How to: BMW Z4 Convertible Roof motor replacement + Troubleshooting issues (Using @db192 Video)

Thank you for the mention!

You're a legend mate. Did that thing where you greased the button underneath the black thing and it worked perfectly. Was booked into the dealer too probably saved me a fortune ❤

First off I'd like to thank db 192, How2Helen and frankly everyone else that takes the time to put out how to videos for projects like this. I have found them to be an amazing resource that can't be found anywhere else and have helped me greatly in my various projects over the years! I own a 2003 Z4 and about a year ago the roof stopped operating. I first checked fuses to make sure that wasn't it...nope all good. After watching a few video's I then checked the microswitch for the parcel shelf. Be advised that this is a VERY flimsy switch and if it is inoperative a circuit will not be closed and power will not get to the pump to move the roof when the shelf is lowered. You can certainly "hot wire" this circuit but I wouldn't recommend doing this because if you do and then mistakenly leave the parcel shelf in the upper position and operate the roof, it's pretty likely something is going to break and it's gonna get ugly! Ok so I consider myself to be a pretty handy guy but you should be forewarned. Doing this procedure is NOT particularly easy, even with the help of the many videos I watched. Make sure you've got a decent amount of time and quite a bit of patience and determination. Don't get me wrong it's completely doable...but! That said I'd like to add a bit of colour that might help out someone else. 1. When you take the retaining clips off the parcel shelf they don't fall into the trunk like you'd expect but instead they will immediately fly backwards and out of view. Don't worry you will find them, they have landed on a plastic shelf to the right and left of the parcel shelf...more about those clips later. 2. Getting the pump out of the housing where it lives is NOT FUN! As per the video's the cap on the housing needs to come off first. I struggled with this for quite a while and what finally worked for me was to take an old school metal coat hanger (one of the older, thicker metal ones) bend the last 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the wire into a hook. I then got this hook under the top right part of the cover and pried like heck until the cap finally gave up and came off. Now you can see the top of the pump. The next thing to do is to clip the only tie wrap that you can actually see that holds the wire bundle from the pump, against the inside metal of the wheel well. I bought a blue tooth inspection camara from amazon ($50, pretty cheap) and I used this to locate the next tie wrap which is located at the furthest forward part of the housing. guided by the camara I stuck a utility knife down a very small area and managed to saw the tie wrap until it gave up. Not easy! I was then able to pull the pump partially out of the housing and once again with a fair amount of effort then pull the bottom part of the housing out of the hole. There is then another tie wrap that needs to be cut that holds the hydraulic and power lines to the bottom portion of the housing. At this point you are home free and the pump can now be pulled into the trunk. I just changed the motor (Amazon purchase). At this point I was so excited that I failed to watch the part of the video that says "make sure you turn the pump upside down prior to removing the motor from the pump or hydraulic fluid will pour out. Oh well, that was a bit of mess! Anyway when I got the motor off and the fluid poured out a little round teflon disk with multiple holes in it fell out as well as a short metal pin. The pin goes into a hole in the metal disk on the pump side which then fits into any of the many holes in the teflon disk on the motor side. Your new motor should have a rubber O ring on it. Make sure to remove the old one before installing the new motor. The electrical connectors on the bottom of my old pump were a mess so I replaced them and added a bit of wire in the process because they were a bit tight with the pump now in the trunk. Since I spilled hydraulic fluid out of the reservoir I had to replace this. Not willing to take a chance that just any hydraulic fluid would work I spent $50 at the dealer to buy a small bottle of fluid...RIP OFF ALERT! The reservoir is quite easy to fill per the video's. I used a very small funnel. Once that was done I made the cuts in the plastic on the parcel shelf support and the inner housing to accommodate the repositioning of the wire/hose bundle. Put the shelf support back in then reinstalled the shelf and voila the top worked! 3. Something db 192 mentions but doesn't go into great detail about, are how to attach those retaining clips that hold the shelf to the hinge brackets. As he does say in the video these have to be installed from inside the car but it took me a while to figure out how to get them in. What I ended up doing was from inside the trunk I stuck some electrical tape through the holes where the shelf bracket attaches to the shelf so I could find the right area when I was feeling around blindly from inside the car for the slots where the clips go into. Once I knew where those slots were with the tape I just followed the orientation as described by db 192 and managed to get them reinstalled. Anyway I hope this helps someone else. I think it's always important to pay it forward!

Just finished mine. Works beautifully. Thanks for following on the original video and covering more details. Advising those who are going to try this: 1) use one of your hands to locate the zip ties, with the other hand guide a tool to crack the zip 3rd zip tie ( the one on top of the plastic case and closest to the back of the driver sit. 2) I used a long neck 45 degree pliers to get rid of the third zip tie. Be very careful to not pinch the hydraulic lines. After you pinch the Zip ties with a long plier, use the other hand to feel the region and to know if you are pinching the right thing. 3) Be patient when dealing with the zip ties. Besides the 3 zip ties the video mentions, There are 2 more hidden zip ties at the lower part of the black plastic case ( side closest to the seat of the driver ) 4) At the middle of the case, there are 3 or more tape strips around the casing. 5 I bent a Peggy board hook and sharpened the interior part of the hook… that helped me to remove the zip ties and tapes. 6) buy a hook blade similar to the one of matco tools: PRO-XNIFE HOOK BLADE. That will help you to remove the tapes and cut zip ties effortless. Be patient and Good luck. Thanks,

To be honest. I got really annoyed with the zip tie and the damn tape that was wrapped around the housing and i just brute forced the housing out with a long prying tool....it worked haha- thank goodness i didnt break any wirings. Make sure yall activate the microswitch in the trunk or else the motor will not operate. Thank you for the video! showing me clearly where to cut for the wiring to go inside the trunk. I am 6 feet tall and 190lbs and it was difficult for me getting inside the trunk. My shoulders and neck started to hurt after a while lol.

What a legend a YouTube video of a YouTube video, as a man making a YouTube video while watching another man on YouTube.

That release valve was my exact issue after watching DB 192. You’re awesome for doing this

I had the same issue you had with the stuck valve!! Thank you soo much I was wondering why it was not working after replacing the motor!!!

Thanks mate , this video is so invaluable to Zed owners , you could well have saved me a cerebral palsy meltdown. 🙌

Thank you both for some great advice and videos. I have the confidence now to try this thanks to you 🙂

Great video! Thank you for the walkthrough and troubleshooting

Thanks man!! I'm at the frustrating "leg cramp" stage where I'm lying in the trunk and trying to reach for the motor to get it dislodged...

I got the motor out by tying a piece of rope to it, pulled up, and broke all the ties. Had it out in 20 minutes. the motor replaced 35 minutes total, maybe. 👍 good vid, tho helped alot. ❤

Mine has finally packed in due to the stupid place they placed it!…. I appreciate the video, I think for this summer I’m just gonna take it it down and pull it up manually (pull little red hoop by parcel shelf to deactivate hydraulic 👍🏻) happy cruising in the sun you guys! 😉 ☀️

Thanks Buddy! This will help a lot! I have been putting it off for the past 3 years… lol Now it’s time… I also have a 05 Z 😊

Thanks!! Great vid w/o removing top

Great Video!

I thank u very much it’s working now 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Good job! Can you show how to put the panel clips back in??? How can you put them in? Thanks

May I ask why not change the entire motor including the top part? Since you have the whole thing as new, why not? Is there a burping procedure for the hydraulic fluid? I'm shopping for a Z4 right now and learning about all the issues to be fixed. Great Videos by yourself and @db192