Convertible top corner pulling back

proboner · 10-14-2018, 04:17 PM

Walked out to my car today to find that the drivers front corner is pulling away from the frame slightly. There is obviously a broken plastic edge there. Curious if anyone else has experienced this issue before and what it took to fix? I'll be taking it to get looked at tomorrow when the upholstery shops open back up, but I'd love to get an idea of what I'm looking at before hand.

View post on imgur.com

Thanks!

RossBMWZseries · 10-14-2018, 07:17 PM

Mine’s pulled back like that, maybe about 3 inches further back. So it’s basically open from there and I can squeeze my hand if I wanted to. I’m not looking for a fix as in replacing my top but my guess is that it gets stuck on the way back up

proboner · 10-14-2018, 07:40 PM

Yeah that's basically my question. I'm fairly sure as well that it gets stuck on it's way up or down, but will a fix require replacing the whole top? If that's the case... ugh.

RossBMWZseries · 10-14-2018, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by proboner

Yeah that's basically my question. I'm fairly sure as well that it gets stuck on it's way up or down, but will a fix require replacing the whole top? If that's the case... ugh.

I don’t know man. I know that it doesn’t open from there on the way down, it only happens when you’re bringing the top up. The only reason I’m replacing the top is because it’s really faded and has bigger tears than the one mentioned. Once I replace my top, I’ll be able to tell if there’s a fix for that problem or total top replacement will be needed. Maybe someone that’s done this can chime in.

antennahead · 10-15-2018, 01:14 PM

There is a plastic piece sewn into the edge of the cloth that has a channel that fits into the metal top frame. When you close the top it "pulls" the cloth forward into the closed position. Years ago I replaced my top. After about 3 months the plastic broke loose where it attaches to the fabric, not the stitching to the fabric, but the plastic itself split. I ended up doing two things, I glued the plastic back together using JB Weld, AND I drilled a small hole through the fabric and plastic and placed a short black screw with a built in washer into the plastic piece as it dried with the top partially open, so there was no stress on the drying part. Luckily it worked. I subsequently drilled a hole on the other side and inserted a matching screw to make it look like it was supposed to be that way, as well as added support since the other side cracked. The Upholstery shop that replaced the top were total assholes about it, claiming I had to have hit something to cause this. I explained that it was a stress fracture and where it was located, if I had hit something there would have been other damage. They refused any warranty. "If" my repair had not worked, I would have taken them to small claims court and sued the bastards.

10-14-2018, 04:17 PM	#1
proboner Private First Class 67 Rep 199 Posts Drives: 2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Mountain View, CA iTrader: (0)	Convertible top corner pulling back Walked out to my car today to find that the drivers front corner is pulling away from the frame slightly. There is obviously a broken plastic edge there. Curious if anyone else has experienced this issue before and what it took to fix? I'll be taking it to get looked at tomorrow when the upholstery shops open back up, but I'd love to get an idea of what I'm looking at before hand. View post on imgur.com View post on imgur.com Thanks!
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10-14-2018, 07:17 PM	#2
RossBMWZseries Major 226 Rep 1,130 Posts Drives: '11 E92 328i LCI & '06 Z4MR Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Juan TX iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW Z4M Roadster [7.00]	Mine’s pulled back like that, maybe about 3 inches further back. So it’s basically open from there and I can squeeze my hand if I wanted to. I’m not looking for a fix as in replacing my top but my guess is that it gets stuck on the way back up
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10-14-2018, 07:40 PM	#3
proboner Private First Class 67 Rep 199 Posts Drives: 2003 Z4 3.0 6-speed Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Mountain View, CA iTrader: (0)	Yeah that's basically my question. I'm fairly sure as well that it gets stuck on it's way up or down, but will a fix require replacing the whole top? If that's the case... ugh.
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10-15-2018, 01:14 PM	#5
antennahead Captain 73 Rep 820 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MR silver grey Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Charleston, South Carolina iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 Z4 M Roadster [5.00]	There is a plastic piece sewn into the edge of the cloth that has a channel that fits into the metal top frame. When you close the top it "pulls" the cloth forward into the closed position. Years ago I replaced my top. After about 3 months the plastic broke loose where it attaches to the fabric, not the stitching to the fabric, but the plastic itself split. I ended up doing two things, I glued the plastic back together using JB Weld, AND I drilled a small hole through the fabric and plastic and placed a short black screw with a built in washer into the plastic piece as it dried with the top partially open, so there was no stress on the drying part. Luckily it worked. I subsequently drilled a hole on the other side and inserted a matching screw to make it look like it was supposed to be that way, as well as added support since the other side cracked. The Upholstery shop that replaced the top were total assholes about it, claiming I had to have hit something to cause this. I explained that it was a stress fracture and where it was located, if I had hit something there would have been other damage. They refused any warranty. "If" my repair had not worked, I would have taken them to small claims court and sued the bastards. Attached Images
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