99 Boxster Roof Off Tracks! Need help

[986andmx5]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

Those arms are pretty pricey brand new. Might want to check e-bay, there are some pairs of them out there. Might be parting out a 2002 next week if so I'll have a post out there.

Thanks! I will let you know what I find

[986andmx5]

After a close look yesterday, the push rod on the driver side may be bent more than it should. Hard to tell for certain bc it is supposed to have a slight bend in it. I need to get a precise measurement of it and compare to pass. side.

It would make sense that a component on the driver side giving me trouble is bent, bc the top is synched and operating accordingly- yet clamshell support is still off. Also there is a lot of tension to the clamshell support on that side.

[78F350]

Take a good look at the cast aluminum parts that mount and raise the clamshell. They look pretty good in your pictures, but the do tend to crack when uneven force is applied.

[78F350]

I just watched your video. Good job showing what the issues are.
With all of the arms disconnected from the transmissions do they both move equally?

I don't like the method of measuring from a hard point to soft weather stripping. The strip may be worn, or not seated correctly, of measuring points may be skewed a bit. Look at this post that talks about aligning a notch:

Originally Posted by CharlesE

I aligned the driver side notches. Here's a Pic

Passenger side was stuck like this

The notch on the early top transmissions is easy to overlook, but very useful to get them both positioned the same.

This:


and This:


Bother me.

How well did they go back together? Are threads stripped? How did that ball mount get unscrewed from the arm? - it doesn't make sense to me. Is there rust/corrosion in the sockets?

I do have a complete set of parts for a '99 top (plus most of a 1998 and 2001 parts car) and can probably get them to you cheaper than eBay if you know what you need.

[986andmx5]

Thanks for the replies and for taking a look at the video '78! I agree with measurement points. I picked up a caliper tool and will measure off some hard points moving forward. It will soon come to disassembling all the pieces to get a better look at everything and those notches.

I have no idea how that ball mount came unscrewed from the passenger side transmission. It went back together and the threads were not stripped- it has held up in the operations since. I'm baffled as well. However, in making the adjustments in that video I was not able to pop the push rod off the ball end on that side and had to unscrew it completely. Maybe if the rod end does not pivot freely over the ball it loosens with time?

[986andmx5]

When stopping to look at clearances during the entire operating sequence I saw there was contact between the transmission V when near vertical and the metal lip under the slide rail on the driver side (likely damaged/disfigured during initial trauma). I was able to bend the lip to alleviate contact, but this did not help with the greater issue of the driver side clamshell support digging further back into the weather stripping than it should when the V is near horizontal.

Something is either bent that I am not seeing- very possible even after much time spent examining all the pieces. And I should remove the cover to the transmission on the driver side to get a better look at it for damage/operation, along with making sure the 3 nuts that hold it in place are still snug.

[986andmx5]

At this point I have replaced almost every component of the driver side clamshell support system with parts off another Boxster. For whatever reason, the arm on that side still over extends aft when operating through the top-down sequence and is not level with the passenger side throughout. Both transmissions are in sequence. I checked that the 3 driver side transmission attachment nuts were snugged and everything is secure there.

The parts coming off the rear of the transmission V all rotate around a fixed point. All components from that point are in good condition/not bent and I have no ideas as to why the driver arm is not operating as it should (seen at 3 min mark in link). The V itself and ball mount were even replaced to rule them out. Any thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t0BlUGbKdk&t=6s