Roof top motor relocation follow up

R

rdm05z4

Member
 Columbia MO USA
As a new z4 owner been reading new and old post to get familiar with the car. I see many post about relocating the top motor to the boot to eliminate any wet motor issues. My question is even after moving the motor would you not still want to still clean out the drain holes periodically to prevent rust issues with any water build up?
 
Absolutley, the wells on either side take water from the roof and drain away through those drain, with the water you get quite a lot of debris go with it, small leaves and dust, thats what ends up blocking the drains and in the case of the passenger side water damages the roof motor despite it being supposidly sealed in its plastic holding case. First job for any new owner should be to relocate the motor to the boot to avoid the inevitable.
 
Thanks for all reply's. Will look for someone who in the states here can move it. Might try it myself but per my usual attempt at things if it should take 4 hours for a task it ends up taking me twice as long either because I don't have the tool needed at the time or bugger something up which adds time.
 
Well in case you can't find anyone or feel brave here is a link to a "How To" guide:- https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=85266&hilit=roof+motor
 
https://zroadster.org/threads/z4-roof-motor-relocation-to-boot.19256/

This is a much better "how to" I followed this one, you do need to be in fairly good physical shape to tackle it, lying on your back in the boot with your hands in the well where the motor is and pulling like crazy was not my most favourite point in time! If you do have a go yourself, it is easier to get the motor out by using a knife to cut the tape, which holds the plastic motor cover together. The top then pulls off easily and gives more room to wrench the motor out.
 
After relocating the motor if you remove the rubber anti bug climbing in thing from the bottom of the drain pipes on both sides then its unlikely the wells will ever not drain in the future.
 
If you remove the bug guard I have read that it creates noise in the cabin due to a drop in pressure in the tube, left mine on so not tested that.
 
Davz said:
If you remove the bug guard I have read that it creates noise in the cabin due to a drop in pressure in the tube, left mine on so not tested that.
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No difference to my ears. Personally I have just removed the bungs, seems very unlikely the drain can get blocked with them out.

Like the op mentions, I think it’s too easy for owners to forget about the recesses filling up and overflowing if they have had their motor relocated. When this happens, water gets in under the carpet around the rear bulkhead and can cause all sorts of problems even worse than a saturated roof motor.

Really, there is just one simple test I do every time I was the car....

1) With the roof down, pour a little water down by the roof hinges on each side.

2) Look for the water immediately appearing in front of the rear wheels.
 
I use a piece of cycle brake outer cable sheath (campagnolo...only the best) this is stiff but flexible enough to slide down the drain and clear it out, I do this every other month and not had any problems.
 
I am working on keeping mine clear to but have only been able to work things 'up' the drain tube from point where it exists the bottom of the car - just front of rear wheel arch. How do you access from the top?
 
Z4paul said:
I am working on keeping mine clear to but have only been able to work things 'up' the drain tube from point where it exists the bottom of the car - just front of rear wheel arch. How do you access from the top?
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After the soft top motor has been relocated the can be inspected directly: With the soft top down the bottom of the well and the drain hole can be seen with a flashlight. I use a vacuum cleaner with a thinner tubing (for cleaning PCs) to remove debris from the wells. Regularly also remove the bungs to clean the lower ends of the drains.
 
Of course that makes sense !
I have used a similar trick with a Henry hoover with various diameter tube taped together to clear the drain tube from the bottom - not an easy job. Looking forward to getting the motor/pump relocated :thumbsup:
 
As above have highlighted, I used a bit of small cane and popped the bottom bungs out and water now runs clear (after being very dirty for the first few rinses).

Mike
 
Question; is there a bung covering the drain INSIDE of the well/top of the drain pipe? Had my roof motor relocated a year or two ago (thanks for Bowser) but after heavy rain the p/s well fills up with water and I need to do the whole 'shove a wire up the drain pipe' dance to get the water out. There is major resistance when poking the wire up the pipe so I'm guessing there is a bung on the top-end of the pipe as well?

My d/s well NEVER clogs up, but my p/s one does regularly. I've always meant to get into the well and drill out out I presume is a rubber bung but not sure if that's even possible...
 
You can just pull the bungs out from below - it's dead easy.

There is some kind of pipe that connects the plastic 'bucket' to the bung. That's why it can be quite difficult to shove a pipe cleaner through it all.
 
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