Roof motor... yeah sadly another one of these posts!

H

Hutch_86

Member
Hi guys,

Long time no post, it seems these posts are the hot topic these days! Sadly my roof has been getting slower and slower over the last few weeks and the other day it went down and almost didn't come up! Had to mess around for a few minutes to get it shut again.

So I have started a topic to see if there is anyone out there who can change the roof motor close to Hertfordshire if not I can travel. I have already called Dave the mechanic who can do them for £80 which is an amazing price, I just wanted to check if there was anyone closer to save me the 4 hours each way trip :driving:

Any help would be much appreciated :thumbsup:

Also just edited to add I was looking at the roof motors guys that have their own website and are on ebay, has anyone used their motors and are they any good? If not who would you all suggest for a new motor?

James
 
I have done a couple of replacements, but not a relocation, and they have been roof out jobs. I'm close to junction 10 on the A1M and I'm happy to help if you need it . However I am off to Europe in the Z on Saturday for 2 weeks . Yes I used the roof motor guy for reconditioned units and they have been fine .
 
£80 is an amazing price. I'm not sure if he actually takes the whole roof out like most do for that price, or if with experience he's managed to work out a way to wriggle it out whilst leaving most of the roof in place, hence saving a lot of time replacing it all again ?

However, whilst getting the roof out is a long arduous job, it does give you the satisfying opportunity to properly clear the drains on both sides, and clean up afterwards so everything is spotless, rather than just unblocked until it all moves back over the small holes again. After all, this is what causes the problem in the first place, so it's nice to know (and see) the wells are spotlessly clean and with the bottom bung valves removed from the sills, it's going to drain easily for the next few years.

If he does all of the above for £80, then start shipping car transporters to him full of Zeds !

....You pays your money and takes your choice ! :wink:
 
Thanks for the replies guys, just to specify I got his number from someone elses post on here. He relocates the roof motor to the boot, and by the sounds of it he doesn't need to remove the roof. As it seems my motor may be knackered this would be a good option however, I see what you mean about clearing everything out.

I may go with Dave even though it's a bit of a trek! As with the motor and 2 tanks of fuel and his labor charges it would still only come out at around £400 unless someone closer can do the relocation at a cheap price? I have PM'd bowser134 as he is a bit closer to me. Fingers crossed I can get this sorted soon, I don't want to blink and miss all the roof down weather!
 
Thanks for the offer Dietcokeman, out of interest if I did go down this route how much would you charge?

Many thanks,
James :thumbsup:
 
If I was doing it again, I reckon the actual removal and relocation to the boot could easily be done in around 90 mins, that doesn't include any stripping/repairing or replacement of the actual motor/pump. It's actually easily done without removing the roof, OR any of the interior trim. So £80 for a couple of hours labour ain't too bad.. Could you not do it yourself? See my post for how I did mine, and brought a dead motor back to life... http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=86101

Mike
 
Number5 said:
£80 is an amazing price. I'm not sure if he actually takes the whole roof out like most do for that price, or if with experience he's managed to work out a way to wriggle it out whilst leaving most of the roof in place, hence saving a lot of time replacing it all again ?

However, whilst getting the roof out is a long arduous job, it does give you the satisfying opportunity to properly clear the drains on both sides, and clean up afterwards so everything is spotless, rather than just unblocked until it all moves back over the small holes again. After all, this is what causes the problem in the first place, so it's nice to know (and see) the wells are spotlessly clean and with the bottom bung valves removed from the sills, it's going to drain easily for the next few years.

If he does all of the above for £80, then start shipping car transporters to him full of Zeds !

....You pays your money and takes your choice ! :wink:
Click to expand...

The guy doesn't remove the roof no need to. Can you not clear the drains without removing the roof?

Also money doesn't correlate with quality. I could show you a pair of headphones for £25 that beat headphones priced at £200. Same goes for whiskey, vodka, watches, tv's, etc. Just because he only charges £80 doesn't mean he's doing a crap job iirc he used to charge a lot more but because he has done so many and has gotten faster and faster he can do them so fast he has cut his price accordingly.
 
SonnyA85 said:
Number5 said:
£80 is an amazing price. I'm not sure if he actually takes the whole roof out like most do for that price, or if with experience he's managed to work out a way to wriggle it out whilst leaving most of the roof in place, hence saving a lot of time replacing it all again ?

