*Pop! Pop!* went my top...

[Steve Tinker]

Ooops - Jaxonalden just pipped me.....But here goes anyway.

Sounds like you have had an intersting weekend....I hope the sanger didn't have a soft filling
The popping was the plastic ball joints on the control rods breaking off. The originals (white coloured) are weak & have been superceded by updated (red) ones.
I thinke there are a couple of "how to" install new ball joints if you use the search function.

June this year I was opening my roof, about halfway down I heard one pop (not two like you) and noticed the roof opening skewed over. I tried closing the roof with the dash switch but only one side closed - the drivers side (RHS here in Oz) just sat there.
Long story short, looked in the manual and it describes that to get the roof safely stowed, you have to prize off the ball joint on each side with the special tool in the toolkit.
The downside is that there is a possibility to damage the clamshell paintwork when popping off the ball joints as the clam is in tension - you really need 2 pairs of hands to do it safely I think. My wife wasn't up to having trapped pinkies so I rang the OPC and asked for guidance - they recommended 2 people to reinstall and re-align everything up.
But it was possible to drive the car (~75 miles to the OPC) if I wanted to for them to replace the ball joints/rods etc and to realign & tension the roof.

So I folded (call me weak, but possible repainting the clamshell + roof repairs = wifes skinned knuckles were staring me in the face) & took it to the OPC for the repairs.
I won't scare you with the bill because $$ costs in Australia are about 2 - 3 times what you guys pay....

But I will say that the car is a lot quieter at high speed since the roof was retensioned.

[Paul]

Sometimes the locking clips pop off the arms and immediately fall into the drains.

[Overdrive]

Ok, I think I know what parts you guys are referring to, but I better ask just to make sure. When I changed out a few items in the engine bay last month I had to pop off these two ball joints caps connected to a couple of tension cables as I was working on getting the top in service position. Are these what you guys are referring to? Mine looked & felt like they were made of metal though, silver-ish in color rather than white or red.

Or am I mistaken there and there's a different component in the same area that has these white ball joint caps?

[Jaxonalden]

No bro, Those are just cables that hold the back of the top down. The arms we're talking about are connected to the convertable top transmission and the top itself. If your standing next to the car just behind the drivers/passengers seat and facing the car you can put your hand down inside the pocket that the top folds into. Down there you'll find your rods, make sure to get all the pieces out because they can clog your water drain holes. Replacing is easy, you just need a 10mm wrench.

Wish you lived closer, I'd come over and swap them out for you.

[Mark_T]

" The originals (white coloured) are weak & have been superceded by updated (red) ones."

Other way around actually - the originals are red. You don't have to buy the whole arm. I have a contact to just get the plastic cups, about $40 for the pair if I remember correctly. Pm me if you want the contact info. I'll look it up when I get home from work.

next pic: Boxster with some guy's lunch jammed under the clamshell

[Overdrive]

Damn it, Mark! I SHOULD'VE taken a picture of that!
:dance:

Thanks for the offer, I'll be PM-ing you. Hopefully when I get under the top tonight all I'll find is a couple of broken red or white pieces of plastic and nothing else.

And I appreciate the willingness to help me out, Jaxonalden. Thanks for the clarification, and the next time I am in OKC (very likely sans Boxster) I'll hit you up just to say hi.

[Jaxonalden]

Looking forward to it OD. Mark T, I'd love to have that contact info for the plastic cups. I can't believe you can't buy just the plastic cups...noooooo, you have to buy the whole stinkin' arm, until now.

Thanks for the hook-up Mark T!