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      07-29-2014, 01:52 PM   #23
elerner61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff View Post
I got them off without jacking the car but putting them back on would be harder. Also not sure how effective cleaning would be from below, as my vacuum cleaner wasn't strong enough to remove the debris from the passenger side drain (it's a 5hp shop vac). Hopefully the sealed-up housing will keep the new motor from rusting!
I've been leary of vacumming the drains from the bottom. That drain hole (as viewed on the passenger side) is way small. I'm afraid of sucking something in and then it clogging. I really don't want that drain to clog up. If there is debris on the top when it's up, I'll blow it off and clear it away from the driver's side before I put the top down. When I wash the car, I rinse from the driver's side to the passenger's side purposely. Pain in the ass.
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      08-05-2014, 03:32 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Kimolaoha View Post
Mine's also 5hp, which is actually pretty heavy duty compared to most residential shop vacs. Sounds like you had a compacted mess in there.

It's beginning to look to me like the only effective way of cleaning these tubes with the top in situ is to blow compressed air from the bottom of each tube, and then to verify proper drainage by pouring water down the back of the top and gauging the outflow from the two egress points.

I wonder if a 'snake' auger would work or whether there are too many twists and turns in the drains?
When I cleaned mine (and I'm not really sure if my cleaning was effective) I ran a plastic stick up them to create a hole and then tried to blow compressed air up them as well but didn't really have a good angle to do so. The next time I do it, I'm thinking about using a bamboo skewer. It has a sharp end and is strong yet flexible.

My car lives in my garage unless I'm out and about and I'm always careful to blow away any debris on or near my top. I still think I have slow drains caused by the previous owner but short of taking the top off, I'm not sure what else I can do.
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      08-05-2014, 03:57 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by Uncle Russ View Post
. . . .and I'm not really sure if my cleaning was effective . . .
Yep, this is what concerns me. I suppose the only way to really know is to squirt a hose down the back of the ragtop and see if it's actually draining with a decent flow in front of the rear wheels.

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Originally Posted by Uncle Russ View Post
. . . and then tried to blow compressed air up them as well but didn't really have a good angle to do so.
I'm wondering now how effective this actually is. When blowing from the bottom, and even assuming you get a good clearing blast all the way through the tube, then where does the debris go? Back into the well to clog the drains up again? With the top up, it seems there's no room at all for it to escape out of the well and to the outside. Maybe with the top down, you could feel air over the escape points, and maybe even see debris escaping, but I somehow doubt that too.

Maybe someone who has actually had success can chime in?

Since replacing my hydraulic motor, I'm perhaps obsessing too much about this -- but there has GOT to be a way to properly clear these drains.
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      08-06-2014, 11:07 AM   #26
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When I use a compressor to blow air up the drain with the top down the debris floats up and out. I garage my car so don't get a ton of debris though. Could be interesting if there is a ton of gunk in there.
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      08-06-2014, 11:36 AM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elerner61 View Post
When I use a compressor to blow air up the drain with the top down the debris floats up and out. I garage my car so don't get a ton of debris though. Could be interesting if there is a ton of gunk in there.
Thanks. Good info. I'll give it a go.
Do the rear wheels needs to be jacked up in order to get a blow gun tip into the holes? Did you remove the one-way orifice to get the tip in the tube? Remove it permanently? Use a separate and smaller 'feeder' tube from the tip to the Z4's tube?
.
.
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      08-07-2014, 09:00 AM   #28
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I've always used a length of hose inserted into the bottom of the drain tube (and then connected to the compressor hose). From the wrist contortion I have to do to access the bottom of the tube I never envisioned being able to access directly if the car was jacked up high (I usually just raise it about 6 inches).
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      08-07-2014, 09:46 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elerner61 View Post
I've always used a length of hose inserted into the bottom of the drain tube (and then connected to the compressor hose). From the wrist contortion I have to do to access the bottom of the tube I never envisioned being able to access directly if the car was jacked up high (I usually just raise it about 6 inches).
Thanks for this elerner61.

Just wondering if you remove the one-way plugs (pictured below) from the bottom of the drainage tubes -- either temporarily (only when blowing the tubes), or permanently (on the theory that they actually promote blockage and serve little real purpose)?

I've seen references in the posts that this plug is actually composed of two parts -- 1) an inner rubber piece that can be pulled free of 2) the outer plastic plug that actually inserts into the bottom of the tube, but that BOTH the plug and that inner piece should actually be removed so that there is no blockage left at the bottom.
Is this so? Picture does not seem to show any seam or separation?

