convertible top malfuntion

[embryoguy@mac.com]

when i activated my top to come down it when almost all the way but before it was about to close one side came down unevenly than the other side. any ideas?

im trying to decide if i should take it to a dealer or a smaller garage that does alot of work on foreign cars.

anyone have an idea of the cost i can expect?

[JMP]

Dear Sir, I have had a whole lot of problems with the top on my 99 Boxster and have tried everything I can think of. Here are some things I have found. If you don't have one, get a copy of the Bentley Repair Manual. I has a section on top problems. Follow the advice in the book. I sounds to me like maybe one of your cables that runs from the electic motor to the top transmissions broke or somehow the motors got out of alignment. Check you cable ends at the point where they connect to the electic motor. There are 2 types of cables from what I have read. One type is an older one that just has a very small amount of the inner cable sticking out and the newer type has about one inch to 3/4 of an inch sticking out and the outer cable has a diamond looking finish on it. There are articles on how to fix the older cables if that is what you have. If you have the new style cables maybe one broke on the inside. You can dis-connect the cables from the electic motor very easily. I would also disconnect the large round control arms from the ball joint end of the v shaped lever on the transmissions and move the clamshell all the way to the rear and then unlatch the top use an electic drill and hook it up to the end of the cables that stick out at the electic motor and try spinning them slowly with the drill and see if the transmissions are moving on each side. Dont move them very much - just enough to see if both sides work. You top will move back and forth when you do this so dont spin fast at all - very slowly!! You might also measure the distance from the v-lever ball joint to the top of the rubber gasket first so you have an idea of where to line them back up at - it is very roughly about 7 3/4 on an inch from the ball joint top to the top of the rubber gasket when the levers are in the initial adjustment stage. There are markings on the motor casing that will allow you to line up the v-levers. If they both turn the transmissions then you can re-time them according to the instructions in the repair manual or by searching for the method to do this on-line or in this forum. But the biggest problem is to figure out why this happened in the first place. Once you can do that you are on the road to succesfully repairing the top mechanism. If you take it to Porsche they will want to put in 2 new style transmissions at about $600.00 each and then charge several hours of labor at about $100.00 an hour. If you find that a cable broke or if you have the old style cables you can fix them or just replace the cables and re-time everything yourself and save about $1,500 - 2,000 dollars. Let me know if I can be of any more help to you, Jerry

[embryoguy@mac.com]

Jerry,

Thank you very much for the elaborate and detailed explanation. You went over my head on most of your thoughts! Im going to take it to a mechanic that works on foreign cars and hope he can fix it. But your thoughts gives me alot more knowledge about what they will do. It sounds like i have a cable problem. Right before it closes, one side of the clam is higher than the other side. So from the back view, the top is at an angle. I do not hear any motor sounds at all. Now when i push the button, it does not move at all.

Thank you so much. ill follow up with that happens.
huey

[rdancd816]

JMP is right-on about what a stealership will charge to fix this issue. I paid $1500 to repair the cable and top transmission issues. I also want to point out you must be VERY careful with the clamshell. If it gets bent too far you will also be visiting the body shop! ANd that will make the repair even more expensive.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

i just found out one of the cables is all twisted but nothing else is wrong. so the shop is recommending replacing both cables which makes sense. hopefully these cables are not too expensive.

[embryoguy@mac.com]

$400-500. not too bad

thanks guys for your thoughts.