BMW Z4 convertible roof fix and motor relocation

Can't believe it , 4 hours later all done . Follow this video to the letter and it worked perfectly. My motor was full of water so I Followed the instructions and cleaned it with compressed air line and WD40 and it worked. It now located in the boot. And the roof is working again. Thrilled. Thank you 👍

Absolute brilliant video. The voiceover, the instructions, the simplicity. Brilliant, thank-you!

As others have attested, this is clearest, most instructive video on the subject. Thank you, db192!!! Two weekends of sweaty work and my 2003 Z4 3.0i convertible is back to life again! A couple of learnings from my experience: 1. The hardest part for me was getting the top of the housing off. I found the two visible zip ties (much obliged, db192, for the clearly marked pic!) and cut them without too much trouble. But after three hours of fishing around with my hands, a screwdriver, and a pry bar, and I just couldn't get the (untaped) lid to budge. Finally I wedged the pry bar against the outside (left side) of the housing top and used the side of vehicle as leverage and Voila! it popped off in one motion. I recommend this technique. Getting the bottom out was less trouble. Grab an edge of the housing with channel-lock pliers and pull hard to break that infernal last zip tie in the back at the bottom. The whole package came out (relatively) easily. Then release the various electrical and hydraulic lines from their molded channels on the bottom piece to release the hydraulic pump and motor from its watery prison. Mine was a soggy and rusty mess. NOTE: save the foam sound-proofing insulation. Wash it well and let it dry. It works well if using another container for the motor, as I did. 2. I decided to make life easier and purchase a relatively cheap ($80) new after-market motor. It had a welded-on (what's the word, flange? bracket?), the pointed-eared part that takes the two long hex-head screws to hold the motor onto the hydraulic pump. NOTE: while taking off the equivalent part that was not welded onto the OEM motor the linkage components: the metal pin, the nylon wheel, and that little metal piece that reinforces the center of the nylon wheel, came out suddenly along with some of the hydraulic fluid. My recommendation, if you face the same situation, is either to purchase a motor that does not have the flange/bracket welded on (this allows you to leave that piece and its component parts in place), or be prepared to reassemble it and replace some of the hydraulic fluid. I ended up draining the 20-year-old fluid from the pump and reservoir into a can and replacing it with OEM fluid. It was darker than the new OEM fluid, but not that bad, considering its age. 3. When these pieces (the metal linkage pin, nylon wheel, and a little metal reinforcement bar) come out, care must be taken to put them back together correctly. The little metal bar slides in through a same-sized slot on the back of the wheel (opposite the side with the holes). This is a critical part as is reinforces the half-moon hole in the wheel and gives a metal-to-metal connection to the drive shaft of the motor to prevent the nylon from wearing out. 4. The metal linkage pin slides loosely into a hole in the metal hydraulic pump wheel. It will fall out easily. My recommendation is to drain the hydraulic fluid from the reservoir (having fresh fluid to replace it) and stop worrying about having to hold the pump upside down to avoid losing fluid. Makes the whole process (which is already squeezed into a tight space) much easier assuming you have a pan or rags to catch the fluid. NOTE: I saw one video with great photos that shows a spring which fits around the metal pin. I suspect it functions to hold the nylon wheel firmly in place. After obsessing that I had somehow lost it (on the floor of the trunk/boot or worse, sucked into the electric motor by its magnets) I found at least one video that showed no such spring. I assume it varies by model. After a careful search, I assured myself that I had not lost a spring and subsequently found my motor works beautifully without one. 5. The metal pin needs to be in its metal hole and fit into one of the holes in the nylon wheel (whose half-moon hole is fitted on the half-moon drive shaft of the motor) while you line up the two holding bolts on the flange/bracket. I found it easiest to line everything up with one of the flange/bracket holes--metal pin, nylon hole (any of them), and flange/bracket hole all at 6 o'clock, holding them parallel to the ground and using gravity as a helper, and carefully assembling the motor onto the hydraulic pump. The first time I did this the pin apparently fell out, and while the motor was spinning away, it was not making linkage to the pump and therefore failing to lift the ragtop. NOTE: I did not have to remove or replace any O-rings in this arrangement, but have heard that in others you may need to in order to avoid double O-rings. 6. I initially planned to house my motor in a Tupperware cup and seal it with silicone caulk (per another video author's recommendation) and place it back in the now-cleaned-out drainage well. But the cup added a few inches to the total length of the pump/motor assembly and blocked the ragtop from fully retracting. So, I kept the motor in its sealed cup and relocated it, per db192's instructions, to the trunk/boot. Try and flood THAT motor, Mother Nature! 7. One benefit of the trunk relocation, BTW, is that is also further insulates the driver/passenger from the sound of the motor. Now, except for the top motor releasing the holding clamps, the entire ragtop retraction/lifting process is nearly silent. db192, you are the BEST!