Thanks
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      08-11-2014, 09:34 AM   #30
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I crawled under the fenders this past weekend, and made a mod to make things a little easier next time around.
If interested, it's written up here:
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1021381
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      03-19-2017, 05:43 PM   #31
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Fingered, Deep Insertion, Blowing Enima

I read this thread this AM, knowing it had not been active for 2.5 years, but my recently purchased 2006 Z4MR has me thinking about the long term health of the car, as I intend to keep it many years and have no idea of past owners maintenance. I started out this AM just to check the flow. I used a 4 Cup measuring cup, to slowly pour water down the center/back of the top, roof up. Water came pouring out the drivers side and this aided me as to where to look for rubber one way "valves"/openings. Nothing on the passenger side. So I got down on the ground in front of rear tire on the drivers side. Had car parked in my stone/dirt driveway. There is a rectangular opening that I could JUST get my hand into (not sure if this is an "M" thing ). Should have put on some nitrile gloves, with some Armour All for LUBE. I found the rubber valve very quickly, shoved my finger in her, all kinds of sediment came rushing out...She CAME clean. I poured some more water slowly in the middle again, lot's better flow...perfect. Moved to the passenger side...DRY ! So I poured some more water under the lower corner of the passenger side, rear window. I found the water welled up and ran over the rear quarter panel pretty easily. Have some micro fiber towels at the ready. So I pushed gently at the corner seam, poured some more SLOWLY, and it was hard to tell if it was flow, or just overflow from the water going over the top edge. I got on the ground, reached up, found the opening, stuck my finger in, seemed like a small amount of water was coming out, as well as sediment and crud. So this is when I thought about DEEP INSERTION, I had some small tubing in the garage maybe 1/2 ". It was about four foot long. I just wanted to stick something up in there. It took a couple attempts to warm her up, but I managed to get 12 INCHES up inside her. I then held the tube high, used a little funnel and filled the tube with water. I then wiped off the end and put it in my mouth and blew as hard as I could, I did this 3 times, pulled the tube out, poured some water at the corner...water came pouring out ! Then I smoked a cigarette and told her I loved her....All kidding aside, it worked great. Hope this " quick, tool free" option helps someone someday. I wanted to get everything stuck up there OUT and not blow it back up into the well.

This is an added edit on 5/3/17

So I wanted to check my flow since it's been 1.5 months since I fingered/inserted/blew. I tried pouring water THIS TIME, with the top down. I remembered seeing a pic on where to pour it on some attached pic, within this thread, but it must be on a link. I do want to add, pouring water down the top, right near the door, but back on the top, I just had water pour all over the place, with no water actually coming out from the sphincter. I think having the top UP, pouring VERY SLOWLY near the rear corner seam, let's you get water to flow JUST from the opening.
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      03-21-2017, 11:26 AM   #32
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Great post!
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      03-28-2017, 12:36 PM   #33
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I wanted to make a post as I'm the only person that I've seen with this specific symptom so I'll tag along on this post bc my account is too new. Just purchased 2006 Z4 3.0si with a non functioning top.

The thing that is different for me compared to everyone else is that when I pull the red tab it is somewhat difficult to wrangle the top down and INCREDIBLY difficult to get the top up (takes 2 grown men 30 seconds of actual strain)

Everyone else on here seems to have 0 problems putting the top up and down manually with the tab pulled out. Does this indicate that the problem may not be with the motor but rather the lift cylinders (actuators) instead? Just wanted to check before I get into this whole parts ordering top removal process
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      03-28-2017, 12:54 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrison256 View Post
I wanted to make a post as I'm the only person that I've seen with this specific symptom so I'll tag along on this post bc my account is too new. Just purchased 2006 Z4 3.0si with a non functioning top.

The thing that is different for me compared to everyone else is that when I pull the red tab it is somewhat difficult to wrangle the top down and INCREDIBLY difficult to get the top up (takes 2 grown men 30 seconds of actual strain)

Everyone else on here seems to have 0 problems putting the top up and down manually with the tab pulled out. Does this indicate that the problem may not be with the motor but rather the lift cylinders (actuators) instead? Just wanted to check before I get into this whole parts ordering top removal process
You are not unique....Your topic has been discussed for years on the various forums....
Your bypass valve is corroded and not engaging, so moving the top is very hard.
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      03-28-2017, 08:13 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shipkiller View Post
You are not unique....Your topic has been discussed for years on the various forums....
Your bypass valve is corroded and not engaging, so moving the top is very hard.
^This^

Tons of posts with dead top motor and can't get bypass to release. As to the effort required, with the bypass inoperable the only path for the hydraulic fluid is through the pump and it's very limited flow. One person can move the top up and down, but you have to be VERY patient as it will only move very slowly.
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      05-01-2017, 11:32 AM   #36
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..............any thoughts on this. Top is down. Trying to put it back up and the button doesn't turn red, flash....... nothing. And the top isn't moving. How about that !??!
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      05-01-2017, 07:39 PM   #37
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Yeah I had just purchased the car so I hadn't delved deep enough into the archives yet. Bypass was all messed up as was the top motor. Got it all swapped out
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