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      03-23-2013, 03:01 PM   #23
StickMon
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I haven't gotten around to it. Too many other things.
I just put my hand up and catch the top and set it down easy.
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      03-23-2013, 03:30 PM   #24
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Wow i had my roadster for 5 years and didnt know this was a "problem."
Never questioned it...
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      03-23-2013, 03:33 PM   #25
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My '04 3.0i did that. Dealer replaced the motor under warranty and the problem was solved.
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      03-23-2013, 03:40 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bvnguyenp View Post
Wow i had my roadster for 5 years and didnt know this was a "problem."
Never questioned it...
Same here, I thought it was normal! Both my roadsters did it to some degree (2.5 and M).

Might be normal though since no one has produced a fix or the bulletin. That's why i'm so interested in getting to the bottom of this.
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      03-23-2013, 11:23 PM   #27
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I'm pretty sure mine has a broken bungee on the left side.
I figure sooner or later the motor will go out, then I'll rebuild the whole lot.
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      03-24-2013, 01:52 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by StickMon View Post
I'm pretty sure mine has a broken bungee on the left side.
I figure sooner or later the motor will go out, then I'll rebuild the whole lot.
It's pretty unusual for a 2006+ top motor to go out. At that point they started sealing the unit so that even if water does accumulate in the roof drains it won't necessarily damage the engine.

And if you have a pre 2006, as long as you keep your drains unclogged it shouldn't fail.
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      03-24-2013, 09:23 PM   #29
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After a few years, I noticed a small (~.5") crack in the plastic trim piece at the forward/interior portion of the roof. My roof would also seem to slam shut, but with what seemed to be relatively fluid motion (i.e. it didn't seem to be getting caught up or anything). Just seemed like gravity was overpowering the hydraulics. I convinced myself that it always did that and I was just noticing it because of the crack.

In any event, I attributed the crack to its somewhat violent closing and developed the habit of sticking my hand up there as a buffer. Obviously, not putting a lot of pressure on the roof, just dampening the blow. In the next couple of years, the crack grew to over half the width of the plastic piece. Dealership wanted $600 to replace the part and I kept putting off the fix until I ultimately sold the car.

Long story short... I believe that the roof's closing harshly split the plastic trim piece.
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      03-24-2013, 09:34 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gigglebox View Post
After a few years, I noticed a small (~.5") crack in the plastic trim piece at the forward/interior portion of the roof. My roof would also seem to slam shut, but with what seemed to be relatively fluid motion (i.e. it didn't seem to be getting caught up or anything). Just seemed like gravity was overpowering the hydraulics. I convinced myself that it always did that and I was just noticing it because of the crack.

In any event, I attributed the crack to its somewhat violent closing and developed the habit of sticking my hand up there as a buffer. Obviously, not putting a lot of pressure on the roof, just dampening the blow. In the next couple of years, the crack grew to over half the width of the plastic piece. Dealership wanted $600 to replace the part and I kept putting off the fix until I ultimately sold the car.

Long story short... I believe that the roof's closing harshly split the plastic trim piece.
what year and mileage was your e85?
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      03-24-2013, 09:51 PM   #31
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Quote:
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what year and mileage was your e85?
2006 3.0si, 55k miles as of this past December. In the 6 years or so that I had it, it was generally a daily driver and I almost never left the top down when going into whatever places I had driven to, so the top probably had a pretty high number of ups and downs.
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      03-24-2013, 09:58 PM   #32
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how is the e89 holding up?
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      03-24-2013, 10:07 PM   #33
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how is the e89 holding up?
Its weird. To see the top go up and down you get the impression that its possibly the most over-engineered contraption ever put into production. Still haven't had a lot of top-down days since I picked it up, but so far its been a blast. The thing is scary fast. I don't know about the other engine versions, but I don't get the "its a cruiser" vibe at all from it.
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      03-26-2013, 11:10 PM   #34
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I have that same crack, its annoying the hell out of me. Makes me want to take that panel out, bondo it and repaint it, but I can't justify spending 8 hours taking the whole top apart. And I tend to break other things when I take apart something that complicated.
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      03-28-2013, 08:34 PM   #35
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SI B54 14 07
Special Roofs

November 2007
Technical Service

SUBJECT
Soft Top Slams Down on the Cowl when Closing

MODEL
E85 (Z4 Roadster)

SITUATION
When the soft top is being closed, the front section of it slams down on the cowl.

