BMW Z4 CONVERTIBLE TOP REMOVAL. DIY BMW REPAIR FIX YOUR e85 

The best video I found for this job. My top got vandalized and the shop quoted me over 3 thousand to replace the new soft top and the headliner. I am thinking to find a used soft top in some junk yard and do it myself. I found your video. Thank you very much.

Masterpiece. Prior to doing the roof removal for my first time, the go-to video, for me at least, was from Pray4UrLife12. At that time I made my own sloppy videos when I resuscitated my waterlogged hydraulic pump motor and eventually replaced and moved it to the trunk. Well, as anyone who's ever replaced the driving (master) unit of a hydraulic system often learns, when you fix the master the slave will soon die... it's simple math, not Murphy's Law. So now that I'm pulling the whole mess out again to send off the cartridges, I wanted to see if I should try to record the steps again. The answer is "no, Bald Man has already done it." Other than those nasty little aluminum clips holding the forward sides of the fabric frame to the car sheet metal, there's no room for improvement. This is the authoritative video: no wasted time or words, perfect lighting, camera angles, zoom, audio, and tooling. I'm guessing that the ONLY way to achieve these production values is on your 13th time doing the repair. :) This is how it's done. Some other notes: I promoted the idea of hydraulic motor replacement without (!) lifting the roof out, but I agree with Bald Man's reply to a commenter that it's not for everyone or every situation. Some youtubers even confirmed my method. (And one other even was insistant that you can reach the motor from the trunk; he apparently removed an additional interior trunk panel that I never thought to remove.) But I would say that people might try the no-roof-removal method but as soon as you struggle to unfasten the pump... take the damn roof off! By knowing the precise steps and the tricks about the top vs. bottom main bolts, and the clips, the battle is easily won.

excellent video, the camera work and explanation make it very easy to follow,easily the best on youtube, well done!

Beautifully done - good step by step instruction. Clear and concise. Brilliant. Well Done ! Thanks for positing.

This is the best video for removing the top. I used it to remove to top because my hinges were leaking. Sent them to top hydraulics for repair. However, after reinstalling everything now the top opens and closes as normal. However, when opening the red button keeps blinking. Possibly didn't install a sensor correctly. Not sure. you can see one of the sensors for the hinges at 2:20 in the video. The sensors are located on the pump side of the hinges in the driver side. At 2:20 you can see a square looking sensor with a small screw/cable coming out of it. I placed the sensor with the white dot on top and the other on the side. Hopefully, you know what I am talking about and can help? It opens and closes as normal. Just when opening it the red button keeps blinking.

Great video! Used it to remove my top. Pump was fine, had a leaky hydraulic hinge. Replaced the hinge with a used one and moved the pump to the trunk to avoid corrosion problem. Everything worked for 16 months and then developed a leak in the other hinge. This time I was able to lift both hinges high enough out of the body to remove them without removing the entire top. I had both hinges rebuilt by Top Hydraulics and the top works great. Note: there is another video on RU-vid that shows how to move the pump to the trunk without removing the top... So you could replace the pump and hinges without removing the entire top.

