Cab Horseshoe Locking Problem - new cables properly sorted!

Post Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:14 pm

It's getting to the summer when I've promised myself I'll set to some of the outstanding items on the car. These include getting the little annoying dents out from its 7 years in Portugal and sorting the roof so it folds and locks and a dashboard swap.

Questions are:

1. Does anyone know what to check if the locking clamps on the horseshoe cover don't lock down? Everything else on the power roof sequence works apart from this.

2. Is there any difference in the dashboards from different years - do I need to get a dash out of a facelift Cabby or can I get one from any E30.

Thanks in advance!

Post Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:31 pm

Try this for your roof issues;
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=195689

Dashboard,cabbies have an extra re-enforcing bar under the dash,so I understand that a standard saloon/touring one will need a small modification to fit.
I have not had the dash out of my cabbie,so I am not sure just where this bar is...I had a good look under it when I had the interior and carpet out and IMO a standard saloon/touring one will fit!
Best way will be to get the dash out and compare the reverse sides.

Post Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:50 pm

I think theres also another reinforcement bar which goes around the steering column/speedo as well.

Post Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:25 pm

Try this for your roof issues;
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... c&t=195689

Thanks for the reply - saw that thread just after I'd posted my one - hadn't seen pictures of the crimping before and my roof doesn't look quite as tidy as that when folded!

Post Thu May 05, 2011 10:17 pm

Crimped the wire in the tensioner this week - just a single crimp and what a difference it makes to the way that the roof folds.

Unfortunately the wire that runs across to make the centre bit fold properly needs sewing in (glueing will be relatively pointless according to a local upholsterer - unless anyone believes differently of course).

The link to the crimping pics is a great link!

Unfortunately the locks on the horseshoe still don't engage but I'll keep looking into this.

Post Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:05 am

Took some pics for a separate update yesterday with some with the roof.

Issue is that the horseshoe doesn't lock - where the pictures end up is where it will get to on it's own with just a fold of where the wire goes at the front of the roof.

Question I've got is is the bar that operates the horseshoe the right way round (see pic) as it rubs against the rubber and bodywork which I can't believe it was designed to do that.

The claws don't seem to pull the horseshoe down after it gets to its final resting position.

Car's going away now for TLC to the bodywork for a month but when it comes back I want to get this sorted as it will be even more noticable with straight bodywork!

How it starts off

A quick push in the right direction for the first fold

The bar that lifts the horseshoe - is this fitted the right way round?

Folding carries on

Folded

Where it ends up on its own - it will close a little more with a little push but that's about it

I'm going to get everything sewn back properly along the frame and get the wire put back in on the first fold but aside from that I'm not sure if the issue is the horseshoe lifter bar or whether there's something else in the mechanism that I need to be looking at.

Am also going to go through the lubricating thread that's on the link from the states when I get the car back.

Any suggestions welcome - thanks for looking!

Post Sat Jun 04, 2011 11:35 am

IMO Its not the horseshoe motor that's at fault its the adjustment of the bar #2
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=54&fg=10

which if I remember rightly pulls the roof down a little more to allow the hooks to engage

the tube in the roof for part #33 is stuck down on mine it doesn't take any strain as the wire is hooked round the tensioner straps

and if I were you I would get the nylon sleeve #25(it stops the grease getting on the roof) that goes over the bar that raises the horseshoe ...which I feel should be the other way round ..but I will check when i go out
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=54&fg=10

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ctric_roof

Post Sat Jun 04, 2011 6:17 pm

Thanks a lot Dave - I'll try and get another bar and sleeve whilst it's away. The horseshoe is coming off while it's resprayed so I'll make sure it goes back on the right way afterwards.

Thanks again.

