fraserbottomley
Member
Hi guys,
As some of you may know, I posted a few months ago saying the roof on my facelift Zed had stopped working, despite never having blocked drains etc. With the nice weather at the weekend I decided it was time to fix it.
I can't remember the posters name, but somebody had cleaned there roof motor off and got it working again, so before I bought a new motor I decided this was worth a go.
I followed Shipkillers guide and me and my dad had the roof off within a couple of hours (including masking the paint up etc.), not hard at all to be honest, although 2 people are required to lift the roof out.
The plastic motor casing still apeared to be quite well sealed up, with all of the tape still in place, however once it was tipped up when removing it from the frame the water began dripping/pouring out of the case! Once the case was open the top half still seemed dry, but the bottom of the case, the motor and the sound insulation around the motor was absolutley soaked!
The hydraulic resevoir was still in good condition, so the motor was just unbolted and separated from this which was a bonus as no hydraulic lines had to be disconnected. The actual motor was well rusted up, and the shaft was jammed up with the rust; so it was on with the cleaning/refurbishment.
Firstly I gave the sound insulation a good clean in a bucket of soapy water - it actually needed three buckets until the water stayed fairly clean, the foam was soaked in filthy rusty water - these were then dried off overnight.
The motor was then cleaned externally with a wire brush and given a good few taps with the rubber handle of a hammer to dislodge any large rust particles, quite a few large chunks did drop out which freed the shaft up somewhat. Loctite 7061 cleaner was then sprayed generously inside the motor whilst rotating the shaft by hand to clean out any further particles. After repeating this a few times the motor was now rotating freely again, it was then given a final dousing with CarPlan Rust In Peace spray to try and eliminate any remaining rust, and also leave some lubrication and a moisture repellent barrier.
The motor was then tested across the battery and voila, it worked perfectly in both directions!
The plastic motor housing was sealed up as well as possible using some Granville clear silicone sealant and everything was put back together. Again this is definitely a two person job to get everything lined up while the roof locating bolts go in etc.
The result: Roof now working perfectly again, and has cost me about £15 in products! Even if it doesn't last forever it's still avoided me paying out for a new motor for now, and it's not a massive task to put one in even if it does go again. Me and my old man are fairly handy with a set of tools but this wasn't a hard job at all, just abit fiddly in a couple of places; I definitely wouldn't pay anyone to do it (provided you can get somebody to help with the lifting etc.).
So for anybody who's motor goes, I'd recommend trying to clean it up first, although this may not work for everyone depending on the state of the motor, and it may be a gamble with how long the repair will last.
Do BMW allow you to return unused parts? If so it might be an idea to get a new motor, then if the new one isn't salvageable you can swap it over while the roof's out to avoid having to take everything apart twice.
I'll keep this thread updated on the state of the motor - if it fails again or not!
As some of you may know, I posted a few months ago saying the roof on my facelift Zed had stopped working, despite never having blocked drains etc. With the nice weather at the weekend I decided it was time to fix it.
I can't remember the posters name, but somebody had cleaned there roof motor off and got it working again, so before I bought a new motor I decided this was worth a go.
I followed Shipkillers guide and me and my dad had the roof off within a couple of hours (including masking the paint up etc.), not hard at all to be honest, although 2 people are required to lift the roof out.
The plastic motor casing still apeared to be quite well sealed up, with all of the tape still in place, however once it was tipped up when removing it from the frame the water began dripping/pouring out of the case! Once the case was open the top half still seemed dry, but the bottom of the case, the motor and the sound insulation around the motor was absolutley soaked!
The hydraulic resevoir was still in good condition, so the motor was just unbolted and separated from this which was a bonus as no hydraulic lines had to be disconnected. The actual motor was well rusted up, and the shaft was jammed up with the rust; so it was on with the cleaning/refurbishment.
Firstly I gave the sound insulation a good clean in a bucket of soapy water - it actually needed three buckets until the water stayed fairly clean, the foam was soaked in filthy rusty water - these were then dried off overnight.
The motor was then cleaned externally with a wire brush and given a good few taps with the rubber handle of a hammer to dislodge any large rust particles, quite a few large chunks did drop out which freed the shaft up somewhat. Loctite 7061 cleaner was then sprayed generously inside the motor whilst rotating the shaft by hand to clean out any further particles. After repeating this a few times the motor was now rotating freely again, it was then given a final dousing with CarPlan Rust In Peace spray to try and eliminate any remaining rust, and also leave some lubrication and a moisture repellent barrier.
The motor was then tested across the battery and voila, it worked perfectly in both directions!
The plastic motor housing was sealed up as well as possible using some Granville clear silicone sealant and everything was put back together. Again this is definitely a two person job to get everything lined up while the roof locating bolts go in etc.
The result: Roof now working perfectly again, and has cost me about £15 in products! Even if it doesn't last forever it's still avoided me paying out for a new motor for now, and it's not a massive task to put one in even if it does go again. Me and my old man are fairly handy with a set of tools but this wasn't a hard job at all, just abit fiddly in a couple of places; I definitely wouldn't pay anyone to do it (provided you can get somebody to help with the lifting etc.).
So for anybody who's motor goes, I'd recommend trying to clean it up first, although this may not work for everyone depending on the state of the motor, and it may be a gamble with how long the repair will last.
Do BMW allow you to return unused parts? If so it might be an idea to get a new motor, then if the new one isn't salvageable you can swap it over while the roof's out to avoid having to take everything apart twice.
I'll keep this thread updated on the state of the motor - if it fails again or not!
it cost me £280 
Usa