This Z4 roof procedure is one of the greatest tests of DIY mechanic-ship I've ever encountered. So, my notes, with durations, from doing it for my third time, using Bald Man's great video: Total, 2 - 3 hours. I did about 20 minutes one day, then worked from 2-4 PM the next, and had the hinges off in another hour... But I didn't watch any instruction for that part. 1:00 Trims etc., 15 minutes. Notice he correctly says "5" Phillips head screws... the panels hiding the wiring harnesses will not pry outward until you remove not just the 3 screws at the bottom but the two at the top. 4:10 Weatherstrip etc., 15 minutes. At 4:20 he correctly says "move the top to the open position," but what exactly does this mean? Notice at 4:12-14 it shows the top halfway (!) up. That's what it means. In my experience, when the convertible top is half-way, there is no rigidity (no stress or force) on the aluminum channel that holds the weatherstrip and the back of the top to the car body. I found that the top will balance half-way open (even if your hydraulics have completely emptied of fluid as mine has), but it's safter to use some glass-reinforced tape from the windshield to the roof fabric, to keep it from accidentally falling backwards. 5:00 Shelf etc., 15 minutes. Pulling the metal bracket towards the center: maybe use a screwdriver to lever it inward, popping it out of the plastic snaps. 5:25 Aluminum Frame ("top bow"), 15 minutes: First, note that there are 7 of the 10mm bolts, and I found it's really important to use a power wrench for them. I used a small impact driver and socket. 5:35 Forward clips holding aluminum frame, should be 5 minutes: Note that these clips are there because there's no way they could have used bolts due to their inaccessible location. I think I've misunderstood the technique for releasing them all these years. I thought it was necessary to put a screwdriver or other wedge between the clip and the bottom of the aluminum frame, to wedge the frame out of the clip. So when the video shows releasing them from the front cockpit side, I can't understand how he's reaching them because my roof fabric and frame is in the way. IMPORTANT: But now I realize that when he says "release these clips... by prying carefully with a screwdriver under the top"... he just means lever the whole damn frame/fabric assembly up by levering against the body pillar. He's not trying to reach the bracket. Duh. I'll have to try to prove it next time... or one of you can. 5:45 Main bolts, 15 minutes. Why is it 15 minutes instead of 90 seconds??? Because having the top "open" now becomes a problem, not a solution. When the top is halfway open, there is tremendous force on the hinges, forcing them out of alignment with their access holes the minute you start to loosen them! IMPORTANT: I'm pretty sure you have to close the top (put it all the way up) to have the most certainty that the top hinge bolts will be centered, unstressed... and therefore can pull through their access holes. 6:08 Removing top, 30 minutes: I managed to do this alone but made one mistake that damaged the hard plastic at the top front of the top assembly. I should be able to glue it back to health. If you're desperate to do it without help here's how. Important: my pump was already moved to my trunk long ago, so I knew exactly when the whole assembly would be free of the car. The body perimeter was already taped. I put two blankets on the trunk and two 3-inch patio chair cushions on the trunk. I put a 2" x 12" x 2-foot piece of lumber on one side's rear fender, and a piece of plywood on the other side. You should tape the wood to the car. Then I pulled the aluminum frame out of the body and put it on top of the blankets. I think my mistake was that I should have dropped the roof down flat (fully 'opened') at this point, while the hinges were still in place. I lifted each side onto the wood. The front attachment points of the hard plastic broke, probably because the whole piece twisted. Oops. Then I closed the roof and flipped it backwards onto the top of the trunk. With it closed flat, and upside down, it was relatively easy to lift and carry, with one hand on the centerline, holding the window and fabric, and the other on one side of the aluminum frame and fabric. I could then remove my hinges to have them rebuilt.

I hope i never have to do this but im glad this exists. I have plastic on plastic squeak sound coming from the trunk cover area so i may have to get in there anyways

Very helpful! Looks easy from the video, hoping that's also the case when I do it myself.😄

Dang.. Nicely done. I need to remove the top on mine to fix some things and this made it so much less daunting.

Fellow BMW Z4 owner here, thank you for the video, this helped a lot :)

Thanks for this. A very good, straightforward go-to. Very helpful.

Keep up the good work one of best Clips so far 👍

Great video and I am going to remove the top in a week or so. On the passenger side how many wire connections are disconnected, I couldn't tell exactly in the video. Thanks and great work, best video I've seen describing this procedure.

Good video, though I wish you had mentioned you’re lifting the bow to undo that last clip. Thanks!

The motor just stays in and connects to the replacement correct?

Super video. I followed all steps and all is good...except finishing the install the weather strip by the door. (The removal is at about 1:57 in your clip. I cant seem to get the last 2.5 inches from the top weatherstrip to stay in place to finally put the corner piece on. Just wondering if their is some suggestion to making this final piece fit uniform before adding the corner piece with some glue? Thanks so much. 1st video I actually did not get a migraine watching...and the audio is perfect. Thank you. V

Very nicely done and helpful, thank you for sharing.

Excellent.. Clear speaking, Perfect video, Came off just as you described. Thank you for doing this video. Do you add a little silicone grease when reinstalling the rubber top seal?

This video is extremely helpful I certainly appreciated my friend thank you very much

This video was absolutely excellent. Many, many thanks!!

Thanks for the great video. Make it look easy, in my experience, the rubber stuff disintegrates, the screws are rusted together, etc, etc, and I spend days on this, and putting it back looks like a nightmare too, get all that stuff back in place without damage looks a challenge. My question/problem is the manual release cable seems to be stuck, so I can't lower the top manually, and from this video, it looks like I need it to release to get it out? I'd like to just fix the manual operation, don't need a fancy electric version, heck my Midget doesn't even have windows at all. :)

What a good video, I have problems with my roof, I disconnected the hydraulic lines and now I don't know how to connect them, could you help me with that, thanks

Great video, easy to follow, well done. Do you have a video detailing removal of the hydraulic hinges?

Excellent instructions. Thanks so much!

I wish you would have made this video 2 years earlier!!!

One question: the hydraulic actuator is held in place by two torx bolts, one on top and one lower torx bolt. The torx bolt has a smooth larger diameter section followed by a narrower diameter threaded section. When reinstalling the top does the open loop at the lower part of the actuator sit on the threaded part of the bolt and then is held in place against the larger non-threaded shoulder when you tighten it? Thanks. great video.

