Convertible Top Trouble Need Help - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Jgkram · 10-06-2020, 09:19 AM

Well, I was in the middle of replacing my top and I found that the top plastic carrier which the cords on the top slip into was cracked in half. It has stopped me dead in my tracks. Anyone have one in decent shape and willing to part with it or no where I can source one? Pelican Parts hasn’t a clue what I’m talking about. My only recourse is the local dealer?😳

rexcramer · 10-06-2020, 05:28 PM

Find the part/number in the catalog and try Pelican again.

Porsche Factory PDF catalog, 97-04. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gUVtQYvav64U4tp_d9kATIHx0QWRfUAw/view

Jgkram · 10-07-2020, 07:41 AM

There is no part number for this part. As you replace your tops hopefully you will not run into this issue. I’ll try the dealership and see what they say. Thanks

rexcramer · 10-07-2020, 09:37 AM

Can you post a picture of it?

78F350 · 10-07-2020, 12:49 PM

If I can figure out which part is, I probably can pull it from one of the damaged tops that I keep for no particular reason. Is it on the 'arch support' just above the window?
I'm guessing about $30 for shipping due to size and I'd want $25 for the part *if it is in great shape - I still need to remove one and get a look.

Image from Mike Focke's DIY Web Pages: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/replacingthetop-adiy

I've been fortunate enough to be able to do complete top replacements on my cars so far, but I have one plastic window with a small crack now and may do a re-skinning this winter.

78F350 · 10-07-2020, 02:48 PM

Here's what I found... It came from the arch above the driver's head, not the one above the window. It's a plastic strip that has a channel that the cord slides into.

If that's the part, I'll do $45 shipped ($25 shipping + $20 part).

Jgkram · 10-08-2020, 04:07 PM

Thanks 78F350. I sent you a PM. I will post some photos here shortly for everyone to see as I’m sure we are all getting close to replacing our tops if we haven’t already.

Jgkram · 10-08-2020, 04:31 PM

Here are a couple of photos of my cracked Top Retention Strip. As I said earlier, when I removed my top it fell into my hands in two pieces cracked completely down it's length! I tried to reassemble it using fiberglass but upon reinstallation today it cracked in another location. Just too brittle... Anyway, thought you might like to see what you might be in for when you replace your top as I'm sure most of us are getting to that point by now.

This piece sits on top of the roof frame above your head. There are two channels on top. One for the head liner and one for the cord on your new top.

78F350 · 10-08-2020, 06:12 PM

JG, I just sent you an email reply.

To anyone else who is curious about this part; Seeing the pictures that jgkram posted I realized that there is a difference from the part that I pulled from a 1997 top - There is no second channel to insert the liner, just one for the top. If you do buy one of these for a top that you intend to have a liner in, make sure that it has the second channel.

78F350 · 10-09-2020, 05:40 PM

Both of the '01 Parts car tops that I checked had the same crack as jgkram's. This winter I plan to re-skin an old top with a new glass window version, so I have an interest in this info....

What I found: There IS a part number 98656190200 for Base and 98656190201 for S. No variation for model year. No idea what's different. You may want to ask the vendor if it supports the roof liner and about return policy just to be safe.

Pelican Parts does have them available: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/98656190200.htm?pn=986-561-902-00-OEM

As do some other places.

Jgkram · 10-10-2020, 05:52 AM

Thanks to Jon for posting this. His effort was above and beyond what I expected.

About the time he found this information, I had called the local dealership. I too suspected this was the part but the exploded view is so sketchy that even they could not confirm this was the part. I have decided to order the part from Sunset and will post a photo when it arrives. For any interested, I ordered my top from Autotops Direct and the part appears to be really well made. A local installer also confirmed that the tops are of good quality as they have installed several. I will post some photos of the process and let you know how it goes in case this is something you are facing.

Jgkram · 10-14-2020, 07:55 AM

I confirmed with Sunset Parts that the …-00 part is for a retaining strip without the second channel for the head liner and part number …-01 is for the one with the second channel. So if you need to replace this in the future and every want to add or already have a head liner you need to order the 01 part. Rgds