Pop up light issue

[Alexmp79]

My lights have been working fine and have been refurbished in the past but all of a sudden tonight the near side one is still popping up but not easily and comes down with a clunk. Also the manual over ride doesn’t seem to be working.

[Tuga2112]

My lights have been working fine and have been refurbished in the past but all of a sudden tonight the near side one is still popping up but not easily and comes down with a clunk. Also the manual over ride doesn’t seem to be working.

sounds like a mechanical issue.
you may need it refurbished again.

[chrism]

Alexmp79, welcome to the m100 'workhouse' .

Inside each motor are three 'bushes'. They're short round cylinders of a plastic rod that transmit grip to the motor which lifts the light pod. They harden and turn into powder over time...

Last week I noticed that my n/s pod's manual override kept turning, the pod clunked down and the motor kept whining - so it had to be a grip problem like yours. The lack of manual override provides the clue...

I'm willing to bet that if yours were refurb'd recently they weren't liberally greased when they were replaced and they've degraded/powdered already .

I was fortunate: My previous owner 'did' the o/s pod and passed on the remains of the kit which gave me the parts to refurb the n/s. I bit the bullet and, true to form, I found that my bushes were completely 'powdered'.

This attached pic came from the excellent YouTube video that I followed. Unfortunately, unlike the o/s, you have to take the n/s motor out which involves the faff of jacking up the n/s front and removing the plastic wheel arch to get at two incredibly difficult thin bolts in an incredibly difficult position, high towards the front of the car, inviting you to drop them into the murky, hidden depths of the radiator/bumper area. (I did this with a bolt attached to the socket and it took ages to find but I finally lucked out ) but, otherwise, the rest up top is quite straightforward .)

These bush kits are quite expensive from the dealers; they include gaskets that I reckon you probably won't need as well. I found a video of a US guy doing the same job on a 'good ole US sportscar' (Camero I think) where he bought a metre length of 'delrin' rod 7/16" dia (11.13mm) for a couple of pounds - which gave him enough to chop off, I think, 40 pieces of 'bush'. I'd rather have tried this if I hadn't been given the rest of the kit but, as we all know, for a 'first-time' job it's less frustrating to have everything you need to hand...

Hope this helps. Loadsa luck.

[dapinky]

Getting Imperial sized delrin rods in the UK isn't easy, and I accept that 7/16 is probably the perfect size, but I bought a length of 12mm rod and it works fine (a bit tight to get it back together, but once fitted it works seamlessly.

I suppose it is possible to turn the rod down on a lathe, but 12mm will work (and 10mm will probably also work).

[Tuga2112]

involves the faff of jacking up the n/s front and removing the plastic wheel arch to get at two incredibly difficult thin bolts in an incredibly difficult position, high towards the front of the car, inviting you to drop them into the murky, hidden depths of the radiator/bumper area.

you make it sound harder than it realy is.
if you use the flexy type of extention on a ratchet screwdriver with the appropriate 1/4 socket at the end and use a extendable magnet you can remove those bolts without much hassle
putting them back isnt that much harder either as long as you use the kitchen roll trick to fix the bolt to the socket strongly enough that it wont drop the first time you miss the hole.

[chrism]

Sorry dapinky but it's ~11mm or 7/16" not 11/16"...

...and Tuga I realised I had a flexy-drive just as I finished the job, but I had to use your magnet idea to rescue that lost bolt (plus I lost the nyloc nut on the 3rd top bolt but managed to find another that fitted)

As always, it's easier 'next time'...and with hindsight... (I'm still paralysed at the thought of ripping out the door cards to replace the dissolved front speakers, despite your excellent video )

ps Your kitchen roll trick's a good idea - but it's all still a 'faff' if your wheel-arch lining bolts haven't been unscrewed in 32years!

[dapinky]

Chris, you're correct - my typo (now edited!) - 11mm is the correct size.

[chrism]

Dapinky it looks like you can only get 10 or 12mm dia delrin rod over this side of the pond so your experience of getting 12mm to work ok (even if a tight fit; I reckon that 10mm should work, too) is typical of those nuggets of really good info that we all need to share frequently - even continuously.

I, as an m100 newbie, really appreciate these...

[Tuga2112]

but it's all still a 'faff' if your wheel-arch lining bolts haven't been unscrewed in 32years!

those bolts WILL spin the first time you take them out.
i have replaced everything on my car the first time i done it and used stainless A2 grade bolts and new rubber well nuts.
9 years on and i can confidently say that removing the wheel arch is a trivial task.... as long as im doing it on the yellow car

i guess my perspective of the "dificulty" of a job is very different after 9 years. after all. my car was borderline scrap when i bought it. but overtime its had so much done that it certainly is far easier to work on than my brother's 16 year old Alfa

[chrism]

...and I just bought a 200 x 12mm length for £3.99 inc del from eBay. Could be enough for 15 - 20 bushes...

[chrism]

Ahem...(embarrassed cough...). Yes, I put those spare 'bushes' from the previous owner into my n/s pop-up motor (and I'm still having counselling ) and smugly bought a length of 12mm delrin rod - to feel smug again in the future - but, at the time, I didn't think to measure the length of these bushes before I fitted them. And there's no way I want to unhook it all to find out

Does anybody know of their length or has a set they can measure please? All I have to go on is that they're around the length of a thumb-nail from the YouTube pic.

I suspect 'it can't be more than (say 1cm)...' is probably most appropriate by the way it all fits together,,,

Thanks in anticipation

[Tuga2112]

Ahem...(embarrassed cough...). Yes, I put those spare 'bushes' from the previous owner into my n/s pop-up motor (and I'm still having counselling ) and smugly bought a length of 12mm delrin rod - to feel smug again in the future - but, at the time, I didn't think to measure the length of these bushes before I fitted them. And there's no way I want to unhook it all to find out

Does anybody know of their length or has a set they can measure please? All I have to go on is that they're around the length of a thumb-nail from the YouTube pic.

I suspect 'it can't be more than (say 1cm)...' is probably most appropriate by the way it all fits together,,,

Thanks in anticipation

lucky for you i have a set from wayne in the garage. i can measure them later

unlucky for you im currently at work. and my memory is really bad... so.. maybe you will get that information later tonight or not

[Fredjohn]

Subject to Tuga's reply, you can always measure the holes as and when you have to take it apart. Then cut rod to length so it doesn't stand proud.

[dapinky]

Ooh, I love a good mystery.....

..... I know how long they are, but I'm still deciding whether to tell you, or just point you in the direction of the 'search' function on the forum





Oh, alright, I give in....... 11mm give or take. The exact length isn't too important, and better to be a tad short than a tad long and fowl on the casing.

[chrism]

...(mincing with pinkish feather boa...) 'Oh, all you boys are all such a tease...'

'But I'm troooly grateful...' (stomping off looking fetchingly over shoulder a la Dick Emery...

(Thanks Fredjohn; that's the problem - not so long as to be too proud 3x over...)

Thanks again