BMW E36 325i convertible help needed!

[chrishodgespga]

Hi everyone! First time on here so wish me luck! I've just bought a 325i convertible on a 94 plate. The aim is to get it ready for the spring. I've owned a few bmws before but not this model and need help getting the car back to its former glory.

It has only covered 69k with full service history, bodywork is fab, only blemish is slight bubbling above the windscreen and that's it!! It's certainly a rough diamond. I'm in the process of finding faults and attempting to fix them as I see them. However, I'm stuck already! Main issues are:


Power hood
Front seat tilt


I've followed the process to resync the top and I am getting some movement but the electric motor pops out of its gear? Once the emergency roof handle is pulled, I'm aware you need to reconnect the motor as well as the cover connection, but the motor does push up into the gear but isn't secured in any way? It can be pulled down without any effort? This doesn't seem right at all.


Does anyone have any pictures or instructions to help?


Thanks for reading this and hopefully helping!?


Chris

[iturboh]

The top motor not connecting or staying connected is usually the cause of the e handle not being pushed back right or all the way in

[JDStrickland]

One. There are two motors for the roof, one for the roof itself and the other for the lid of the storage compartment. The motors have to align with gears inside of a gearbox. On my car, the motor for the storage compartment lid is the one that gave me trouble, but you get around this by pushing the rod that connects to the lid -- push this rod toward the front of the car with your thumb while raising the motor to the latched position. The roof motor is attached to a relatively flimsy (weak) bracket that can bend a millimeter or two, and this makes the motor difficult to latch.

The seatback tilt mechanism has a broken gear inside of the drive. You must remove the seat from the car, then remove the two motors (there are three motors, two that are together and one that is in another location on the seat, you want the two motor4s that are mounted together) to open the gear box. The gear you want costs $40 (USD).