my experience with my E46 cabrio, which ALSO gave me (expensive) roof problems

Well, IMHO it does not make any sense to only replace the 4 hydraulic hoses, as the 2x2 +1x2 wires to the sensors/switches will break as well. The whole hydraulic harness should be replaced to be safe for the next let's say 8 to 10 years. And it's much less work to only mount a new hydraulic harness insted of
- dismounting the old hydraulic harness
- stripping the old hydraulic hoses off the harness
- organice 4 new hydraulic hoses
- integrate the 4 new hydraulic hoses into the old harness
As the whole hydraulic harness is taped and fixed with zip ties, this nonsense steps take too much time and arises the risk for a next issue.

I've been in the Netherlands last Sunday, so it's a pity to not get informed or contacted before.

[3.0Rich]

Hi all, good to know there's such knowledge on here re the roof.
Quite scary though, mine's 09 with 40k on it and seems like it's just a matter of time ffs.
Anyway, is there a diagram/drawing available so I can get a feel for where the hoses, cables and switches run please?

[Smartbear]

Hi all, good to know there's such knowledge on here re the roof.
Quite scary though, mine's 09 with 40k on it and seems like it's just a matter of time ffs.
Anyway, is there a diagram/drawing available so I can get a feel for where the hoses, cables and switches run please?

Switches & hall sensors

9B266A98-DEBA-4FDF-AD68-759A859CCC72.png (577.63 KiB) Viewed 1339 times

Rob

[3.0Rich]

Thanks very much, perfect.

[peng]

Thanks!... wow that looks intimidating!

so replacing an hydrolic 'loom' is replacing the hydrolic lines? Why? is this because the lines go bad? how?(and would it help to treat them to prevent that?) sorry for any dumb questions!

Well... I should not have said anything... my December 2015 Z4 is now in the garage to have 4 hydrolic lines replaced. A few weeks ago I noticed that hydrolic oil was leaking from the passenger side... I've got a good indy that could source 4 new lines here (in NL) https://cabriotech.nl (replacing a bunch at once, so that we prevent the same thing happening later to a loom that has endured similar strains)

while we are at it all the microswitches are replaced also. (Since the roof is being disassembled now anyway)
Frankly... I'm a bit pissed off at BMW... the car has only done 60K and is 6 years old... this should not be possible! Looks like this will be an expensive repair...

I still think I'm lucky that my BMW guy wants to take this on though, most 'specialists' don't want anything to do with the convertible roof was my experience with my E46 cabrio, which ALSO gave me (expensive) roof problems

Well, IMHO it does not make any sense to only replace the 4 hydraulic hoses, as the 2x2 +1x2 wires to the sensors/switches will break as well. The whole hydraulic harness should be replaced to be safe for the next let's say 8 to 10 years. And it's much less work to only mount a new hydraulic harness insted of
- dismounting the old hydraulic harness
- stripping the old hydraulic hoses off the harness
- organice 4 new hydraulic hoses
- integrate the 4 new hydraulic hoses into the old harness
As the whole hydraulic harness is taped and fixed with zip ties, this nonsense steps take too much time and arises the risk for a next issue.

I've been in the Netherlands last Sunday, so it's a pity to not get informed or contacted before.

Well..... looks like you were right... Fixing the hydraulics turned out to be quite a challenge, even though the lines were fine we needed to source the exact right kind or O rings (oil proof, right size etc.) which turned out to be quite a hassle! Because of this the repair took a long time, and my guy made sure to replace the switches while he was at it... It's a good thing I'm mostly working from home (for now...)

And even though the hydraulics seem to work fine now, after the repair there is a new roof-issue that frankly baffles us!...
when opening/closing the roof I very often get the message 'Roof movement impaired' (like 9 times out of 10) and the roof will stop its motion. After re-starting the roof movement a few times I will be able to close the roof. My BMW mechanic thinks it is the switches or cables (already replaced the switches). I have the reinhold engineering roof module, so we though that might have caused it (a previous version caused some issues with my trunk) but after removing the module the issue remained...

What is really strange is that I could swear it is temperature related; if my car is cold, like starting it in the morning I will always be able to reproduce the issue. But after a drive (say 50KM) or (it seems) after being in the (heated) shop/garage for a few hours the roof will move just fine!!! (tested many times)

I really could use some help! (any plans to visit NL soon? ) What would be our best approach on finding the cause of this issue?
your insights would be much appreciated!

[RobbiZ4]

...and arises the risk for a next issue.

Phew, what a story.

Hope your inexperienced BMW guy is cheap enough that all the hassle makes sense.

There are so many possible combinations of problems after your/his very unusual rework that I really don't know where to start.
When I finish replacing a hydraulic harness, the roofs are always in perfect condition. But your current result makes life much more complicated.

[RobbiZ4]

..and my guy made sure to replace the switches while he was at it...

Which ones exactly? There are 5 microswitches mounted in the roof.


One very important thing is that some bolts/nuts need to be marked in their original position before removing.
If your guy didn't do this, then everything might not work as expected.

And it should be a cautionary tale for all other DIYers. Repairing the E89 roofs is a very special job.
You need endless amounts of time to test and learn on a working roof, like I did. When you start with a roof that is already broken, it's easy to make major mistakes.

You can order me to the Netherlands or visit me in Neuffen.
https://www.staiger-neuffen.de/bmw-z4-e ... notdienst/

[RileyRennocks]

Hi All

I started this board discussion a while ago but I'm afraid I've not been back for a while (sorry) but hopefully this may help someone having had an utter nightmare with the roof being stuck in the half open position on my wife 2013 Z4 that's done 28,000 miles. We managed to get it down via someone locally but it wouldn't lock down. I spent ages searching for a solution and a company that had the skill set to resolve our string of roof issues, hence the 'Z4 Roof Doctore Required' post.

Then via this forum someone suggested these guys...

HoodTech Convertible Roof Specialists
Unit 52 Evans Business Centre
Chester West Employment Park
Minerva Avenue
Chester
CH1 4QL
0333 772 9652
www.hoodtech.co.uk
Email: mailto:[email protected]

Charlie is the guy there and I have to say, he was not only amazing to deal with but was also good value for money. All he does is roofs and I got the impression he lived and breathed them as there is nothing he didn't seem to know about everything roofs. We went from the 'nightmare, we need to get rid of this, why did we buy it' mindset to 'wow, we love it, press that button and of course it will work, it's all working and now back to being reliable'. Yes, it's fixed but it's the 'roof aniexity' that is the main thing for us. As he was so knowledgeable and did a great job, it's left us with confidence to actually use the roof again and that really matters as otherwise, why have a convertable?