However, whilst getting the roof out is a long arduous job, it does give you the satisfying opportunity to properly clear the drains on both sides, and clean up afterwards so everything is spotless, rather than just unblocked until it all moves back over the small holes again. After all, this is what causes the problem in the first place, so it's nice to know (and see) the wells are spotlessly clean and with the bottom bung valves removed from the sills, it's going to drain easily for the next few years.

If he does all of the above for £80, then start shipping car transporters to him full of Zeds !

....You pays your money and takes your choice ! :wink:
Click to expand...

The guy doesn't remove the roof no need to. Can you not clear the drains without removing the roof?

Also money doesn't correlate with quality. I could show you a pair of headphones for £25 that beat headphones priced at £200. Same goes for whiskey, vodka, watches, tv's, etc. Just because he only charges £80 doesn't mean he's doing a crap job iirc he used to charge a lot more but because he has done so many and has gotten faster and faster he can do them so fast he has cut his price accordingly.
Click to expand...

I have not implied he does a crap job at all. If CherryM and Paulsgs1000 rate him, then that's a good reference for me. All I was saying/asking is that £80 may only be for a relocation and not a complete removal and clean up with clear visual inspection of the whole roof well. To me I suspect it's £80 for what it says on the tin "Roof Motor Relocation" versus a little more perhaps to get the whole thing out and have full access to both wells.

I believe he comes highly rated and have today even recommended that a forum member in Leeds considers going to Durham to get his done.
 
Thanks for the reply and link to your post Mike, I'm not bad with the spanners and it seems not too bad of a job to do after seeing photos. I may give it a go myself tomorrow. If it all goes terribly wrong and need someone to look at it, can you still drive the car around without the motor connected? As I can see that you leave the roof up anyway when doing the job.

James
 
Hutch_86 said:
Thanks for the offer Dietcokeman, out of interest if I did go down this route how much would you charge?

Many thanks,
James :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Hi James

Haven't charged for anything but parts before, no reason to change that. I'm just offering forum spirit , in this case of help and support . I have a driveway, garage, tools and a coffe machine ! if your prepared to roll up your sleeves and pitch in , then I see no reason to charge, . I too read Mike's thread a month or so ago so we can have a go that way if you want before we submit to roof off mode . 07771847714 if you want to discuss .
 
Well in typical fashion today is a washout so no attempt from me. However, thanks for the offer Dietcokeman I'm definitely up for rolling up the sleeves with a bit of help. You're not far from me either, I'm in welwyn. When would be a good time for me to give you a call?

James
 
My Hydro top motor froze last year. The dealer diagnosed that it needed to be replace. Received motor last week and pulled top. We followed the procedures written by Shipkiller and others. Top will still not activate. The motor will activate but, will not raise or lower the top. We have bled lines, added fluid and read all directives to no avail. anyone have any ideas what is wrong. The write-ups all seem to be remove and replace.
 
After Dave found that he could relocate the motors in a shorter time I asked him if he would reduce the charge.
He is a genuine guy and agreed.He is also a very meticulous mechanic who is self employed and always extremely busy with repairing and serviceing work which is why I recommended him on the forum.
Everyone should be able to keep their drivers side drain clean themselves and he cleans the motor side out when it is exposed so you can do it yourself in future.
It is great that some forum members can do this job themselves but this was posted to help people like me who could not and bought the new motor from BMW which Dave fitted.
Good luck to everyone whichever way you decide.
 
I too have used Dave to relocate my roof motor, I can only reiterate what cherrym has said . He does a great job and by doing it a few times he has managed to cut the time taken ,and by doing this he is passing the saving on to you the forum members, thanks Mike.
 
Hutch_86 said:
Well in typical fashion today is a washout so no attempt from me. However, thanks for the offer Dietcokeman I'm definitely up for rolling up the sleeves with a bit of help. You're not far from me either, I'm in welwyn. When would be a good time for me to give you a call?

James
Click to expand...

James , I'm about most days until about 8 pm . But as I think I said before, I'm off to Europe in my Z on Saturday for 2 weeks , but give me a call and we can discuss .

Kind regards
Bryan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom