Hydraulic issue with roof - now fixed!

D

Davz

Active member
 Wellington, Shropshire
I am scratching my head with this and would really appreciate some help!

I have relocated the roof motor to the boot and resurrected the motor.
The hydraulic reservoir drained while I dealt with the motor, I have refilled the resevoir with jack oil from Halfrauds and bolted it all back together. The motor is sitting near vertical with the resevoir on top.

On opening the top the roof unlatches and the motor in the boot spins very strongly but the top doesn't go down. I have run the motor for about 5 one minute intervals and did expect the oil resevoir level to fall as the oil is pumped in the lines but this has not happened. I have checked the bowden cable to make sure the valve is shut.

Any advice is much appreciated.
 
what mark says, or.. you have not put enough oil in .. and yes i know you think you have,, but you ain't.. DO NOT go by what it visually looks like from the outside , get a tie wrap and use it as a dip stick .. you will find the level will go down several times , you will hear it improving each time :thumbsup:
 
Ta for the advice.

I haven't removed the reservoir or the lines. I filled the reservoir through the hole that the motor shaft goes through, I can see the level in the resevoir and it is full.

Is there an impellor that the motor shaft connects to? ( I have the motor type with a ground flat on the shaft) Could this have failed?

Is it that there is air in the system? Can this be bled?
 
its self bleeding - have you dipped it like i said with A tie wrap ?
AND YOU FILL IT UP FROM THE TOP OF THE RESERVOIR remove the allen key type screw on the top, and use a syringe like a pet syringe or cooking syringe.
 
Jack oil should be fine.

Did you operate the manual bypass valve at all during the relocation process. It's possible that the valve isn't seating properly, even though the tension has been taken off the Bowden cable. This is the situation I'm in, from what I can tell. Can you give the roof an upward nudge from inside the car to get it going? (And I mean 'nudge', not with any great force).
 
road warrior said:
its self bleeding - have you dipped it like i said with A tie wrap ?
Click to expand...
I can rule out a bleed issue then, thanks. Not dipped, homestly it is really full, didn't see a fill screw.....not just old but going blind too!

I read that jack oil is 10w which is the spec for bmw oil, its just bmw oil is 4 times the price!

wonkydonkey said:
Did you operate the manual bypass valve at all during the relocation process.
Click to expand...
I had to as the roof motor failed and the roof was stuck down with a downpour due!

ph001 said:
Yep, wonkydonkey has it spot on, bypass plunger valve is stuck in.
Click to expand...
I have pushed the valve back and then pulled the bowden again and then pushed it back again but still not working. Is there anything else I can do to the valve? Can it be replaced on its own or is it a pump replacement job?

Many thanks guys for the help, much appreciated. :thumbsup:
 
Davz said:
road warrior said:
its self bleeding - have you dipped it like i said with A tie wrap ?
Click to expand...
I can rule out a bleed issue then, thanks. Not dipped, homestly it is really full, didn't see a fill screw.....not just old but going blind too!

I read that jack oil is 10w which is the spec for bmw oil, its just bmw oil is 4 times the price!

wonkydonkey said:
Did you operate the manual bypass valve at all during the relocation process.
Click to expand...
I had to as the roof motor failed and the roof was stuck down with a downpour due!

ph001 said:
Yep, wonkydonkey has it spot on, bypass plunger valve is stuck in.
Click to expand...
I have pushed the valve back and then pulled the bowden again and then pushed it back again but still not working. Is there anything else I can do to the valve? Can it be replaced on its own or is it a pump replacement job?

Many thanks guys for the help, much appreciated. :thumbsup:
[/quote
Click to expand...
 
I ended up taking the pump out of the boot to have a closer look at it.
You were correct the brass pin the Bowden cable pushes in to release the pressure was oxidised and when pushed in sticks. A bit of wd40 and pushing the valve a number of times frees it up.
Soft top now working and is really fast too!
Many thanks for advice.👍DSC_0824.JPGDSC_0823.JPG
 
Great news! I've done this to mine a few times with no joy but perhaps it just needs attacking for longer. That was a nice short-lived issue for you :D
 
The brass pin needs pressing a number of times to free up, I used the edge of a spanner to press it in and out, it should stand proud of the pump body when fully released. Once freed with wd40 I used some of the jack oil to stop it oxidising again.
Its quite amazing how quick the roof is now the motor is spinning at full speed. :D

One thing to note is that the reservoir should not be filled to full, there is a + sign on the side of the reservoir, that is the fill level, if you overfill there is nowhere for the oil to go when the roof is lowered. This can be read on a bmw tis.

Ta once again for feedback.
 
Same issue with me so will look at the pin tonight and see and then check the oil. One of the small bolts/screws does look as if it's leaking oil tho....did you have that?.
Was the pin stuck in or out before you used the spanner?. I got told it was my pump that was failing but after reading this i am not sure. thanks.
 
PHILGZ4 said:
Same issue with me so will look at the pin tonight and see and then check the oil. One of the small bolts/screws does look as if it's leaking oil tho....did you have that?.
Was the pin stuck in or out before you used the spanner?. I got told it was my pump that was failing but after reading this i am not sure. thanks.
Click to expand...
The brass pin should spring all the way out. Pressing it in activates the bypass function, allowing manual operation of the roof. The bypass valve is part of the pump housing so technically it could be classed as a pump issue :)
 
Is that the pin I can see...wee grommet looking thing?....hopefully the picture has attached!!.
 

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Nope. The brass "pin" (more like a dome-headed plunger) is what is actuated by the black plastic lever arm that moves when you put tension on the Bowden cable. Remove the three screws holding the black plastic lever arm assembly to the pump housing and you'll have access to the brass pin.
 
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