Roof motor

M

mickl

Member
Hi Guys

I havn,t been on here for a while as I have been preoccupied with my e36 m3 project but I got the Alpina roadster out of hibernation a couple of weeks ago
and the roof operation was very slow so I lubed all the joints and it eased a bit, the manual even says that after not using it for some time it may need a little assistance. I have been using the car the last couple of days and this morning the roof reluctantly lowered but it wouldn't go back up, I raised it manually and the locking mechanism and windows worked okay.
I have tried it since and the locks and windows are working ok but there is no sound from the motor.
I have checked the fuses which are all ok and from stuff I have read on here it looks as thought the motor is shot although I cleaned the drains out when I got the car over two years ago and it is kept in the dry, very rarely gets wet.
I have seen a couple of thread where there has been some hydraulic leaks, in these cases I cant tell if the motor would carry on running but not raise the hood or would it not run?

I have read shipkiller's instructions and I think I can get the roof out and do the job, I was going to order a motor but I guess its better to strip out roof first to confirm problem.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Mick L
 
Sounds like just what I recently had.
Last week I ende up following Shipkillers instructions and took the roof off to clean the motor.
Soak in warm water with a degreaser
Few beats with a rubber mallet to loosen any stubborn rust
Another soak in warm water and degreaser
Then another beating with rubber mallet
Dry it out with a heat gun
Plenty of WD40 or similar
Dry it out again
More wd40
Then test!

Mine sprang to life and has been working great everyday since then! No more struggle or sounding like it is over loaded. Good few hours work, well worth it though!
 
Great tip

I assume you removed the jacket from the motor? Did you then take the motor apart at all or was this just work on the casing?

Thanks

Mick
 
The motor is certainly dead.
Worth trying to revive the motor as posted above, but consider the time and effort to remove Vs cost of a motor.

One comment is aside freeing it up I woudl never leave WD40 on its internals as it a water repellent and over time sets like glue. Put oil on it or waterproof grease.

I have a spare motor that I may sell if needed
 
Just out interest was your motor wrapped in (rusty) damp foam or a plastic bag inside it's housing?

LukeMace said:
Sounds like just what I recently had.
Last week I ende up following Shipkillers instructions and took the roof off to clean the motor.
Soak in warm water with a degreaser
Few beats with a rubber mallet to loosen any stubborn rust
Another soak in warm water and degreaser
Then another beating with rubber mallet
Dry it out with a heat gun
Plenty of WD40 or similar
Dry it out again
More wd40
Then test!

Mine sprang to life and has been working great everyday since then! No more struggle or sounding like it is over loaded. Good few hours work, well worth it though!
Click to expand...
 
Yep, rusty damp foam! Simply gave it a bath in degreaser (jizer) and warm water then left it to dry before using it again to put back in before I sealed the housing unit back up again :)
 
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