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

BettyBmw03 said:
Problems, problems, problems.....

I was able to get the roof w/new motor installed today. I attempted to lower the roof AND>>>>>

The windows went down as needed
The latch released from the windshield
I can hear the new motor turning as should
AND NOTHING!!!!!!

I checked the trunk switch, the tray table, the bowden cable....I am stuck and NEED HELP :(

The bowden cable seems to working properly. Bc when engaged the roof opens smoothly and when in non bypass position the roof will open 1/4 of the way and you meet resistance.

I am by far open to suggestions.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
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Hi, sorry to hear that, the only thing I can think of is that there is air in the system, the motor is turning ...so keep trying it up and down hopefully the air will go out, the only other thing is that your wires are crossed :cry:
 
BettyBmw03 said:
When moving up and down should the bowden cable be pulled or not?
Click to expand...

Not pulled if you are using the motor, pulled if manual, is your Bowden cable very tight ? did you adjust it ?
 
The cable is tight. I figured it is working properly because if not pulled the roof will not got down, it will only go back about a 1/4 of the way, then if you pull it the roof goes down easily.

I attempted about 3-4 times last night with the cable not pulled to lift the roof with the motor and then close by pulling the cable....and then repeat. Still nothing. I wonder if I just didn't do it enough? I know for a fact the wires are not wrong I doubled and tripled checked them...
 
BettyBmw03 said:
The cable is tight. I figured it is working properly because if not pulled the roof will not got down, it will only go back about a 1/4 of the way, then if you pull it the roof goes down easily.

I attempted about 3-4 times last night with the cable not pulled to lift the roof with the motor and then close by pulling the cable....and then repeat. Still nothing. I wonder if I just didn't do it enough? I know for a fact the wires are not wrong I doubled and tripled checked them...
Click to expand...
Hi,

yes, try it some more, mine still can take about 6-10 seconds before it starts moving on opening on closing it seems quicker !!!
 
fixit man said:
BettyBmw03 said:
The cable is tight. I figured it is working properly because if not pulled the roof will not got down, it will only go back about a 1/4 of the way, then if you pull it the roof goes down easily.

I attempted about 3-4 times last night with the cable not pulled to lift the roof with the motor and then close by pulling the cable....and then repeat. Still nothing. I wonder if I just didn't do it enough? I know for a fact the wires are not wrong I doubled and tripled checked them...
Click to expand...
Hi,

yes, try it some more, mine still can take about 6-10 seconds before it starts moving on opening on closing it seems quicker !!!
Click to expand...


How many times did you have to manually do the roof before it worked?
 
BettyBmw03 said:
fixit man said:
BettyBmw03 said:
The cable is tight. I figured it is working properly because if not pulled the roof will not got down, it will only go back about a 1/4 of the way, then if you pull it the roof goes down easily.

I attempted about 3-4 times last night with the cable not pulled to lift the roof with the motor and then close by pulling the cable....and then repeat. Still nothing. I wonder if I just didn't do it enough? I know for a fact the wires are not wrong I doubled and tripled checked them...
Click to expand...
Hi,

yes, try it some more, mine still can take about 6-10 seconds before it starts moving on opening on closing it seems quicker !!!
Click to expand...


How many times did you have to manually do the roof before it worked?
Click to expand...

Sorry I think you misunderstood me, didn't do it manually ...just with the switch as normal, but like you I can hear the motor turning, but it takes a little while for it to move 6-10 secs ...good luck :)
 
Update,

when purchasing a new motor the hydraulic lines go on the opposite way. You NEED to follow the new markings on the new motor when installing the lines. This was unclear before now :headbang:

I successfully figure this out last night and I am in the process of replacing the roof again tonight. Write to follow with tips and suggestions soon......
 
My two cents....

First off thank you's are in order to Shipkiller and all that participate in this forum, THANK YOU :)

I had the motor on my roof go out and it needed replacing. Here is a list of a few things I think future people may find helpful when replacing their motors...

1. The clips that hold the roll bar on each side are most easily removed by placing the roof in the up position (but not locked) and pulled straight up on the hoop. Or using a large flat screw driver to pry from the trunk area.

2. When replacing the motor pay attention to the new markings on the new motor. The hydraulic lines are reversed. This also means you will need to reverse the wires on the motor. For whatever reason, mine would not work hooking it up the old way...but worked just fine once switching.

3. When replacing your motor with a new motor, prior to unhooking the hydraulic lines, take off the bowden cable line. Then depress the bypass valve down. Most likely this will be rusted and will take some pressure to depress downward. This will allow fluid to drain from the lines into motor, causing little to drain out while changing the hydraulic lines.

