Roof gap

R

Robby

Member
Usually the hood on my Z4 when down sits nice and flush with no gap between the hood and the rear of the car. Yesterday I noticed when I put the roof down there is now an uneven gap big enough to get your fingers in. I've tried lubricating everything which didn't help. Has anyone seen this before and any idea how to fix it?

 
is the roof locked down on the front bracket ? It's also possible that as you put the roof down the fabric has folded in a slightly different place , this especially happens after you put it down when the fabric is very hot or wet/damp . Other than something breaking in the folding mechanism it's unlikely to be anything other than what I put above which can cause an uneven gap, but this isn't unusual . And as you haven't mentioned the roof folding mechanism not working correctly then I think your probably worrying about nothing , looks perfectly good to me .
 
Well mine folds flush with the boot line, but leaves exactly the same sort of gap you show, just wide enough for a vertical finger.
It looks perfectly normal to me.
If the canvas pressed on the rear deck rubber seal you'd have a wear mark on it very quickly
 
I'm sure I have a small gap there but only 1/2 a cm or so and even, more like the shut line on the boot, above. Never paid it much attention. :)
 
I'm pretty sure my previous Z4 had gap like that . No gap would surely mean the roof would rub on that piece of black plastic trim and cause damaged to the fabric over time?
 
I don't have a gap and have wear marks... I'd rather have a gap.

Anyone know how to adjust the gap - is it even possible ? Thinking maybe the mechanicals of the roof can be adjusted slightly maybe ?
 
I don't think having much of a gap there is a good thing, in effect it's a gully for the roof drains & you don't want leaves/bugs/small children falling down it as they will bung the drains up bankrupting you with the fallout that entails :?
Mine lightly touches the plastic lip & I have to force my finger in to clear out the trapped detritus
Rob
 
I just want a wee gap to stop the running. And I was stung by the roof issue on my last Z, so I know how that feels :cry:
 
Smartbear said:
I don't think having much of a gap there is a good thing, in effect it's a gully for the roof drains & you don't want leaves/bugs/small children falling down it as they will bung the drains up bankrupting you with the fallout that entails :?
Mine lightly touches the plastic lip & I have to force my finger in to clear out the trapped detritus
Rob
Click to expand...

If anything falls through there the net effect is Bugger all as it would be in the same position if the roof was up is the lowest part. Crap will always find its way to the motor.

As cj says though looks normal to me.
 
srhutch said:
Smartbear said:
I don't think having much of a gap there is a good thing, in effect it's a gully for the roof drains & you don't want leaves/bugs/small children falling down it as they will bung the drains up bankrupting you with the fallout that entails :?
Mine lightly touches the plastic lip & I have to force my finger in to clear out the trapped detritus
Rob
Click to expand...

If anything falls through there the net effect is Bugger all as it would be in the same position if the roof was up is the lowest part. Crap will always find its way to the motor.

As cj says though looks normal to me.
Click to expand...

You're right, crap will always find its way down to the motor but my point was the smaller the gap then the less crap can get in?
Rob
 
But if you think about it, it's not a gap because when you close the roof anything that fell though will be back on the surface so as said zero difference.
 
srhutch said:
But if you think about it, it's not a gap because when you close the roof anything that fell though will be back on the surface so as said zero difference.
Click to expand...

So how do you think rubbish finds its way into the roof drains & blocks them?
It must be via this channel surely.
 
Yes, but it makes no difference is all I'm saying. If there was no gap something will sit on the top, but as soon as you close the roof it will fall down into the gap anyway. The gap then disappears when the roof is closed leaving the crap at the bottom of the roof as it would have done if the roof was closed in the first place.
 
The crap, dust, grit, silt, etc. gets in when the roof is closed and it is later washed/tumbles down the rear screen and sides of the hood. With time and movement some works past the 'seal'.
If it was dropping in directly through a 1cm gap the rest of the interior of the car would be knee deep in debris...

Think of parking under a pine tree. For every 1 needle that drops directly through the gap you'd have 100+ on the seats, floor, etc., but if 50 land on the roof and rear screen there's a good chance 1 will roll down to the seal and get trapped and work through
 
My roof gap is much smaller even non existent, it's so close that it has worn the roof on both sides where the material folds. I've circled it on the OP picture.
Does anyone know how to increase this gap?
z4%20roof_zpsvwt22pde.jpg
 
G-A-R-Y said:
My roof gap is much smaller even non existent, it's so close that it has worn the roof on both sides where the material folds. I've circled it on the OP picture.
Does anyone know how to increase this gap?
z4%20roof_zpsvwt22pde.jpg
Click to expand...

Ok the roof is held in position in two areas . The rear section is fixed to the rear of the car by a number of bolts running around the inside of the boot hoop, there is no adjustment on this part . However the rest of the roof mechanism is fixed and pivots off the front mounting posts . These posts are held in by two bolts either side . To get access to these bolts you have to remove a small square air vent cover and a round bolt cap in the plastic trim panel behind the seats . Look behind the seats and towards the back edge of the door on the plastic trim that runs around behind the seats , on the bulkhead , remember both sides of the car, passenger and drivers side. The square vent and round bolt cover are one below the other .

With these trim parts removed if you get a torch and look in the holes , you will see a torx 40 bolt head in each hole . Loosen the bolts a turn or two ( not much ) and with the roof up , push gently on the roof over bar ( middle internal bar that supports to roof lining ) to move the over bar and everything else it's connected to, towards to windscreen top,( do one side at a time), this will move the complete front mechanism away from the rear, increasing the gap size , the amount of movement will only be small , then tighten the bolts again and recheck the gap, by lowering the roof as normal .You may need two people to do the tightening and pushing . There is only a small amount of adjustment in this but it's normally enough .
 
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