Help Roof Won't Lower

[wessexcamper]

Hi, been getting ready to go away tomorrow, raised the roof to replace the mattress I had removed for cleaning, roof won't lower.
Not sure but the sound it made when going up sounded odd, it went up ok though, when trying to lower it the pump operates, the roof does not move, there is a faint bubbling sound. I noticed that there is hydraulic fluid appearing in the channel above the drivers door. Clearly a hydraulic leak and I don't want to run the pump anymore for obvious reasons, need some advice please on what to do next. Thank you

 

[flying banana]

While the roof is up. Investigate the leak. Take photos. Then lower it manually. Also tell us your vehicle ? But sounds like a trip to the dealer to me. Get the roof tie downs on too if you do a manual drop. Good luck

 

[wessexcamper]

hi, thanks, its a 63 plate T5 cali se

 

[wessexcamper]

Hi All, I have some pictures showing where the oil appears to be coming out. One picture shows the wires on the passenger side and the other shows the wires on the drivers side, where the leak is. These are underneath a plastic trim which can be pulled away to show the wiring.

I'm not sure if these are just wires or if the hydraulic pipes are among the small bundle of wires here.

On the driver's side, where the leak is, there is much more "gunge" around the wires. Looks like self amalgamating tape or some kind of mastic. We had the van in at the Breeze in Southampton six months ago for a warranty corrosion job on the roof. Just before we sent it down there we discovered the carpets were wet under the driver's feet. The Breeze mechanics told us that somebody had done a bodged repair on the A pillar drains at some point in the past and it was all blocked up, causing the dampness inside. They pointed out that the headlining was wet in addition to the carpet. They cleared out the drain and (apparently) fixed whatever the bodge had been.

It seems odd now that the hydraulics have failed just at this same place.

 

[flying banana]

That mastic is normal. Your drain holes are underneath that. Your hydraulics are further back. There's a plastic cap over the cylinder where there is a small torx screw. Usually rusty. Undo that and pop off the cap to reveal the cylinder

 

[Loz]

As said that looks normal, it is often wet there, so is it actually oil or just water?

did it go up at normal speed, could the leisure batteries be flat? Have you tried lowering with the engine running?

 

[westfalia]

If the roof wont lower, you could try looking at the fault codes
on the Control Panel and clearing them.
@WelshGas has posted how to check for this.

 

[wessexcamper]

Hi again, thank you so much for your help so far.

- The batteries are fully charged. We are supposed to be going camping later today and have been on mains hookup for a couple of days.

- Also, I had the engine actually running when raising and trying to lower the roof.

- I wasn't paying that much attention when the roof went up. I wondered if it usually sounded "like that" but it was similar enough to the usual sound to not make me notice very much. It may have taken a little longer than usual but not so much that you would comment on it.

- There is some damp and dirt around the front corner of the channels - both sides - but on the driver's side there is clearly hydraulic oil. I could see it bubbling out from underneath the area where the mastic is and of course you can smell it. I had to mop it up using some kitchen roll, and it was red.

I'm thinking that there must be two pipes carrying the fluid somewhere below the mastic - as described by flying banana - and that one of them has developed a leak somewhere. I might try to get at these but I imagine it involves a fair bit of dismantling work around the headlining etc. I saw a post on here describing how to get to the pump - but didn't read it in enough detail to assess how many hours work is involved, or how easy / difficult it might be to replace a section of pipe.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[flying banana]

Here's a ram that's been leaking. You can see the pipes and the screw hole from removing the cap.

 

[wessexcamper]

thanks for such quick replies, just off to investigate.

 

[wessexcamper]

confirm there are no error codes and the hydraulic oil looks like it is coming from the drain hole, doesn;t appear to have run down the channel from the ram. my husband is going to remove the headlining to see if anything is visible under there. (using the guide on here). thank you!

 

[ArunAlec]

If you intending to go away and don’t need to use the upper bed why not just drop the roof using the manual override screw. If you do find the leak it is not going to be a quicK fix.

 

[wessexcamper]

After discussing with VW garage today, we have ordered the hydraulic oil and some seals for pick up tomorrow, it is possible we will still need to order new pipes but at £180 (non returnable), we are taking it one step at a time. My husband has been working on it for a good hour now and will no doubt upload some pics and seek further advice via this forum over the next day.
Decided to cx the camping weekend as not keen to drive long distance with the roof strapped down, and need to use the time this weekend to get it fixed. Garage couldn't investigate it for 2 weeks.
Once again, really appreciate the advice on here! Things were quite bleak last night but we are making progress now.

