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      01-11-2015, 08:35 AM   #1
DeutschRennfahrer
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Keeping the roof motor alive

I've heard the roof motor is prone to die if the car is exposed to a lot of rain. Any suggestions for how to save it if you can't park inside? Thanks!
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      01-11-2015, 07:58 PM   #2
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Keep the top compartment drains clear of debris so that the motor doesn't get flooded.
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      01-11-2015, 08:51 PM   #3
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Where exactly are these drains located? What's the best way to clean them?

EDIT: I just found this video:


Looks like a real pain in the ass. How often should I do this?

Last edited by DeutschRennfahrer; 01-11-2015 at 09:00 PM..
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      01-12-2015, 05:07 AM   #4
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About every two to three months. I left the rubber valve off on the driver's side on my car (where the top motor sits) to help ensure it doesn't get clogged and so far no issues.
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      01-12-2015, 06:55 AM   #5
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Best way is to relocate the motor to the trunk.
But that's quite a fiddely job.


Best way to keep the drains clean is with some compressed air from below.
And don't park under trees....
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      01-12-2015, 07:36 AM   #6
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Guidok, is there a write-up here that explains how to do the trunk relocation? I'd rather do that once than clean the drains every 3 months.
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      01-12-2015, 08:02 AM   #7
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I don't know here but probably on z4-forum.com.
But it's really an ass of a job to get to it. Official procedure (bmw TIS) is to take the roof off (not adviseable, a lot of work), but you can do it from within the cabin and within the trunk (after removing the upper trunk trim).
From within the roof wells (thats behind the rolloverbars), you have to undo 1 bolt and 1 tiewrap. If you're large, you'd do it from within the cabin, if you have a small wife, put her in the trunk and let her do it.
Either way you'd probably need an endoscope.

In the uk and germany there are people who specialize in this job and do it on almost a daily basis.

http://www.pixelrichter.de/
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      01-12-2015, 12:14 PM   #8
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Is there another alternative to using a shop vac to clean the drains? What has worked well for you?
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      01-12-2015, 12:20 PM   #9
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What I do is using some compressed air (which has much more force than a vac).
So from within the wheelarch remove the small panel, remove the rubber grommet, and blow some air through the canals.

I think you can even get in there from underneath (so without removing the wheel and panel)
That panel is officially there to disconnect the brake pad wear sensor/abs sensor
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      01-12-2015, 12:23 PM   #10
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Would a compressed air canister work? Or do I need an air compressor and hose? Do you just blow the junk out of the other end?
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      02-01-2015, 08:29 AM   #11
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I removed the drain plug on the driver's side and it was clean, no sign of any debris, small or large. But I had a tough time to put the plug back in (I did not remove the panel in the wheel well or had the car raised up.) I'm planning to ask the service technician pull the drain plugs and do some inspection + cleaning each time he has the car on the rack for an oil change. The owner of the small service/repair shop that I frequently use would have no problem with that.
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      02-01-2015, 10:38 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GuidoK View Post
What I do is using some compressed air (which has much more force than a vac).
So from within the wheelarch remove the small panel, remove the rubber grommet, and blow some air through the canals.

I think you can even get in there from underneath (so without removing the wheel and panel)
That panel is officially there to disconnect the brake pad wear sensor/abs sensor
The down side of this approach is that you're just displacing the clogging debris back up into the water collection funnel. Unless you're then going in from the top and vacuuming out the funnels, the next time it rains the same debris gets deposited back into the drains. The reason for using the vac method is to try to actually remove the debris so that new debris has to work its way in there and collect in the drain tubes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldwinghai View Post
I removed the drain plug on the driver's side and it was clean, no sign of any debris, small or large. But I had a tough time to put the plug back in (I did not remove the panel in the wheel well or had the car raised up.) I'm planning to ask the service technician pull the drain plugs and do some inspection + cleaning each time he has the car on the rack for an oil change. The owner of the small service/repair shop that I frequently use would have no problem with that.
The debris gets caked in the drain tubes just above the rubber drain valves. Did you run some wire or weed whacker line up into the tube to ensure it's clear?
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      02-01-2015, 12:20 PM   #13
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Is there a way to tell if you're actually getting any debris out with a vacuum?
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      02-01-2015, 12:51 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dc_wright View Post
The down side of this approach is that you're just displacing the clogging debris back up into the water collection funnel. Unless you're then going in from the top and vacuuming out the funnels, the next time it rains the same debris gets deposited back into the drains. The reason for using the vac method is to try to actually remove the debris so that new debris has to work its way in there and collect in the drain tubes.
If your car is dry (and the drain channels too), you see the small leaves&twigs flying out of the slits by the roof from the blast of air.
But blowing is always much more powerful than suction, both in force (more than a factor 20) as in direction. And stuff comes out easier the way it came in, so I believe that blowing from below is a more secure way to unclog than suction from below.
But if you can get a vac. in from above, that would be a good way to clean up debris that was left behind by the compressed air.
I use a cheap ebay endoscope to look if there is debris.
Sometimes when I clean cars I make a thin hose (1/2" or so) on the shop vac to clean stuff in creavases on cars when there's wet debris (not necessarily on z4's but general; for example between hood latches and bodypanels etc)

Regarding the spraycan with air: that has not that much power and air. Buy a cheap compressor and a blow gun
Compressed air is also a great way to dry your engine when washed (sometimes that has to be done....). You can blow the water out of the connectors and hard to reach places. (don't use compresses air on soft materials like sound dampening etc)

(probably more useful in wet hars climates and cars that are stored outside than the dry and conservative climate in california etc)
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