Automatic top difficulty

[musmand]

I just bought a 2003 Z4 2.51 and I knew going in that the automatic top doesn't work. The seller assured me that taking it up and down manually is easy. Well, I'm not finding that to be the case. It goes down easily enough, but takes 2 men 5 minutes of grunting and forcing to get it to close. What am I doing wrong?

[GuidoK]

The procedure is in the manual.

[JAS1169]

Since the car is used & more than likely 10 years old ….and maybe you didn't get the original manual when purchased.

open the trunk

look on the top left area and you should see a red plastic loop.

Pull that out and then turn the hoop. Note: this pulling out and turning is very, very slight (less than a 1/2 an inch.

This is the emergency by-pass system of the roof's hydo system. After doing this the top should move freely. If the roof fails to move freely after pulling this red cable.....then it (emergency release) as well as your motor have failed (very, very common).

[musmand]

The red cable pull ring looks like it was pulled way out and messed up. It doesn't retract at all, it just hangs there.

[JAS1169]

If the red cable is pulled out & just hanging and the top isn't moving up/down with little effort. Then your emergency by-pass valve within the motor/pump is also shot. My advise would be not to put the roof up/down at all (unless your removing the top from the car, which requires the top to be positioned in different locations for the removal). In that, you may actually start bending the roofs metal frame by trying to raise it against the hydraulic pressure.

I have zero idea on how handy you are regarding a D/I/Y on this repair. However, you can judge for yourself. Go to youtube and search under "BMW Z4 roof" There are a ton of video's on pulling the roof (even two in Spanish).
However, I believe the best is one in which the guy has a RED Z4. After watching these video's you'll known if you can handy this repair.

There is another method mostly used in Europe which requires you to pull the motor from the trunk.

[supergoat]

I operate mine manually just fine. I encountered the same issue you did, even with the red ring pulled it was hard to do. So I just drained what remained of the hydraulic fluid in the top lines. Problem solved. The top now goes up and down manually just as easy as a Miata.

[BabygirlsZ4]

My 2004 top moves up and down freely. No resistance.. It stopped moving a couple weeks ago. Worked perfect and then just wouldn't retract or go up.. Motor runs.. Buttons lock and unlock.. Red handle doesnt seem to do anything.. Micro switch works.. I'm stumped as it was super sudden..

[JAS1169]

Originally Posted by BabygirlsZ4

My 2004 top moves up and down freely. No resistance.. It stopped moving a couple weeks ago. Worked perfect and then just wouldn't retract or go up.. Motor runs.. Buttons lock and unlock.. Red handle doesnt seem to do anything.. Micro switch works.. I'm stumped as it was super sudden..

Hey, I'm a little confused. Do you mean, it will unlock and stop moving although the motor is still running?. Then, when you attempt to manually lower the top it will move freely up/down or is there hard resistance???