 

[westfalia]

After discussing with VW garage today, we have ordered the hydraulic oil and some seals for pick up tomorrow, it is possible we will still need to order new pipes but at £180 (non returnable), we are taking it one step at a time. My husband has been working on it for a good hour now and will no doubt upload some pics and seek further advice via this forum over the next day.
Decided to cx the camping weekend as not keen to drive long distance with the roof strapped down, and need to use the time this weekend to get it fixed. Garage couldn't investigate it for 2 weeks.
Once again, really appreciate the advice on here! Things were quite bleak last night but we are making progress now.

This thread may help a bit.

As promised: Changing the electrohydraulic roof pump!

So as I promised last year, I wanted to keep you updated about changing the electrohydraulic roof pump. Therefore we need: a pump, some guts, a bit of spare time, and some helping hands. Up to now I only have the pump and the headlining taken off. First we take off the A-pillar handles...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[flying banana]

Wise move to cancel your trip. Its probably raining anyway. I wonder if a hydraulics company could help you. Such as pirtek or carlton? Worth a call. Some of those firms you find on industrial estates are fantastic

 

[wessexcamper]

thanks, westalia,. he is outside following Triple Bee's step by step instructions........

 

[westfalia]

thanks, westalia,. he is outside following your step by step instructions........

They are @TripleBee s very helpful instructions.

 

[wessexcamper]

sorry yes I should have said Triple Bee. A lot of work done by Triple Bee, did not mean to not acknowledge. We are really grateful.

 

[westfalia]

sorry yes I should have said Triple Bee. A lot of work done by Triple Bee, did not mean to not acknowledge. We are really grateful.

He wont mind

There are quite few helpful threads....

Changing roof elevating jack ( roof dropping on one side )

Apologies but this is posted elsewhere on forums as well.. Hi, I used the van last week in half term (2006 Cali) one owner from new 60,000 miles. After raising roof it was noticed that the right hand side was not as tight as should be so extended again in case I had released button too early...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[wessexcamper]

So what have I learned today?

1. The advice on this forum is truly invaluable.
2. It is quite hard work to remove the headlining. It took me just over three hours. TripleBee's comprehensive post is very informative. There are a few gaps for the likes of me who are enthusiastic DIY-ers rather than trained and experienced automotive mechanics. The main problems I had were in relation to removal of the control and light console and cabling issues. I ended up removing everything including the interior mirror, which was quite taxing. I took some pictures and will post them in a few days. I am not sure it was totally necessary to go that far but I couldn't see any alternative to allow the headlining to be removed, due to the cabling.
3. Still no sign of leaking oil in the interior of the van, which is a relief.
4. The mastic seal (pictured earlier) surrounds some wiring and two hydraulic pipes. Bet you all knew that already. I'm now 100% convinced that one of the pipes is damaged and leaking underneath the mastic. I'm also fairly convinced the damage was caused by work done in that area by the VW dealer earlier this year, but I have no faith I can win that argument with the dealer and I'm not going to give them another opportunity to mess the van up.
5. Need to order the cables ready to fit next week. This looks like a worse job than removing the headlining. No doubt plenty more questions will arise.

Questions such as ... does anybody know where to get hold of a syringe suitable for topping up the hydraulic oil?

By the way, the very expensive oil seems to be getting cheaper. They are only charging me £73 for a bottle. That's still ridiculously expensive, but having been primed to expect £120 plus, I somehow feel OK about it being "only" £73.

 

[flying banana]

I think you're right and also think you're onto something about the pipe. It must go through a gland of some sort in that area. I'm an engineer myself and often make mistakes. It happens. Just would be nice if vw dealers admitted it sometimes as they don't realise how much harm and heartache they can cause. Let alone the cost to the owner.

 

[WelshGas]

Questions such as ... does anybody know where to get hold of a syringe suitable for topping up the hydraulic oil?

Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PB1RHQW/?tag=eliteelect-21

 

[wessexcamper]

Syringe and pipes ordered, wondering if i need a special tool to unscrew the ram supports? Getting everything ready for the pipes to come on Tuesday, then the real work will begin! The reservoir is out of hydraulic oil, my suspicion is that it has been leaking for a while (since being in garage in January), and if we topped it up it would limp on for a bit.

 

[WelshGas]

Syringe and pipes ordered, wondering if i need a special tool to unscrew the ram supports? Getting everything ready for the pipes to come on Tuesday, then the real work will begin! The reservoir is out of hydraulic oil, my suspicion is that it has been leaking for a while (since being in garage in January), and if we topped it up it would limp on for a bit.

See the link in Post 19 above.

@Nomad who has changed a ram , said this regarding tools. And to remove the hydraulic line - Pliers.

 

[Paul_W]

Syringe and pipes ordered, wondering if i need a special tool to unscrew the ram supports? Getting everything ready for the pipes to come on Tuesday, then the real work will begin! The reservoir is out of hydraulic oil, my suspicion is that it has been leaking for a while (since being in garage in January), and if we topped it up it would limp on for a bit.

Hope all is going well, let us know how you got on when all the parts arrived, fingers crossed you managed to fix the issue