Help with removing roof motor hydraulic lines?

[PboroRyan]

Hi all,
Managed to get the roof motor out of it's home today. I've disconnected the electrics, and now need to remove the hydraulic lines, but I can't seem to find any information on if this needs to be done with any care. Is it simply a case of undoing the bolts and trying not to spill hydraulic fluid? Do I need to worry about air getting into the lines etc?

Also, when I bought the car, the seller told me the motor had been replaced but there wasn't any proof, so I took this with a bit of skepticism, especially when it started playing up. However, he was right and the motor looks brand new! What else could be causing it's slow, jerky operation? Does it just need topping up with some more hydraulic fluid? The resovoir seems pretty empty but I don't know how full it should be. Any help appreciated!

 

[Anonymous]

first ....... If it's low on fluid , and it looks like it's had a new motor , it's possible that it wasn't filled correctly when it was changed , or that it has a leak somewhere . If you hold the motor and pump upright the resoviour has a + mark on the side of the plastic and with the pump upright the fluid should be up to that + sign . To top it up you should only use Hydraulic roof motor oil , ( VG22) as its a specific viscosity that won't thicken and cause the pump to over work when the temperature outside drops . To top it up use the screw in the middle of the pastiche cap on the top , don't over tighten it afterwards . The pump is self bleeding and a sealed system . So you can undo pipes without worrying about air getting in as it will bleed out when you cycle the pump up and down a few times. Whilst you do this , keep and eye on the fluid level, it should stay constant during operation , if it drops top it up, but don't fill it too much past the + sign on the cap .

If this doesn't sort your issues ring me and I will try to help 07771847714
Bryan

 

[PboroRyan]

Thanks Bryan, that's really useful, got all the hydraulic lines disconnected no problems. One final question - the black plastic part near the top of the motor, that connects to the red handle in the boot, can I just unscrew this? I'm trying to feed all the wiring into the boot and this is the only one I haven't managed to undo, will it literally just undo and then go back on? I'm wary that this is connected to the part of the motor that bypasses the hydraulic resovoir so am trying to be as careful as possible.

Thanks again!

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it's bolted on with 3 small screws, it's bolt on bolt off so no issues

 

[Anonymous]

The best way to do the pipes etc is to remove the left side parcel shelf support and tick the pipes behind it , you will have to cut a small amount of the black drain pan away ( a small half moon in the edge ) for the pipe work to recess into behind the bracket .

Make sure you get the motor as upright as possible and the the resouvior is about half full with fluid .

 

[PboroRyan]

Thanks, thats really helpful. Ive cut a small hole in the black drain pan and fed the wires into the left side of the boot, at least I know I can do the same with the bowden cable. I've spilt some of the fluid taking the lines off and putting them back on, and the roof has gotten even more laboured and slow. Ordinarily this would be bad but it points to the fact that it simply needs topping up, happy days!

 

[PboroRyan]

A very productive days work, thanks to all the how-to's on this forum, my motor has been relocacted.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, thats really helpful. Ive cut a small hole in the black drain pan and fed the wires into the left side of the boot, at least I know I can do the same with the bowden cable. I've spilt some of the fluid taking the lines off and putting them back on, and the roof has gotten even more laboured and slow. Ordinarily this would be bad but it points to the fact that it simply needs topping up, happy days!

I would agree totally , it's almost impossible not to loose some fluid , but as I mentioned before , fill the resoviour half full , cycle the roof up and down and recheck and refill resoviour until you get it constantly around half full . Then you should have sorted the issue . If it won't stay at half full...... You have a leak . But it all sounds like just lack of enough fluid from the previous motor change . It's not uncommon to be honest , people fill the resoviour then fail to cycle it so it self bleeds and the result is not quite enough fluid so the pump pushes fluid and air down the lines which makes the motor and pump noisy and gives a slow action . When filled and bled correctly a fully functioning roof motor and pump should only take around 12 seconds to fully open or close the roof .