Relocation of Z4 Roof motor to the boot

[Richardemb]

Just a quick bit of info for you Z4 owners who are waiting on baited breath for your roof to stop working!! (applies to cars up to 2009) I think but I don't think you rich guys who own a modern one have to worry

I was always concerned that my roof motor would finally give up the ghost - from the day I bought my car. Sure enough it went just in time for summer!! Luckily I'd been anticipating this and trying to figure out what I would do.

To cut a long story short I found a guy in Harrogate (Yorkshire), called Mervyn, who has a small one man operation business called Autoelectron. I called Merv, as he likes to be called, and he gave me a lot of useful information with regard to failing roof motors. The good news is its not just Z4 motors that go bang. Apparently Mercedes have a bad rep too!!

Anyway what Merv does is relocate the roof motor to the boot however he always uses a brand new motor and if I had pictures of my old one you'd see why!! As many of you will know the roof motor in a Z4 is situated in a small tray behind the passenger seat and the conventional way to replace it involves removing the roof. There are drain plugs in this tray but they are renowned for getting blocked and this causes the roof motor to become corroded with rust eventually killing it.

Merv, quite a big guy, climbs into your boot and with dexterity and some clever tools will remove the old, knackered, motor without removing the roof. There are advantages to this. Firstly the cost. It will cost well over £1000.00 to have the roof removed and get a replacement motor fitted into its original position. Secondly, as Merv explained to me, its not a good idea to remove the roof on numerous occasions. Merv used to replace motors the conventional way. However when a customer returned, with the same problem, two years after having his roof motor replaced he decided to explore different options. Removing the roof is a tricky job and doing it more than once can lead to or enhance the chance of ripping tired fabric or simply not getting it realigned properly. Merv came up with putting it in the boot in a neat little casing that doesn't take away boot space. It takes him between 4 and 6 hours to do the job and it will cost you , including the cost of a brand new motor, around £670.00. He will guarantee your new motor for two years but he assured me that it will now last the life of the vehicle as it is highly unlikely to suffer water ingress in its new position. Besides if anything does go wrong it is now easily accessible.

There are other people out there that can do the same job - well i found two others. One in Surrey and one up in Durham so Yorkshire it was for me.

Anyway Merv's a really good guy and Harrogate is a lovely place to go for a spin. Look him up.

I will be happy to take pictures if any one is interested and if you want Mervs contact details give me a shout!!

Cheers and happy motoring guys

Rob

My roof does not work. I press the button, the red light comes on but nothing moves and no noise at all of something trying to work. Any idea what the problem might be?

 

[bowser134]

Do the windows drop and front catches release?

 

[billz]

Can you give me the contact details of this garage please as my motor has packed up to? Thanks. Richard

Durham Dave 07864 860960.
At tow law south of durham.£80.
Best txt him first as doesnt answer fone if he's busy.

 

[clivey]

ok. sounds like your motor has drowned. When did you last clean your passenger side drain hole?See Mike-'ducklakeview' great post on why motor fails and why you should have it removed to the boot. And in the process save yourself a fortune.
yesterday I managed to relocate my motor from its watery housing to the boot. its taken me about 5 hours fiddling about.

But once you've done one you will understand how to do this a lot quicker and make it an easier and a less physical job.( Unless that is your less than 5 foot and you've got hands that are fairly slim and as powerful as a JCB digger. ) There are a few tricks you can employ to make things easier as I did. There are people up and down the country that can do this at a fair price but I thought I would have a go.

In my opinion its ridiculous to have roof removed (Not necessary- spend the money on a holiday) and nuts to put motor back in same position.

 

[Wildog]

also interested, need a contact too

 

[GazHyde]

@bowser134

 

[Richardemb]

Do the windows drop and front catches release?

No. When I press the button the red button light comes on but the windows do not come down, nor do the front catches release. Do you know what this problem is please? Thanks

 

[gookah]

is the rear parcel shelf out of position?

there is a microswitch in the centre that has to be operated for it to open. It will only be switched if the shelf is in the low position
Sometimes the microswitch can fail?

