cali top help in so cal

[318tifan]

hey folks...
finally got my ti
it's a 96 cali top, 5spd that came from atl
with shipping and all the costs it came out to about 4k

LOVE the car... drives awesome... VERY SMOOTH compared to my mr2 spyder... but i know i will be missing that go-cart feel once i sell it.... but i think i need to move on to something a bit more... comfortable and with a trunk =P

looking for some recommendations for a shop that can work on the cali top...
i know some great mechanics in the san gabriel area who would probably be able to take care of all the mechanical/electrical stuff (saying probably because even though i see mbs in their shop all the time, i've only worked with them with my mr2 and legend)

i also know of a great place for leather work (will be reupholstering my cloth seats with leather... maybe at the end of summer... kinda liking cloth seats for cali summers)

BUT... for the past few years, i still haven't found a paint shop or a body shop that will be able to work on my cars AFFORDABLY...

looking for recommendations... especially needing a convertible specialist to work on the cali top... for less than what dealerships will charge...

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

[HuGo]

Hey how's it going. Im Hugo. President I hope to see you at our meets here in SoCal 318ti Special Forces. The only person that owns a cali top in our group would be harold. I dont think he has done work on the top yet. The M Shop in eagle rock is a bmw specialist mechanic shop. I'm not sure if they work on cali tops though. The owner of the place has a 318ti himself too. Welcome and hope to see you in our meets.

[Mallard]

whats wrong with your cali top bud?

[lazoh]

Originally Posted by Mallard

whats wrong with your cali top bud?

+1 on Mallard's question and I have a guy in Monrovia that is BMW Master Mechanic that has worked on my Cali-Top. He does side jobs for me from time to time and he will be less expensive than the dealer.

Let's find out what's wrong with it first though??

[318tifan]

hmm...

in addition to the fact that i don't have a true seal when the top is covered... according to the previous owner... will not keep a storm out)

the motor is acting up... i think the motor will only go back half ways... or when covering up, the top will be in full closed position but the motor still sounds like it's running...

also.. when the roof is open... seems like lots of glue looking stuff in the tracks...

[Mallard]

ok, the glue stuff in the tracks is grease mixed with dirt and gunk, no major worries there. just get some PTFE grease and paste it in after a good clean out of the old

the motor sounds like its lost its "position" on the winder. when you fully close the roof, keep the button pressed down until the motor stops by itself. then hold in on for about 10 seconds more.

then full retract if possible. and hold again for 10. this should re - initialise the roof start and stop memory.

if there is still a problem with the full retract then you may need to retract maually with the tool in the wheel well. Peel of the cover by the sunroof switch , and wind the roof back . then using the butto wind in the slack on the motor. Repeat above.

If this dont work then you mayeed to remove the motor, and pull the roof back to fully open by hand (carefull not to buckle the metal wires that give the roof shape) then mount the motor and retract psition fot 10 seconds. then close and hold for 10

if this dont work, blow up the car

as for the leaking. its beause the roof seal isnt keeping the water out anymore. You will need to remove the entire roof and silicone seal it .

it sounds hard but i did it (twice as i needed to redo something ) in a few hours

the full instructions are here ( download section missing? )

[318tifan]

thanks for all the tips...
give me a couple of months to do some tlc-ing, and i would love to meet everyone...

can you give me the contact info for the tech in monrovia?
as much as i can do the windup stuf myself, i really don't have confidence in the seals and stuff.... plus the leak i'm talking about, i think, its a bit just more than the seals... like the top wouldn't close completely....

thanks in advance!!

[Marv17]

well. wish i could help you out but i dont know much about the cali top since i dont have one. just have the regular sun roof. however. feel free to come on by at the meets. we'll help you out on somethings if we can. maybe we'll meet in june.

[318tifan]

thanks...
well... i'm actually right around bellflower on most weekends... in artesia...
are there more folks just around that area? we could get a mini meet just to have coffee or something sometimes...