Convertible Top not aligning correctly
 

I've been a stalker of this site since my wife got her first Mini and usually I'm able to figure out what I need, but this one has me stumped so I thought maybe someone here could help.

History on the current car:
An independent dealer sold an 05 Mini R52 S with 45K miles to an individual. 2 days later the top stopped working. The dealer tried to have his in-house people repair it and they apparently failed miserably at finding the problem. Dealer refunded the money to the buyer and then tried to sell the car at auction but weren't getting their money out of it.

I bought the car at a steal planning on sinking up to $2k to get the top working. When I bought the car, I was given a box with all the old parts from the top.... I mention this story only because I still don't know what the heck all the pieces go to and I don't know exactly what the "techs" did to the top.

Parts I know they replaced:

- motor (Part #67616961172)
- L and R linkage/latches (Part #54347174763)
- Parcel shelf (Part #51467146370)
- Sliders??? (connects to the latches it seems)

Basically after messing with it for two weeks, I found that:
1. the motor was not properly installed (it sounded like it had been stripped but just wasn't seated properly),
2. the sensor for the latch had not been replaced when they put the vehicle back together, and
3. I had to file down the round "pegs" on the latches because they kept catching and would not release.

I now have the top sliding to sunroof mode and then folding completely down (and I'm pretty proud of myself I must say). The problem is that the driver side doesn't seem to clear the back seat fully. This is causing the top to rub against the backseat headrest and is causing the top to start to fray. If I tug gently on the frame as the top goes down I can get it to clear without a problem.

I don't know if perhaps there are bent pieces of the frame that I just can't see, or if they loosened parts while working on the frame (there are white marks around many of the bolts) and just didn't line everything up properly.

I'm so close to having this fixed, any ideas on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!

http://tinypic.com/r/25arus0/8
http://tinypic.com/r/347wmmb/8
http://tinypic.com/r/2nlwdx/8
http://tinypic.com/r/vi1rwl/8
http://tinypic.com/r/34flkeu/8

No ideas I'm guessing. Has anyone else ever even experienced this issue?

I plan on diving in this weekend and comparing each side bolt by bolt.

Hello,

Take those part number and plug them into our site for pics.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/n/u/224.png

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/r/s/213.png

Convertible Top Motor ( this control the sunroof section ) and connects to the long cables pairs. The motor if not done right can strip the cables.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/67616961172/

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/296594_x600.jpg

&&

Convertible Top Front Linkage - Pair These unlatch when the sunroof goes back all the way. Right before you hit the open top button for the second time. If the parcel shelf is not in place and the micro-switch not touched the top will not go back.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/54347174763/

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/237246_x600.jpg


&&

Rear Window Parcel Shelf Deck - Sets in the back on the lower level and when the foot on the rear left coner touced the microswithc , you can put the top down all the way.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51467146370/

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/407916_x600.jpg


&&

Sunroof Mechanism / Convertible Top Cable Set , These are most of the time the item that snaps on one side, then the top ( sunroof portion will stick on one side ) you replace in pairs and they have to be set correctly.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/54347174761/

http://c1552172.r72.cf0.rackcdn.com/467034_x600.jpg

For some reason I cannot see your pics, I re-posted them.

http://oi57.tinypic.com/25arus0.jpg
http://oi57.tinypic.com/347wmmb.jpg
http://oi61.tinypic.com/2nlwdx.jpg
http://oi62.tinypic.com/vi1rwl.jpg
http://oi61.tinypic.com/34flkeu.jpg


Looks like the whole top is misaligned, I hope they did not monkey with it and bend the framing. There are adjustment points on the top but the MINI dealership have the knowledge base to align the top. I hope nothing is bent . If the sunroof goes back evenly then its not the cable set pulling back on the sunroof , its the whole cassette that needs aligned. Its kind of technical to do and if everything was installed right, then that might be the correct path .


""
Basically after messing with it for two weeks, I found that:
1. the motor was not properly installed (it sounded like it had been stripped but just wasn't seated properly),
2. the sensor for the latch had not been replaced when they put the vehicle back together, and
3. I had to file down the round "pegs" on the latches because they kept catching and would not release.

""

1. Sounds like possible stretched the cables if the motor was not put in place correctly. Does the top go back in sunroof mode evenly ?

2. This is the sensor for the trunk parcel deck ?

3. Those are easy MINIs did not have the pegs , its was the first couple months of production, then they went to the peg stle , older 2005 MINI convertible just file them down when swaped. Newer MINIs have the pegs from the factory.



Here is a good link to see the top go down. With some more info on info the system works.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-position.html


Thanks and I hope that helps.

This is an old post, but since I had private messages from people with the same problem I wanted to post the solution that worked for me.

It was hard to see when the top was closed, there was a very slight difference in spacing there as well. So I removed the motor completely (so that the top moved freely) and then forcefully pushed the top all the way into the closed position. Then I re-installed the motor and everything worked out properly. It was only off by a small amount but it made a huge difference as the rubbing was no longer an issue. Good luck to any others with the problem.

Yep. That's adjusting the cable length to the motor as the convertible top might be off a hair. That's either to compensate for a stretched cable or just the slight geometry of the top from car to car. When i had my MINI adjusted for the "white marks issue" Back in the day. They adjusted the top so it would not close as tight and just close enough to touch the front seal. SIM 54 01 05

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p-problem.html

Thanks for the update and that info is great for future R52 or R57 owners.