1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I just had mine opened up on Monday, same warm day here in Babylon. One of the flaps was broken off on my car and all winter I wanted to replace it. so monday I did it. It can be fixed, it is not the tonneau motor or the roof motor, it is a motor in the tonneau that simply raises and lowers those two flaps, and catches and holds down the top when it is up. I will explain what to look for. One, you need to open the roof up and stop when the tonneau is open all the way and the ragtop is giving you the most room to work back there. then turn the car off, you will be there for an hour or so. If you have to open the roof up manually, do so. inside the tonneau top there is a cover, this needs to come off. two bolts and a few clips. now you can see the motor and the arms that turn those flaps. What happened with mine is most likely the same as you. if you begin at the flaps and follow the flexible cable down to where it attaches to the moving metal plate, you will see 2 plastic clips with lock washers on each side, the cheapest thing ever made. you see, these clips hold the plate aligned as the flaps raise and lower. if they break, as mine did, the plate is free to move and the flaps will not raise all the way. When i replaced the flap, i noticed that one of the clips was already broken off. most likely, the previous owner had this problem and elected to break the FLAP off rather than find out what the problem truly was. now that i saw that one clip on each side was snapped off, i tried to put the roof back up, beacause the plates are not aligned, it failed. i was stuck keeping the top down. so i grabbed my daughter and we went off to Arnold Saab. There i found out the plastic clip part number and ordered some, they should be in today. But the top was still DOWN! Dude, its raining out... here's what i did. simply put, the plastic clips are simple nuts and bolts that keep the plates stationary so the flaps can do their thing... i went to sears hardware and bought (write this down) # 10 machine screws, 10 -32 x 3/4", 10/32 hex nuts and #10 lock washers. Total cost, $3. i went home and raised the top like before, installed the bolts throught the holes, put on a lock washer and the nut. i tightened it up most of the way, but not really tight , as the plate still needs to slide past the bolt so it cant be tight, just enough to stay put. i did this on both sides. guess what? it works! the metal bolt does the job of the clip. i still will get the clips and put them in, i think, but i will keep my eye on them. The clips were only a few bucks i think 4 each. i ordered 4. Robert, this fix works as good as new. now, you have to open up your top and see if there is any additional damage, but i think you will find that rather than snapping or bending the steel arms that apply the pressure to the plate, the clips are the cheapest thing to replace. take a look, if you have anything further to ask, you call give me a ring at 631-243-1641, i will be home this weekend. it should be nice enough to open it up and have a look. topless weather is coming...
posted by 24.186.81...
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