Cabrio hood interfering with door closing

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:38 pm

Hi all,

Anyone come across the situation where the bottom of the cabrio hood obstructs the door window when trying to shut the door?

The cab I bought recently had a new (non-BMW) hood put on last year according to the previous owner. It is in good condition, so no complaints there. But when I come to shut the driver door, I have to either (a) lift up the hood's bottom edge, or (b) push the door by the left window corner - otherwise the bottom edge of the hood gets wedged between window and car frame (see photo below).

Any ideas on whether this is an easy fix? My fear is that this will require an entire hood replacement. The previous owner said that it there was a tensioner of some description along the inside of the hood mechanism that just needed replacing, but I don't know if this is true.

By the way, this only happens on the driver's side door. The passenger side door seems to be free of this issue.

Here's a photo of the problem. Not having much luck with this hood of late...

Cheers

Ben

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:49 pm

yeah mine done that i got the bently manual and looked at the pic's and sorted it out

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:12 pm

cliffybabe wrote:yeah mine done that i got the bently manual and looked at the pic's and sorted it out

OK cliffybabe, good to hear that someone else has come across this.

Could you elaborate on how you sorted it out? I've not heard of the 'bently manual' - what is this and where can i get a copy ?

Cheers

Ben

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:20 pm

i done a search on the net for the bently manual i think Tylerman helped me out when i first noticed the problem.

Take the door card off and check the bolts are all secure first of, ill see if i can find the pages i used and sort it out for u

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:44 pm

http://www.box.net/public/si3yknsv1u

i saved the link from the last time someone wanted the manual

i think this is the one you are after

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:58 pm

there is a torx bolt on the window mechanism. this adjusts how far up the window will go. coz mine wasnt going up high enough to touch the seal which meant it leaked all over my leg! still leaks though! but i could only adjust it so far before it started fowling on the hood.

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:42 pm

Thanks for the link jon_pure_british. I've actually just bought that in hard copy - it's the Haynes manual, but the PDF version will be useful for reference in the future I'm sure.

cliffybabe - is this the bently manual you are referring to? Because I've looked through this and couldn't find any section that was relevant to the problem I'm experiencing. Could you point out which section or page in this manual you are looking at? Cheers mate.

I don't think that the height of the window is the problem, because it goes all the way to the top and seals properly. It's almost as if the bottom of the hood is sitting a fraction too low and getting in the way. I was hoping there's some sort of tensioner that can be adjusted to pull the hood up into its proper position, but I could be wrong.

When I get a chance, I'm going to strip the door down to see if there is anything wrong inside the door mechanism, but in the meantime, anyone else got their 2 cents worth to add?

Cheers

Ben

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:57 pm

Please post your results! i could do with staying dry this winter too!

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:09 pm

benobi if you are not far from me i will do it for you
Regards
Benji

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 8:22 pm

is it the roof that needs adjusting then?

Post Mon Jul 10, 2006 11:09 pm

why doesn't anyone do a search on the zone!!!

all these questions have been asked before

The window is adjusted by 3 nuts on the runners..you have to take the inside off..not too difficult

as to adjusting the roof line it is a combination of getting the front window level and ,,if you look on the pram hood in each rear quarter,,,you will see a rubber plug on one of the joints..take this out and you will see an allen key socket ,,,place allen key in it and turn ..in raises the roof line ..out lowers it..i think they generally sag over time...but be gentle

Post Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:09 am

Thanks to everyone who's contributed here, much appreciated.

DaveD, sorry if these questions have been covered before - to my defence I always do a search prior to posting questions, but the search results don't always come up with postings that are specific to my problem. Possibly a case of user error with the search terms used, I'll be first to admit... but I'd wager that the search tool is not always 100% in finding what you want... I'll try harder next time !

Fowler - I will try DaveD's suggestions later this week. If I don't get any joy, I will PM you to arrange a convenient time to plunder your expertise on the hood issue.

Cheers everyone

Ben

Post Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:15 pm

i had this prob myself.....

took the cards of and adjusted the window etc but needed to adjust the top using the quarterlight allan key bits.... they'd totally seized up though no matter how much effort i put in!!

Decided to stop before i rounded them! Just have to remember my towel again for this winter!

Post Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:40 am

This problem is not unusual. The cabrio I have owned from new in October 1992 has always had this problem in slight measure since the day it was new. I just accepted it as normal. I had one before from 1989 and that was the same.

From the E36 they put a gizmo onwhich drops the windows 1/2inch as you shut the door and that is the best fix. My z4 also has this and it works well. I've wondered from time to time whether it would be simple to fit such a thing. Maybe one day...

Post Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:25 am

i thought of this too as i first seen it on my mates beetle. didnt know it was on the e36. there must be a way of getting this in an e30.

Post Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:33 am

I too have this same problem but however i had to raise the window up so that it met the rubber of the hardtop subsequently it now doesnt go under the softtop when i put that up.

I think i either needed to adjust the hardtop to sit lower rather than the window to sit higher!

Post Thu Jul 13, 2006 2:11 pm

I asked at a BMW dealers once about retrofitting the window "dip and lift" mechanism - he laughed and said it wouldn't work.
I can't see why not ... must be something in the door handle that detects the door being opened, lowers window and just closes again when the current door switch (for the interior lights) closes.

We should all ask Brian if he can come up with something.

G