 

[bowser134]

No. When I press the button the red button light comes on but the windows do not come down, nor do the front catches release. Do you know what this problem is please? Thanks

Would need to put on the diagnosis tool to see what faults are logged normally that fault is a broken wire or ECU.

Parcel shelf fault normally brings on a yellow light.

 

[Richardemb]

is the rear parcel shelf out of position?

there is a microswitch in the centre that has to be operated for it to open. It will only be switched if the shelf is in the low position
Sometimes the microswitch can fail?

Rear parcel shelf? There is no rear parcel shelf on a Z4 is there?

 

[t-tony]

It's the "roof" of the boot compartment Richard and it moves up and down to give more space when the roof is up. If it's set in the up position the car roof cannot be lowered. There's a control at either side if the boot. I'll add pictures soon. Just collecting grandson for the day.

Tony

 

[Richardemb]

It's the "roof" of the boot compartment Richard and it moves up and down to give more space when the roof is up. If it's set in the up position the car roof cannot be lowered. There's a control at either side if the boot. I'll add pictures soon. Just collecting grandson for the day.

Tony

Ok thanks Tony, will have a look at the pictures..

 

[t-tony]

Ok thanks Tony, will have a look at the pictures..

This is what Pete was referring to Richard. Pic.1 show is the position of the controls either side with the "shelf" at lowest point allowing roof to open.

And pic.2 shows higher position where roof cannot open.

Tony.

 

[Richardemb]

This is what Pete was referring to Richard. Pic.1 show is the position of the controls either side with the "shelf" at lowest point allowing roof to open.View attachment 108767
And pic.2 shows higher position where roof cannot open.
View attachment 108769

Tony.

Thanks very much Tony, I'll check mine.

 

[Richardemb]

Unfortunately that was not the problem. Any other ideas? Could it be a fuse problem?

 

[MSD]

Hi everyone. Another Newbie with a roof motor failure.
I was wondering if I could get bowser134 to get in touch about replacement and relocation? I am near Horsham in West Sussex. Haven't figured out PM system to be able to ask directly.
Thanks
Mo

 

[GazHyde]

@bowser134 should tag him, and if I get chance I’ll drop him a message and tell him to drop by!

 

[MSD]

Thanks for that. I am not on Twitter or other social media however with your help bowser134 has got in touch with me so that's great.
Regards
Mo

 

[MSD]

Just been to see Ross in Hook to have the roof motor replaced and relocated. All fixed in an hour or so and a what a great job. Really professional, very knowledgeable regarding BMWs and a really nice guy.
Highly recommended his services and will use him again now that he is starting up as a specialist.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen.
Mo

 

[colb]

Just carried out relocation of mine to the boot as a precaution. Followed the guides posted on here and managed to take the shelf out after popping the retaining clips out. Took the side shelf support out and could see the top of the platic motor housing in its well. Managed to pop the lid of that off using a long bar to lever it up until the tape securing it broke free. Snipped the cable ties along the length of the side to free the bowden cable that acts as the manual release and pulled the motor up, some resistance there as cable ties lower down in the well holding it in place. Really hard pull on it managed to break the ties and the motor lifted out. More tugging and the lower casing of the motor housing came free when the tie holding that gave up.
Positioned the motor in the side of the boot behind the carpet and secured it to the bracket hiding behind there with cable ties. made sure the cables and pipes were routed tidy by drilling large holes in the side rail plastic and slotting it to feed the cables and wiring into the holes. Refitted the side rails and then refitted the shelf. Putting the retaining clips back in was a pain as you work blind to get them in the right place, the rear ones were easier to do and once the correct holes were found the clips were pressed home with a click. Thet do have to be the rightr way around to get clipped in correctly. The front ones after much trying to locate them from working in the boot was a pain, eventually got them back in working from inside the car and reaching over and under the side rail. Again the clips need to be the right way around to click into the holes.
Hats off to the guys who do this in under an hour, took me all day but preety sure it would be faster now I know how it all works. Looking at my motor it looks like a replacement so probably been done before in its life. I had already checked the drain holes and they were free and not blocked, no evidence of any build up of water but now its in the boot I won't have to worry about it drowning.