This is a great modifaction and the video is excellent. Just be aware that the manual roof release cabel can give you real problems (particularly removing the pump motor). This if like mine it is routed down behind some plastic panelling at the very back, which is next to impossibe to see (let alone get to). The trouble is the cable isn't long enough to reach the new location as it is. I had to take the cable off from the pump and feed it back through back under the plastic. Which can only be done once you get the cable away from the plastic plate (on the pump) by cutting the plastic, that holds the outer cable. Another thing to note is that some pump motors (mine included) are welded to the drive coupling section. So if your buying a new motor make sure you buy the correct type!!! With or without the welded drive coupling section I hope this info is of some help to someone. Thanks for the execellent video DB 192.

Followed this video this weekend .. went from broken motor to fully working relocated motor .. excellent step by video... thanks for posting

I wish I found this video earlier! Struggled to remove the roof until you showed me that the motor is accessible from the boot. Saved me so much time and effort 👌 going to tackle this unfinished job tomorrow thanks to you Also, that fact that you did this whilst fitting your camera through is pure talent👏👏 its such a tight space

Excellent video which enabled me to fix the problem for $100 using a new motor bought from eBay. It's a little challenging to get to the pump and then open/free the housing, but I prevailed and feel so satisfied to have fixed my baby and saved a whole lot of money. Thanks for putting this together.

Wow, perhaps the most informative, perfect and concise 'no flannel' video I've seen on youtube. Wished all videos were like this and straight to the point! Well done!

Next weekend I’m diving into this. I don’t mind manually raising and lowering the hood (to be honest i very rarely ever raise it as I only drive the car on nice days), but it will be nice to have it working properly again!

You are the man! Bought a low-mileage 2007 Z4 3.0i with a “bad top” and “bad power mirrors” (from your videos and others I knew the rusted top motor was a very common issue). I used these “bad parts” as a bargaining point and scored my Zed for a very good price. Following your “top motor fix and relocate” video I replaced just the motor for $104.00 and relocated it into the boot as you did. Works like new! Another common issue is the power mirror switch (it’s located right under the cup holder and any drink sweat or bump spillage drips right onto the switch shorting it out). Ordered a used one from a wrecked Z4 for $32.00 and it fixed my power side mirror issue. Now I have a low-mileage, beautiful Z4 that works properly all the way around. Thank you mate for a brilliant video - love your vids.

Thx for this, just what the doctor ordered! Gives me the confidence to tackle it myself👍

Thanks for sharing your excellent video. When there wasn’t a repair shop in town (other than the BMW dealer) that offered to even look at my 2006 Z4 roof issue, I found and followed your video. Getting the top off the motor/pump housing and extracting the bottom part of the bucket wasn't easy and made up 85% of the project. The rest was a snap; I reconditioned the electric motor, and the roof was operating shortly thereafter. Thank you, db192.

Just explaining how to put the shelf clips back in saved me putting a hammer through the back window,thank you.👍

You make this look so easy! I had a real battle getting the top off the case - found it easier from inside the car reaching over the seat.

Fantastic video, very clear and straightforward. You've given me the confidence to go for it . 10/10

This video is the gold standard of how to do this procedure. Well done Sir!

Best video on the internet for this project. Good job. This is my 2nd Z4 that the motor failed on and on my first one I did the official method of removing the entire top which was 12+ hours. Using this video, I did it in 2.5 hours.

absolute best video on this topic

This dude what thorough all the way through this video.. great job

Brilliant vid bro, just removed my roof motor following your instructions, all is well,Awaiting new motor now, thank u 🙏