My Z4 - Roof Motor replacement\Relocation

M

McDade

Member
 Leeds
Hello everyone,

Well today was the day to give a go at relocating my troublesome roof motor and try and bring it back to life.

First off it was a lovely day in Leeds, first job was to take the hood shelf out of the boot. Simple enough once the plastic rivet came loose. Job one done!

Next we managed to just get hands on the roof motor casing. Gave it a lift, nothing. Tried a 10" prise bar, still no joy but it was loosening up. After spending around 2 hours getting incredibly intimate with the boot, we was getting no where. By this time we'd been through every move in the Kama sutra!

After a health and safety break it was clear it wasn't budging. After reviewing a video on YouTube we attempted to remove the roof! After following a very clear guide, and around 2 hours labour the roof was off an out. Rather than showing pictures step by step il post the YouTube video

With the roof out we disconnected the motor. It was soaking even though we drained the water out a few weeks ago. After cleaning and rinsing bout with a water displacing fluid, and wd40 it was time to bake it. We ran the cables for the roof motor into the boot for easy access later

Before the cooking, we decided to put the roof back on, we reversed the method, with the only struggle been matching up the screw holes on each side of the car where the roof pillars meet the cars body. After around 90 mins the roof was in and set.

Next we put motor in the oven at 90 degrees for 20 mins, let it cool down and brushed away any excess corrosion. After around 30 minutes we put the motor back on the power connectors and reattached the battery. We pressed in the micro switch where the shelf would have sat, and pressed the roof release button. The Windows go and the roof unlatches, but the motor doesn't move! Gutted

After a day's work we have the motor located in the boot but it's not working.if anyone has any other ideas they will be greatly welcomed l. If not eBay order it is!

Thanks to all the previous posts people have put up giving superb guidance!

YouTube link below

https://youtu.be/k31nU0FWmtE

I will add pictures later!

Parting note, big thanks to my partner in crime/gaffer in all this work Neil! And have to admit, if i'd have conceded defeat in removing the motor earlier, we'd have had the roof off at least an hour earlier!
 
Am sure some bath the motor in diesel , don't know if it's to-do with the oil content that helps free up the inner works
 
Also just put power onto the motor with out fitting in back in the car ,
So that way you can see if motor works on its own , which might point to a different issue
 
Try putting a cordless drill on the tip of the motor shaft and run it back and forth a few times to loosen the brushes inside the motor. This worked for us.
 
So I've done some researching and I'm going to leave it over night.

Question, when I try the motor to see if it's working, can I just connect 12v or does it need connecting to the hydrolic bit where the oil reservoir is to see the motor spinning. I'm not too bothered in seeing the roof retract I was to see the motor moving

Cheers
 
When I bought my 2007 Z4 roadster in Sept.2015, it had only 18,153 KMs, obviously driven in summer only. I did not anticipate having any problems with the top motor as it appeared that the car had been well cared for and stored indoors, based on its condition and appearance. Surprise ! I lowered the top after driving from Brighton to Whitby, Ontario, and when I tried to raise it the next morning after babysitting my two lovely granddaughters overnight, it would not budge. Fortunately, the sun was shining for the topless drive home. The nearest BMW dealer is about an hour drive from my home, either in Kingston to the east, or Ajax to the west. Ajax quoted CAD 2700 for the parts alone ! so I took it to Kingston and spent CAD 2450 total to have the motor replaced. It has NOT been relocated to the boot, so I sincerely hope that it is an improved waterproof design.
David
 
McDade said:
So I've done some researching and I'm going to leave it over night.

Question, when I try the motor to see if it's working, can I just connect 12v or does it need connecting to the hydrolic bit where the oil reservoir is to see the motor spinning. I'm not too bothered in seeing the roof retract I was to see the motor moving

Cheers
Click to expand...
Yes, just connect 12V to the terminals on the soft top motor. Depending on the polarity of the terminals the motor should spin one way or the other (so try reversing the + - leads from the 12V to the motor to try to spin it in the other direction). I'm guessing you've probably already tried this? When mine was 'frozen' I could feel the motor trying to turn when I applied 12V in either direction, so I knew it was stuck and not something worse. Diesel bath / CRC556 and a day later it was back to life again (although I'd already replaced it with a new one so now I have a working spare sitting around)
 
The roof motor runs in both directions, one direction for up and the other for down . As you motor doesn't seem to any signs of life it could be just corrosion between the motor brushes and there contacts . Take a small hammer and gentle tap the outer casing of the motor all around . If you can get a drill on the bottom of the motor shaft and clamp the drill chuck onto that and gentle spin the shaft both ways if possible . Hopefully this will be enough to get the motor loose from the corrosion . Put a 12v supply on the terminals and hopefull it should power up. Run the motor , submerged in a container of diesel for 10-15 mins each way, ( reverse the terminals to run the opposite way ) then , drain, wipe off excess diesel , refit and test on the roof . That's it .
 
All, thanks for your comments

i cant hear or feel the motor event attempt to start, so i will try giving it a tap and get a drill on it.

Cheers
 
Refurbished my roof motor a couple of years ago and initially it didn't want to move mainly due to it sitting in a rust jacuzzi for a couple of years.
Half a can of WD40 and some energetic spinning got it running. Bear in mind you need to crack it off the pump to work on it.
When I baked mine I did it on a very low heat, wrapped in foil for about 10 mins.
I then ran it with no load for about 5 minutes each way.
 
So result!!

after 36 hours in a bath of diesel, gave it a little tap with the hammer cleaned any excess diesel and with very little confidence gave it a go.

BOOOM! the motor nearly fell out of my hand spinning away in both directions!

Many thanks for everyone's help!
 
Hate to say I told you so ....... But I did !

Glad you got a result :D
 
Update:

the motor spins, but after connecting the motor back to the hydrolic assembly, the roof still doesn't retract. Essentially the roof unlatches and i can hear the motor spinning, but no roof movement

i have some questions around the motor:

We split the motor assembly from the hydrolic elements of the pump. The Bowden cables we're not removed and are still ing place. When putting this back together we have a sprocket with sits on the underside of the hydrolic element which has 3 pins inserting around the outside of the sprocket. This sites on top of the white wheel which is on the top of the motor and then is bolted together. Is this everything they need, or are we missing something

Im struggling to understand that when the motor starts spinning, how does then in turn start pumping the hydrolic fluid around the lines?

Hope that makes sense

Cheers
 
So i believe this is what we are looking for:

I believe we are missing/lost this pin

any ideas? Anyone have one?

pin.jpg
 
They aren't fixed in place, have you looked under the plastic drive wheel on the motor ? Also the metal pump drive you have pictured comes off and there are 2 pins in the side of that so be careful not to loose them if you remove that too . Obviously the missing pin you mention is the link between the motor drive and the pump drive , so you need it . I have never sourced one, but you might be lucky with the roof motor guy that sells reconditioned pumps on eBay .
 
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