John

Post Mon Jun 06, 2011 7:20 pm

Looks from the photo that your horseshoe lifting bar has gone the 'wrong way', ie. has dropped past the vertical position when the lid is raised. This means that the lever it's attached to will never reach the raised lug on the lever that pulls the locks down tight.
You need to disengage the actual motor from the body of the horseshoe-lifting assembly (in the boot) and then turn the shaft manually to lock down the lid whilst at the same time re-engaging the motor.
READ THIS!

http://www.e30ic.com/powertop.htm

Good luck! I replaced both my motor assemblies and various other hood-raising parts recently and when I was done, I followed the procedure to the absolute letter and it worked first time, beautifully folding away and locking right down.

Any problems, don't hesitate to ask...

Post Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:23 pm

Before you do anything else check that the tear drop shaped pulley that the bar attaches to isn't bent slightly, I had the same problem as you and tried everything before I noticed the slightest bend, replaced for a new one and it worked fine, even the smallest bend makes all the difference.

Post Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:31 am

Yes, I also agree with Brett. If it's the slightest bit bent (as mine was), it misses pushing against the raised lug and is forced over over the top of it instead, having no effect on the locking down of the horseshoe. From your blurred photo yours looks to be pretty straight though, but do check...

If you're within a 25 mile radius of west London I'd be willing to come and give you some help, as I know how frustrating this all is and how FANTASTIC it feels when it's all sorted.

Let me know...

Post Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:28 pm

Brett / Nobby - hadn't looked back at this thread for a while - thanks for the advice.

I've got plenty to be looking at when I get the car back in mid July - Nobby thanks for the offer I may well take you up on it!

Cheers

John

Post Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:23 am

No worries John, please do... 07721 537703 (Nick)

Post Sat Aug 04, 2012 5:53 pm

So finally I got round to sorting out the horseshoe locking issue.

I got a new rod and lever from BMW, also got the sleeve as well.

A little trial and error to work out how to remove it but fairly straight forward in the end - much easier to remove when the horseshoe isn't fully vertical!

Anyway, not the greatest of technical achievements in comparison with many on here but I'm chuffed to bits with it.

Many thanks to all those who posted suggestions - it was the alignment of the lever (which was bent a little), the rod that I got seemed a little longer than the one on the car as well so maybe that helped.

Finally the horseshoe closes properly - I've got it booked into have the cross bars stitched into place and the wire rod stitched in so that hopefully I'll be able to put the roof back without getting out of the car first!

Thanks again!

New rod and lever

And with sleeve in place

Finally it closes properly!

Post Sat Mar 08, 2014 6:24 pm

So if I'm brutally honest it might not have been fully fixed. It was better than it was but not right. There was still movement in the clamps when the roof was down and the metal loop knocked against the clamps when you went over bumps.

I decided to get new bowden cables as had been suggested at some point and I'd already adjusted them as much as possible.

I actually got them ages ago but haven't had time to fit them as yet.

So with the good weather today, I wanted to sort out a couple of things - some more successfully than others but the most successful of all is new bowdens fitted.

Old

New

And the result:

I'm very happy with that!

Even better the rattle has gone and it pulls itself down nicely to properly close now.

I still have to get the roof stitching done for it to close without any intervention but that's for another month

Post Sat Mar 08, 2014 9:28 pm

How much were the cables?

Post Sun Mar 09, 2014 12:57 am

£113 from Cotswolds (bought in July last year).

I firmly believe that the further you separate yourself from the actual purchase the more it makes sense (I'm selling it for £39k in 15 years time telling people it was owned by Jacky).

Post Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:11 pm

The horseshoe certainly looks a lot tighter when closed. I guess the cables can stretch and distort over time. I'm impressed that that change made all the difference.

Thanks

Post Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:49 pm

jas025 wrote:£113 from Cotswolds (bought in July last year)

Does make me wonder if;

http://www.speedycables.com/

...they could have made 'em up cheaper!

Post Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:03 pm

daimlerman wrote:
jas025 wrote:£113 from Cotswolds (bought in July last year)
Does make me wonder if;

http://www.speedycables.com/

...they could have made 'em up cheaper!

Most likely they could have - especially if you remove the cables and then send them through - they'd probably be able to use the old set as a donor for the connections.

Maybe I should sell my old ones - ripe for refurbishment - must be worth a fortune