CAUSE
Toward the end of its travel, the soft top is moving too quickly.

CORRECTION
Install 2 elastic straps to the soft top frame.

These elastic straps run from the rear bow (just above the rear window) to the main bow (in the middle of the closed soft top)

Each strap is secured to each side of the rear bow using the same fastening hole as the tension strap, and secures to the main bow using the outermost headliner fastening point.

PROCEDURE

Install 2 elastic straps per repair instruction RA 54 34 217.

NOTES:
^ It may be helpful to remove the soft top canvas cover, but this is not necessary for the repair.

^ It is necessary to remove the front half of the headliner. This also allows for the necessary access to feed the elastic strap from the rear bow to the main bow.

PARTS INFORMATION

Part Number Description Quantity
54 34 7 184 482 Elastic Strap 2

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Covered under the terms of the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Please refer to the latest KSD for all applicable labor operations and allowances.

If the appropriate labor operation is not contained in KSD, then a work time labor operation should be used.

Defect Code: 54 31 13 01 00
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      03-28-2013, 08:38 PM   #36
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I got the parts from my friend who works for the South Carolina dealership...it wasn't that bad of an install. It took him an hour.
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      03-28-2013, 10:50 PM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by que4523 View Post
I got the parts from my friend who works for the South Carolina dealership...it wasn't that bad of an install. It took him an hour.
Thank you!! Great post. So it looks like the part to be replaced are the tension belts x 2.

I'll add it to my list of stuff to order and I'll see about posting a DIY eventually.
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      03-29-2013, 12:10 AM   #38
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So he used part 54347184482 ?

RealOEM shows 3 parts for that application under "Folding Top":

15 LEFT TENSION BELT 1 54317043909
15 RIGHT TENSION BELT 1 54317043910
Variable version
15 Tension belt 2 54347184482

but only the first 2 under "EH Folding Top"
I think EH is Electro-Hydraulic:

05 LEFT TENSION BELT 1 54317043909
05 RIGHT TENSION BELT 1 54317043910

Which led me to believe that the "variable" version was only applicable to the manual top.
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      03-29-2013, 01:27 AM   #39
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Great info. Is this doable as a DIY? Any body ever seen the roof liner taken off or have pictures of that?
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      04-10-2013, 04:12 PM   #40
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Got the replacement straps today from the bulletin pasted above (thanks a lot que4523!).

The straps come with new screws, which the TIS says to use new screws when you install them (and says the new part includes them), so no need to order them separately.

So at some point I'll put together a DIY and print out all the TIS pages to PDFs and add them here. Not sure when I'll have time though.
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      04-14-2013, 07:04 PM   #41
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So I did this today and I gotta say it was a huge pain in the a**. There's very little access, and especially on the side where the battery is on the M it took me forever. A ratchet that can do a slight angle (or an angle torx) is definitely recommended. All you need is a T20 for the entire job.

I'll be posting more details and the TIS pages on my mod thread in the next week or so.

On a positive note, it the top closes very gently now. I'll post a youtube video as well so you can see.
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      04-14-2013, 08:51 PM   #42
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For reference, is this the slamming that people are talking about? I just ran out and took this video:

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      04-14-2013, 09:04 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
For reference, is this the slamming that people are talking about? I just ran out and took this video:

Yes. Only mine seems to slam a little hard, like its gonna crack my windshield.
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      04-14-2013, 09:06 PM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beta View Post
So I did this today and I gotta say it was a huge pain in the a**. There's very little access, and especially on the side where the battery is on the M it took me forever. A ratchet that can do a slight angle (or an angle torx) is definitely recommended. All you need is a T20 for the entire job.

I'll be posting more details and the TIS pages on my mod thread in the next week or so.

On a positive note, it the top closes very gently now. I'll post a youtube video as well so you can see.
Great. I cant wait to see pics. I have already ordered parts and will do mine when we get a warm weekend.
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