New Rear Window or Entire Roof

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
Post Reply
njathind
Joined: Wed 19 Mar, 2014 19:02
Posts: 44

  Z3 roadster 2.0

New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by njathind »

Need some advice.

Finally traced the leak into the boot, turns out it was running in through the rear window zip in the bottom left corner.
Filling up the well the roof folds into and dripping down into the boot.

Managed to work out that if I carefully fold the edges of the roof back under the black plastic bit if the rear window, it stems the leak but doesn't stop it, sadly the bit around the bottom left corner doesnt quite reach under the black plastic trim.

Apart from this issue with the rear window. The roof is in pretty good shape.

Question is, will changing the rear window fix this? Leaving the roof fabric tucked under the black plastic window trim perfectly?
Or is it sadly a case of new roof also?
Hoping it's just a case of the window seal trim shrinking slightly and a window is all thats needed.

Many thanks in advance.
User avatar
colb
Joined: Sat 05 May, 2012 22:46
Posts: 690

  Z3 roadster 1.8 TU
Location: Newport South Wales UK

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by colb »

You could try some glue under the material that tucks under the beading around the window to get it to seal. Very much a fiddle of a job to do but worth a try. A new zip in window isn't going to curethe problem with the material needing to be tucked under that beading. Alternative is a new sewn in window but that involves taking the hood off and a trimmer sewing the new window in. You could get a complete new hood with sewn in window put on the car by one of the UK trimmers who do this for circa £300 when I last looked. A lot of members use Jack Smith at Swansea who can do the job with a choice of hood colours and completes the job in a day whilst you have a look around the town. There are other trimmers, one in Croydon, often mentioned in threads on here. For what you are going to pay to have a window sewn in it might well be worth replacing the hood completly.
Colb
1999 BMW 1.8 Z3
2003 BMW 2.5 Z4
1998 Honda Deauville NT650V
User avatar
Tufarlian
Joined: Sat 14 Mar, 2009 20:21
Posts: 307

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by Tufarlian »

Black silicone is better than glue.

It can hold the fabric in place over the zip, prevent water getting through the zip and if you decide to replace the window after all it pulls away easier.

Mark
Bertie
Joined: Sun 06 Oct, 2019 03:46
Posts: 47

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Montreal Canada

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by Bertie »

Hi
Have you tried "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure " [It's real product not a joke ].A styrene based liquid which penetrates cracks and polymerises to form a water tight seal . I've used it to seal windscreens and boot seals on old cars , my son has used it to seal windows on his sail boat cabin . It works every time. .
Bertie
Bertie
Joined: Sun 06 Oct, 2019 03:46
Posts: 47

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Montreal Canada

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by Bertie »

Hi
Have you tried "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure " [It's real product not a joke ].A styrene based liquid which penetrates cracks and polymerises to form a water tight seal . I've used it to seal windscreens and boot seals on old cars , my son has used it to seal windows on his sail boat cabin . It works every time. .
Bertie
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by Del »

It's only glued from the factory. I've used Bostik Soft Plastic Clear Adhesive successfully in the past and others have used "Stormsure". Apply glue and used a credit card to get the canvas to tuck under the plastic strip. Do not be tempted to use typical super glue as it dries hard/crusty, makes a mess and is not waterproof.
wonderloaf
Joined: Mon 02 Aug, 2010 20:55
Posts: 518

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Basingstoke

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by wonderloaf »

Bertie wrote: Sat 11 Jan, 2020 20:50 Hi
Have you tried "Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure " [It's real product not a joke ].A styrene based liquid which penetrates cracks and polymerises to form a water tight seal . I've used it to seal windscreens and boot seals on old cars , my son has used it to seal windows on his sail boat cabin . It works every time. .
Bertie
This is really good stuff, just used it to seal the windscreen on Volvo, probably saved me many 100's of £££££££. Worth having 'just in case'!
2001 Titan Silver 2.2 Sport
PeteW Surrey
Joined: Sun 03 Mar, 2019 09:12
Posts: 5

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by PeteW Surrey »

I have a similar issue with my Z3, water condensing on the u/s of the boot lid, misty windows and an 18 year old tired hood with poor rear window seams. So, I took the car to Soft-Tops in Croydon to see Dee and had the entire roof replaced including the rear window for £495, takes about 3 hours, thanks Dee for the nice job you made of it. Thanks also to my wife for treating me to the hood for my birthday!
Warrior
Joined: Tue 11 May, 2010 10:02
Posts: 497

  Z3 roadster 3.0i

Re: New Rear Window or Entire Roof

Post by Warrior »

Back in June of last year I started a thread about the material lifting in the bottom left hand corner of my roof. It had been like it for a while and there were no signs of any water ingress so I hadn't rushed to repair it.

In late November I posted about the excess condensation on the back screen.

Although with hindsight the answer to the condensation issue is obvious (the raised material in the bottom left hand corner), the reason it wasn't showing itself in the boot was because I had a bulky softshell jacket lying length ways across the back it and i'd had no reason to use it of late :oops: Fortunately, although it was sopping wet in places it had prevented all but a small damp patch on the boot carpet.

I'm now facing the same dilemma - new window or new roof - although i'm looking at it from a different perspective to 'njathind' in his opening post, that being whether my car which is a 2002 3.0i model with just 45k on the clock, completely original and in superb condition would be devalued if a non original replacement roof were fitted? The roof being the only part of the car that looks a little tired.

PS: I should just say that I will need a new rear window anyway as in my haste to push down a raised area when opening it cracked! :dunce: Was misty anyway :D
Post Reply