4. Make sure you test your motor with a 12V source prior to installing back into the car. With the bowden cable NOT pulled, hook up a 12V source to the terminals on the motor. If you connect one way the motor may run in reverse not moving the top, just switch the terminals and your top should start moving. Starting in the down position, move the top up, and then pull the bowden cable to release back down. Keep an eye on the fluid level in your hydraulic pump. By doing this several times, you will pump out any air that entered the system when switching the lines. Either using the old hydraulic fluid or purchasing new, fill level back up to the line marked on the pump. fill port is at the top of the motor, unscrew allen bolt and fill.

5. Tape and tape some more. I used a entire role of tape and have no scratches at the end :)

6. When removing the roof I used this process: pull out the passenger side hoop, then the driver side, then go towards the front of the car to allow the hoop to fully come out. Putting the roof back in is the opposite order. Seemed to work the best for us...

Hope this helps someone in the future and feel free to ask questions for those of you starting...

:driving:
 
Hi, Betty

I too have an '03 Z 4, and the motor's gone south. I have a new motor, and the designations on the hydraulic ports are the same as on the old one. However, on the old motor, which was installed in 2009, the lines numbered 11/13 were connected to the pump ports labeled 12/14; the lines labeled 12/14 are connected to the ports labeled 11/13.

Shipkiller, in his excellent article, shows exactly the same line connections as I described for my old motor, and reconnects them the same way to his new motor, i.e., 11/13 to 12/14, and 12/14 to 11/13. However, he did this in 2009, when it seems that there was some mislabeleling on the pumps, as discussed on the forum.

My question: when you resolved your problem, did you end up connecting the lines as labeled, i.e., lines 11/13 to pump port 11/13, and lines 12/14 to pump port 12/14?

I got my pump from ECS Tuning; it's OEM BMW (Hoerbiger) and the part numbers match.

Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

Private e-mail would be just fine.

Regards,

Manny
 
Manny,

I did end up connecting the lines as labeled ie lines 11/13 to pump port 11/13, and lines 12/14 to pump port 12/14 . I tried it the opposite way and the top did not move. However, when doing this I also had to switch the wiring from its original position as well.
 
Betty, thanks so much for the info. I suspected that that was the correct way to connect the hydraulic lines, from the parts diagram linked on Shipkillers thread.

O.k., the wires: my old motor was wired green-stripe wire to green terminal; blue-stripe wire to red terminal. Did you connect your wires this way, or the reverse?

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Manny
 
Manny,

Regarding the wire connections, I did it in reverse. I tried with them connected the original way and it would not work properly.
 
Hello, all

With help from, particularly, Shipkiller, but certainly from Donnette/John, Techie Techie, Kroddy, and last but not least, BettyBMW03, I've successfully completed replacing the motor/hydraulic pump. It's not something I'd like to do again soon, but with your help , it was straightforward, if difficult. Thanks to all of you!

I'd like to offer some suggestions to those contemplating this job (some may have been posted before, so please bear with me).

-To amplify Shipkiller's suggestion re pictures: Take pictures of everything!

-On the motor, odd hydraulic lines to even pump ports; even hydraulic lines to odd ports; green-striped electric lead to green terminal on motor; blue-striped wire to red terminal on motor.

-If you choose to connect even hydraulic lines to even pump ports, and odd lines to odd ports, you must reverse the electrical connections to the motor, i.e., green-striped wire to red terminal; blue-striped wires to green terminal (thank you, Betty!)

-Taping hydraulic lines & electrical leads to the motor housing, I used Gorilla-brand tape; super strong, super sticky, and it gets stickier the warmer it gets

-Two-sided tape I tried to use to seal the boots at the top of the convertible top linkages, 3 M "molding tape" tape (red) is for s**t! I've got some supposedly "super" 3 M stuff coming; hope that it works. If any of you have a better idea, please let me know

-To get into the trunk to unfasten/fasten the screws holding the top to the body, get your body at as small an angle to the back lip of the trunk, and slide in. Ditto getting out. I did this, and while it wasn't easy, it got my 73-year old, 5'10", 225 body in and out

-When you tape up the back of the top well, as someone else suggested, put duct tape over at least the layer of tape nearest the edge of the well (don't ask why I say this)

Finally, a question: Can anyone tell me how to get the little clips that hold the hinges for trunk "floor" in place back in? I've looked at Shipkiller's photo of same over and over and nothing I do seems to work.

Again, thanks!
 
HELP!!!!! I got the roof off new motor installed and roof back on. when pressing the top down buton the motor turns but the top does not move, when pressing the top up button, the motor turns (with diff pitch) and the top doe snot move, I can move the top manually when the red cable is pulled. I even switched the power cable to the motor (+ to - and - to +) and the motor turns respectively but no movement. does anyone know what is going on????
 
It was the Bowden cable afterall, I shook as many of the lines that I could get a hold of and the top started working. Now do I take the top off again and look to see what went wrong or let things be?
 
Thanks for the write up.great job.I followed your instructions and successfully replaced the motor but after I put the top together the top closed but won't go back down or even un do the locks!do I have to synchronize or rebooth the system.if so how to do that??
 
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