Hi,
I just recently removed the soft-top from a Z4 to repair a hydraulic leak. It turns out that one of the hydraulic cables had been trapped (probably installed incorrectly when the soft-top was replaced) and I had a big oil spill on the driveway when I tried to close the top.
I followed Shipkillers description for removal of the top which was a huge help. I did have some small problems.
It took 6 hours to remove, partly because I did not know the term 'Soft top Compartment Floor' referred to in the description and ended up trying to remove the carpet in the trunk because I thought this was the 'Soft top Compartment Floor'.
I did not know why you tape up the car but this is to avoid scratching the paintwork which is easily done when finally extracting the softtop from the car and putting it back. I would add that you should tape up the back of the head-rests as they got all scratched up in the removal process.
Having removed the soft-top I could clearly see that one of the hydraulic pipes had been crushed and there was still evidence of oil on the pipe. I had to buy a pair of new hydraulic pipes (long ones for the passenger side) and was suprised to find that the 2 pipes cost $250 to replace, what a rip off this was...but then again what is the alternative? I was in Orange County Ca, and bought the pipes from one dealer, only to find he did not have hydraulic oil and it would have to be special ordered and come from Germany! I spent a couple of hours on the phone and found another dealer ad the oil in stock, which I duly bought. This dealer did not have the hydraulic kit, which comprises copper washers and some toher odds and ends for another $100. I declined to take this and chanced it with the old washers. So getting all the parts took another day and a bit.
Removing the pipes was easy and you just have to be careful to note where the pipies run. The pipes are labelled 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and so is the pump. Make sure you put them back in the right place.
So now you have it all back together, but what to do with the fluid. There is a bolt in the top of the plastic housing, remove it and pour in hydraulic fluid until it is full, then put the bolt back.
Now how to purge the system.....I had the soft-top on a camping table and decided the best way to purge it was to open and close it a few times. You will need the help of a friend for this as once a free soft-top starts opening it has a mind of its own. I took a cable (and old power cord) and connected to the battery +ve and -ve terminals MAKING SURE THE OTHER ENDS DON'T TOUCH, then connected the other 2 ends to the pump motor terminals (I had to roll back the protective insulation on the terminals). Then amazingly the soft-top starts to rear its head .... your colleague is hanging onto it for grim death until it is completely open. Then pull the bypass loop that it normally accessible from the trunk to relieve the pressure and the top will close. Do this a few times and then top up the fluid until it is nearly full.
Put the pump motor back into its plastic housing. This is a cheap and nasty piece of engineering, that does not enhance the German Engineering reputation. You will need duct tape to get the housoing to stay closed and also to tape the hydraulic cables into their respective slots on the housing. So lashings of duct tape and then secure the whole motor assembly so that it hangs down by hooking the plastic slot over the metal 'hook' and tighten the silly little screw so that the motor assembly is connected, albeit in a Mickey Mouse manner, to the rest of the soft-top.
Now you will need that colleague again to get the whole assembly back in place, it needs to be someone who has some strength as this is not a job for the faint-hearted. Lift the whole assembly and feed the motor assembly into its hole first, jiggle the whole lot so that you can get the U shaped part of the soft-top fixing over the bottom bolt on either side and then try to get the hoop to fit into the slot on each side. You don't need to have put the rubber seal in place yet. Do get in the trunk and tighten up all those bolt you removed from the hoop. All those contortions and time spent in the trunk did not do my back any good at all and ruined my golf game the next time I played due to mussle pains!!
How do you seal the rubber? there seem to be two levels of sealing, the undersidewhich pushes onto a metal flange which is inside the car. Mine already seem to have some soft goo inside the rubber, which I assume is to seal it. I asked at the BMW dealer what it was , but could never get an answer. so I just used what was there and pushed the whole thing back, it takes time but does go back with persuasion and strong hands.
The top part of the seal is where the rubber rests on the paintwork. I used Silicon grease which you can buy from ACE hardware for penuts and paited it on the inside of the rubber with a kids paint brush. It seemed to help the rubber slde into place.
After connecting the electrics, putting all the other bits together
Getting the final mouldings in place was a trial, I ended up having to use instant glue to avoid having a big hole where the soft-top moulding and the complex rubber moulding interweave in each side.
I did a water hose test to see if anything leaked and it all seemed OK.....then finally the moment of truth...a week after starting...would it work... and suprise suprise it did. So we will see if it stands the test of time....good luck!
KiamaraKid
