Help Roof Won't Lower

wessexcamper · Jul 15, 2020

Hi there, thanks for asking, unfortunately we were let down by the VW dealer in Southampton (adding insult to injury so to speak), failing to order the pipes until yesterday, so have just picked up today and hoping to get some work started after work tonight.

wessexcamper · Jul 16, 2020

Successfully removed the pipes and got the new ones in place but it is a long complicated job, a small mistake can cost a lot of time. More parts ordered for pick up tomorrow, resuming the rebuild tomorrow evening......

Paul_W · Jul 16, 2020

wessexcamper said:
Successfully removed the pipes and got the new ones in place but it is a long complicated job, a small mistake can cost a lot of time. More parts ordered for pick up tomorrow, resuming the rebuild tomorrow evening......

WOW sounds like a bit of a nightmare

Hope all your time and efforts come to a successful conclusion over the weekend. Have our fingers crossed for you!
I actually ordered the emergency roof tie down kit yesterday as having searched our van top to bottom I couldn’t find it. Better safe than sorry

Let us know how you get on.......

wessexcamper · Jul 17, 2020

Here is where we have got to :
We have replaced the pipes, connected it all up, topped up the oil, and now the roof is working again!
Now all we have to do is put the van back together again and seal up the grommets.
We will post more details of some of the issues we found when we have finished.

Paul_W · Jul 17, 2020

wessexcamper said:
Here is where we have got to :
We have replaced the pipes, connected it all up, topped up the oil, and now the roof is working again!
Now all we have to do is put the van back together again and seal up the grommets.
We will post more details of some of the issues we found when we have finished.

Thats good news! The annoying thing is that it was probably VW that caused the issue in the first place. I think the service in the UK is shocking, £60K vehicle’s should come with first class service by default not the shocking service we regularly encounter. We now use a local garage for all our servicing, it’s just a T5 van! I’ll not get into a rant I’m just happy to hear you’ve had a good result..... We’re away in thE van this weekend, can’t wait :bananadance2

wessexcamper · Jul 19, 2020

here is our update! After connecting up the hydraulics, topping up the oil using the recommended syringe, and cycling the roof up and down countless times to bleed the air through, we have now put the hydraulic pump back in its foam case. The roof is going up and down very smoothly, we now have to put the cab back together. We need to seal up the groomet at the top of the A pillar and then put the cab back together again. VW have quoted nearly £30 for a 300ml container of sealant for the grommet, would be interested in your views on whether this is essential or we could another non VW sealant to the same effect?

wessexcamper · Jul 19, 2020

Not quite finished putting roof lining back, but our cali is spending the night with its roof down for the first time in 10 days! Woo hoo! Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement, we could not have done this job without the advice we received on here. We are preparing a write up of the job for future use for other members.

wessexcamper · Jul 20, 2020

It is fixed and the van is back together!!!
Off for a couple of days camping, hopefully all will go smoothly.
We were warned on here it was a major job, and it was!!!
Just relieved now that we can enjoy our van.
Thanks again

Paul_W · Jul 21, 2020

wessexcamper said:
It is fixed and the van is back together!!!
Off for a couple of days camping, hopefully all will go smoothly.
We were warned on here it was a major job, and it was!!!
Just relieved now that we can enjoy our van.
Thanks again

Really good to hear you’ve got this fixed, it’s been an epic job by the sound of it! You’ve done really well, think it would have been into VW for me, think this was beyond my DIY capabilities. We’re just back from a weekend in Settle, it was great to get away again, doesn’t take long for the good times to reaffirm why we have these vehicles. Have a great trip when you get away :thumb

PS do you have any clue what this would have cost you had you had left it with VW to sort?

wessexcamper · Jul 21, 2020

So the parts from vw were £300 (seals, tubes, hydraulic oil, sealant, circlips).

We reckon we spent 10 to 12 hours on it. The issue would be whether vw would charge for anything else... Or do a good job... We did it ourselves as we felt we couldn't risk the cost with vw as well as the time.

We are away camping now, all good and we are thrilled to have our cali back in order!.
.
We agree it was definitely a long, time consuming job but we were keen to give it a try ourselves.
So happy to be enjoying to our cali!
.

kurienp · Jul 22, 2020

wessexcamper said:
So the parts from vw were £300 (seals, tubes, hydraulic oil, sealant, circlips).

We reckon we spent 10 to 12 hours on it. The issue would be whether vw would charge for anything else... Or do a good job... We did it ourselves as we felt we couldn't risk the cost with vw as well as the time.

We are away camping now, all good and we are thrilled to have our cali back in order!.
.
We agree it was definitely a long, time consuming job but we were keen to give it a try ourselves.
So happy to be enjoying to our cali!
.

Yeah! And the firm knowledge that you've done your best, and that it is now working.

Enjoy the adventures.

wessexcamper · Jul 28, 2020

No leaks so far, husband is very happy!

Monty-Wilf bus · Aug 4, 2020

wessexcamper said:
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.

Hi Wessexcamper, I am having a nightmare with my roof ( see major school boy error post) and your post has given me some hope. Great work!,I have to replace the same hydraulic pipe as you. Was the replacement possible without removing the front roof panel? With no hydraulic oil can the roof be manually lifted to allow access to the pipe? How did you remove the original sealant from the grommet? Thank you in advance