Tuna! said:
Left drivers side directly in front of back wheel. I think I might try lifting one side. How exactly do I do that? Unbolt the 2 bolts near the door/seat? Do I have to undo any bolts in the trunk?
Well those are the short pipes so no need to thread them across the car. That's a small win.
Undo those two bolts that hold the ram in. It sems you know how to access those then?
You are going to have to lower the roof by hand to gain access to the top of the ram. I got stuck doing one last week as even though one side was leaking, the other side wasn't and I got a hydfraulic lock, stopping the roof halfway.
To prevent this, surround the motor with loads of rags, then slightly crack the unions so fluid can escape as you move it.
Unclip the wiring loom that runs up behind the trim. Just pop its holders out from the metalwork. that'll give it enough slack to lift up.
Take the weird shaped rubber seal off. Be careful not to break the white plastic clip that holds it in place underneath.
You will need to remove the interior trim piece that is in front of the ram (or at least detach it from the ram and move it away slightly). There should be a small screw holding it into the top of the ram. (when you put it back together you need to make sure that trim slots properly in with the plastic trim around the ram).
Raise the roof back up, stopping a foot or so from the front. This gives enough slack in the material.
In the trunk, undo 4 or 5 of the 10mm bolts from the left side of the rear frame round to about the middle. Then prise out the rubber seal around the rear edge from the metalwork. Again, you only need to go from the left ram round to about the middle of the trunk.
Get someone to help you so you don't scratch the paintwork: lift the ram straight up then slightly forward until you can rest its bottom edge on the frame in front of it. At the same time your helper needs to push the frame down from above, then move it forward so the metal part comes up and rests on the bodywork. They should have towels or something similar to hand and wedge them under the frame so it doesn't scratch the car.
Then you should have access to the pipes.
NB. At the back of that ram there are two small black cubes, mounted one above the other on the hinge. These are the hall sensors that signal the roof is fully up or fully down and stop the motors running etc. Be very careful not to disturb these.
You will soon realise the correct order to do things, as once the roof is lowered you cannot get into the trunk to undo bolts etc.
It all sounds very complicated but with patience and forethought it's not too bad.
Though I've done many motor moves, I only did my first pipe replacement last week. It was a righthand one as well.
First I had to raise the left to relocate the motor, then bolt that back down, raise the right to replace the pipe, put it all back together, fill with oil, bleed it, refill, check then fit it all neatly into the corner. Took me four hours in total, going slow and thinking everything through twice.
