california roof

[joshua.e.gearheart]

my roof is quite broken. bmw dealer estimates over a grand to fix it becuase of the rareity. anyone know where i can find parts to fix it?? bav auto doesnt carry them.

[96cali]

My guess is you're stuck with the dealer unless you know of a good independent with patience. They're not rocket science, just a PITA from what I've heard. If you take it apart, consider adding the wind deflector if yours does not have it already. For what it's worth my local dealer refuses to work on them because they're so dodgy. Where are you located? Good luck.

[mrnine]

Doh!

Now my California top is broken. I've got a dealer on the phone right now looking into whether they'll even work on it.

The entire assembly is not damaged, fortunately. I went to open it today and when it got all the way back, I heard a "pop." Seems to me that perhaps a cable snapped? It's a 1998; only 6 years old!

I'm heartbroken, of course. Sounds to me like this could get expensive, but looking at it, I can't imagine diving in to take it apart.

Anyone have any insight here whatsoever?

[mrnine]

Dealer says they'll take it in (this is Kelly BMW in Columbus, OH) and to count on 3 hours to "diag" it. If it's a cable replacement and nothing more, anyone have an idea on how many hours I should count on?

Anyone have any line on any exploded diagrams or anything else insightful?

[96cali]

Too bad, looks like you'll have to sell her to me for cheap (I wish......)

Contact Bimmer95 at understeer.com in Columbus. I'm pretty sure he took apart his wifes cali top a while back to install the wind deflector.

Whenever Dent and Dyno Day happens I want to check out your ti. I think a guy in Columbus bought my other dream car- a Daytona Purple M5it wagon. Hope he's there too.

[mrnine]

Hehe...96cali, at least your humor ligthtens up my unhappiness.

Listen, I have significant info that should be helpful. Hopefully those of you with at least sunroof know-how might have some insight.

I strongly believe that my track and other mechanisms are intact. One unfortunate thing is that I rolled the top close by hand and now it seems it will not open. My ability to investigate this is hampered by not being able to see down the tracks very well.

BUT...I have some questions regarding the motor. Here's my pics:





The biggest telltale sign to my problem (and maybe I'm wrong here) involves the drive gear (3.) When I power the motor on, I can grab hold of this gear quite lightly with my fingers and hold it, preventing the gear from turning. Is there a clutch mechanism in there such that this would be normal? It seems to me that this gear should drive with force unless the top has "brains" enough to clutch it because it knows there's an obstruction or other problem.

In pic 1, what is this (2) threaded hole? It's directly opposite the gear on the other side. Could there have been a screw in here that did something?

In pic 1, I've noted the part number (3.) Google finds nothing on this. Is this motor a standard sunroof motor? If so, I'd expect it would be alot easier to find than a cali-specific one.

That's all I've got. I hope my info is enough to prompt someone who is smarter than me to get my butt out of this jam.

The saddest part is I might not be able to take the ti to Bimmerfest on Saturday! Big Bimmer Bummer.

-mr9

[RAiMA]

Take it anyway, there maybe someone at Bimmerfest who may know how to fix it or know of a workshop that can fix it without paying big $$$.

To fix something like that shouldn't cost that much, if anything, it may take a while to get the parts if they need to be ordered from Germany.

Good luck with fixing your top.

[mrnine]

Further updates:

The plot thickens. It almost certainly has to d with the gear (3) and the "collar" on the reverse (1) from my previous photo.

After clearing the grease out from (1), it reveals a pin that doesn't seem to be properly seated in the hole. Also, would there have been some sort of set screw in there at some point to keep it altogether? At one point the pin and spring actually shot right out of there.

So...the pin seems to serve at some sort of clutch? My guess is to prevent the gear from mashing into the track after the top is closed or open all the way.

I managed to get the top closed all the way once by leveraging the gear and now have it open all the way again. Just need to close it up one last time and I'll be at the Fest Saturday. At least this confirms that the assembly itself is intact.

Questions that remain:

1) Is this part of the motor something I can service or "makeshift service" on my own?

2) If not, is this top motor specfic to the Cali top or can I buy a standard e36 sunroof motor?

3) Anyone have a good lead on a motor?

[mrnine]

Even more updates; I guess I really could have just had this conversation with myself in the privacy of my own home.

I took the motor apart and found shards of metal where the clutch used to be in the center of the gear. It is no longer capable of engaging at all. I closed the roof by threading a screw into the gear and used an electric screwdriver.

So this leaves me in need of a motor. Again, numbers on the label are:
67.61-2496 368 &
Meritor 400 602 A8
834 396 716
05-05-98

I'll ask some folks Saturday at Bimmerfest, but if anyone knows where I can get one, let me know!

[mrnine]

Okay...

BMW dealer wants $260.51. BavAuto can get me one for $239.00.

Should I expect that's my best deal?