Quote:
Originally Posted by alex the dog
I just bought a 2000 S, and the first thing I wanted to do was check the air filter--but how?
I have to admit ignorance on how to do even simple maintenance on this car when you can't see the motor. Can anyone give some instruction on how to access the motor without dropping it out?
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Go whole hog. Open the top so you get about a 4 to 6 inch inch gap between the front of the top and the top of the windshield. push both seats full forward. Go to the back of the soft top and look for stuff to unclip. You should find a piece if cloth clipped into two plastic clips at the very back of the top well, and a steel cable with ball ends on each rear pillar just behind the driver's and passenger's windows. Disconnect all of that stuff. I clip a cord to the bottom/back of the top and run it over the top to the front, pull it tight and clip it there to hold the back of the top in a raised position. You can now reach under the back of the top and (assuming you have a rear storage bin) give the 4 plastic quick release tabs a twist. Two on the bin two behind them. They are 4 flat plastic discs. Half of each disk lifts up to give you a handle to twist. When you feel them pop free, pull them out. Now pull out the shelf. Now pull out the carpet and pad. Finally you can see the engine closeout panel with its own twist lock (dzus) fasteners. Lift up the ring handles on those, unwtist them and Bingo! The top of the engine is revealed. This takes about ten minutes the first time you do it. Three minutes every time after. Air filter is on the left side of teh car in the engine bay - 2 metal clips hold down a flat plastic cover. Unclip and pull up on the cover - the filter is in there.
So you want to see the front of the engine and the belt? Get a 10mm socket. On the top of the carpet bend the seats there are 4 plastic nuts. Unscrew them. You may need a stright blade screwdriver. Notice how the carpeting is tucked in so you put it back the same way. Remove the carpet by pulling it up off the 4 studs where the nuts were and out of the car. This reveals the firewall closeout plate. Now for the 10 mm socket. Remove the nuts in the center of the plate by the center console paying special attention to not dropping one or it will fall and hide beneath the center console. Ask me how I know. Then remove the rest of the 10mm bolts and remove the access panel from the car to see the front of the engine and the belt. Thats about it.