Thanks for the video it is clear how to take the entire thing off, but how much of the roof do you have to lift to get access to the ram on the right hand side of the roof? My hydraulic line has burst on that side (opposite side to motor) and I think lifting the side of the roof out to access that part is probably the best bet. I don’t want to take the whole roof off if I can help it though.

Do you have a video on how to re-install it?

You make this job look easy 😊

Great video..my z4 2003 has original top..works great...however the screws holding the canvas top to its frame have completely corroded and no longer hold the canvas top.......do you have any suggestions. do I have to replace the top >>>

My Z4 soft top can’t open the whole thing and comes back up since 2 weeks ago! Whenever I try pressing the button, it moves a li only which means the Mortar is working ? I used my soft top almost every day since summer started which may cause the issue? I went to the mechanic shop and the guy told me it may cost around $5000. I was shocked !

Great video, thank you. Question, in the process of removing the roof motor (left side of the car) through the trunk I damaged the hydraulic hose going to the right side cylinder of the roof. Do I need to remove the roof to replace that hydraulic hose ?

Very informative very well done very impressive

This was awesome and very well done.. Thank you for sharing...

3:30 Soon I will install the anchor option for a hard roof. Does anyone know why it has so much cable? I thought it was just a physical anchor.

Nicely done. Very well made, concise with great video and explanations. Been avoiding this project for a few weeks, but not now. What's your time estimate for this project?

Great video. Is there a way to check and add fluid without taking the top completely off? My top unlatches, motor runs but will not go up or down. I can manually operate the top up and down. Could it be low an fluid?

Thanks for good video! Does anybody know what is part number of weatherstrip (removed at 4:35)? Mine is tired and would like to get new one.

Yeah I'm having a issue with mine, I'm getting a little puddle of fluid under the z on the passenger side not big but enough to notice and I can't seem to find where it's coming from, I just got the top out but waiting for anyone to show up at the compound to help lift it out was hoping you might have a clue to where it might be??

Is it as easy to assemble in reverse or are there any tricks? I’m about to tackle this now, replace motor and lines on the top

Very good instructions. I'm having an issue on returning the top to the body, specifically the electric wiring on the driver side. I'm not having enough slack, and cant really see where to route the cable collection back through so I can make the 3 reconnects work. For testing, I connected the large white and black connector but don't have enough for the controller (small 6 pin connector). I assume the connector is required to move the unit up and down, therefore I'm not hearing anything. Lastly, I have a hard top, but both those connectors are not in for my initial test. Are those required to operate the top?

Do you have a video that talks about replacing the hard plastic at the front of the convertible top itself? The plastic piece that the fabric attaches to is breaking, there are lost screws and when the top folds down into the trunk, it doesn't lock. I need instructions on replacing the plastic piece and making sure the top seats properly. Thanks!

Question, when assembling the the convertible top back on. Do you put weatherstrip adhesive glue on it to the body?

Hi there excellent video question what is the year of the Z4?

awesome video man.

At 5:36 the instructions say to release "these clips". I don't understand what to do here. It shows a thumb pressing on some kind of plastic bracket. At 5:30 it shows a screwdriver pushing into the start of the fabric with the instructions saying "release this clip by prying carefully with a screwdriver underneath the top". I can't see just what is being done here. Again I don't see any clip, just a black hole. I don't get it.

great video thanks

very helpful !

Mine was partially worked on. The power line that plugs into the pump was disconnected, i can not find where to plug the line into.

Very helpful

Hello I need some advice ASAP I need to change the motor of the hood, I've taken all the boot apart and can see the motor but its way to hard to get out, Getting the tape off is impossible, it won't pull out etc. Is there any way I can get to the motor easier, ive tried reaching inside, but again its impossible. any tips of how to make it totally clear without taking the roof off?

Perfect

Hello. I have to repare the top of my Z4 but I don't know exactly what's wrong. The hidraulics were liking till the top roof had no force to open, but now the motors are not working. I mean the front motor to lock the roof just works to close if I open manually and the motor for the hidraulics doesn't work anymore but I took it outside from the trunk and it looks like new. The question is: Is it possible that motors don't work when there is no hidràulic pressure? Thank you for your helpfull videos.

Awesome

Hey man Is it the same procedure for hard top to?

Do you have experience with softtop alignment? How to ensure the top does not hit the chassis when it folds down? It seems many z4s suffer from this and it causes damage over time. Hope you have some advice!

Question can you change the top while it's out of the car?

Can I relocate the motor into the trunk?

I have a 2003 BMW Z4 convertible I would like to have your number so I can call talk to you about why the convertible top bolt on latch that will not come down put a new electric pumping but did not put the pump reservoir in and of being told it's some kind of a sensor or something or the ECU is mixed signals

Holy heck! Too many steps! Time to sell the car! :)