Quote:
Originally Posted by khalidc
Hi Dave, very informative post on the leak in the hinge..I recently bought a 2004 Z4 for $30k here in Pakistan with an automatic top. The top failed 4,5 days back. I could hear the motor whirring very weakly and took it to official BMW service center.. All they did was hook it with the diagnostic tool and said there was no error in the motor.. Took it to an independent workshop, he diagnosed a leak in the Left hinge..Just like yours, its the LEFT one..All of the posts i have read, everyone takes off the roof to access the motor, but this guy took out the passenger seat and got the motor out with the top intact.. The issue is how does one make sure it is the hinge that is leaking and not the hose? He has assured me that its the hinge but i dont want to go through the hassle of importing it from US for $450 only to be informed ohh and the hose is also not functioning or the motor is weak.. Is there is a sureshot way of ascertaining that the hinge is the only culprit? And how come is it for $450? its a bloody hinge!
Another question that i had in my mind is can i operate the roof manually without the fear of it going out of sync?
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Hmm, just catching up on this thread....
- One can't make sure of anything unless the whole thing is out. I had no idea my motor was still good, nor did I catch the leaking actuator until I was able to refresh things.
- Price is for a bmw part - need we say more?!
- As for operating manually, I would think sure, wouldn't be any different than operating it with the pressure relieved (for emergency closing).
And yep, looks like you found the problem!
Good job.
Oh, and though the unit is known to be self-bleeding, once you install a new one I'd cycle it a few times and recheck level just to make sure; I had to do that with mine because I had been losing it out of the actuator and so the lines needed to be "re-filled" so to speak.