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Old 05-29-2005, 06:10 PM   #1
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Crack goes the top

I have noticed a new annoyance when I put my top up. There's a crack! or a loud pop eminating from the passenger side in the top storage area when I raise the top.

Anyone have or had this problem in the past? What should I be looking for to locate the problem?

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Old 05-30-2005, 06:45 AM   #2
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Likely culprit is the Main Bow Pushrod . . .
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Old 05-30-2005, 06:27 PM   #3
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thanks, I'll find that and check it out. If anyone else wants to chime in, I'd love more thoughts.
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Old 06-04-2005, 07:33 PM   #4
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Randall, I'll have to agree with the veredict above, check also the orientation of the rods (all four of them) If one of them is placed incorretly they start rubbing with each other....also that snap may be your cables getting loose from the housing in the top motor...check that asap, If you continue using it like this the transmissions will un-synchonize and you will have a possessed convertible top, th proverbial one sided flex...
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Old 06-06-2005, 06:53 AM   #5
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broken convertible top on old boxster

I'm a new member. over memorial day weekend, my top stopped working with one side up a foot higher than the other (the back bow was flexed), causing me great panic. Fortunately, I was only a mile from a local dealer...unfortunately, it was not my local dealer as i was away for the weekend.

the prognosis was i needed new motors on each side as well as a new cable...total damage was over $1,500. i feel like i got ripped off, but i just don't know. Car is 1997, so i understand that there is a design flaw that does not prevent one motor from working when the other is not working, causing the flex in the top.

Has anyone experienced both motors going at the same time. The dealer was really helpful and fixed the top immediately, so i am really wondering.
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Old 06-06-2005, 07:46 AM   #6
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Sounds like a single motor went out and they assumed the other would be doing the same soon enough and twisting it up in the other direction next time... so they replaced both and didn't give you an option.

The other thought is that if a new motor ran faster than the other 1997 one that wasn't yet burned out, it might create another problem.
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Old 06-06-2005, 08:55 AM   #7
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I need some advice concerning my top.

I'm driving to San Francisco from Houston Texas and back this summer... very long trip in the boxster, eh?

Anyway, if my 1997 should develop convertible top problems, is there any process by which I could raise the top manually (even by disconnecting cables) and keep it in the up position for the remainder of the trip versus having to hit a dealership and spend huge sums as rbsboxster did?

Jeff, are you reading this? Anyone else "disabled" their top to raise it in an emergency?
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Old 06-06-2005, 09:34 AM   #8
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http://www.renntech.org/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t68.html

Found this link on renntech to a good thread on the reason older boxsters (97-99)have top problems.

In a nutshell, there's a plastic covered cable that links the top's raising/lowering mechanism to the transmission on each side. This cable stretches in length due to heat.

When it stretches, the metal cable within it that turns (as opposed to pushing or pulling) become disengaged (it does not stretch like the plastic). When this happens, one side goes up and the other doesn't and the clamshell twists and you say "oh crap."

The dealers do not remove the cables and shorten them to insure the metal inside bit is 3/4 out the end as it should ... they replace the whole transmission assembly for both sides at a whopping expense.

So, according to Jeff's thorough posts on Renntech (aka ToolPants) with pictures, he recommends that concerned boxster owners do the following:

1. Check to see if you have the newer cables, which have some sort of diamond pattern on them. These new cables are reinforced and should not stretch or grow. You're fine.

2. If you have the old ones, you have two options. Replace them with the new reinforced ones or remove them and shorten the plastic covering, exposing the 3/4 inches required for trouble free operation. Parts numbers and pictures are available on the thread above.

I still want to know if I can unscrew a couple of bolts somewhere and raise my top manually along my trip if it becomes messed up... there's gotta be a procedure for this... I just need to learn how to do it before the big trip just in case.
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Old 06-06-2005, 01:01 PM   #9
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That link is almost 2 years old and I almost forgot about it. I have just added to it how I recently fixed the original cables on my car.

The cost is nothing but your time. All 1997-1999 cars with the original unreinforced cable will have a problem sooner or later. Then you get the $1,500-$2,000 repair estimate.

For rbs the new style top transmissions list at about $450 each. Just for those 2 parts. You are calling them motors by mistake.

We use the original top tansmissions and fix or replace the cables. That cost 0 - 60 dollars if you have not already broken other parts.
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Old 06-06-2005, 01:07 PM   #10
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Jeff, can the top be freed up if it seizes due to a broken whatever and manually raised in an emergency?

If so, how does one go about that?
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Old 06-06-2005, 01:08 PM   #11
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thanks, Tool Pants.

so how do i know if the dealer actually replaced the two transmissions or just the cable? I am from NY so i am always paranoid.

Last edited by rbsboxster; 06-06-2005 at 01:19 PM.
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Old 06-06-2005, 01:33 PM   #12
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Shortly after renntech.org started I had a section just for top issues created. So Boxster owners could research in just one place rather than all over the internet and on various boards. Just to see the same question having been asked 100 times in 100 different places. Just like a 2 year old thread on renntech has come back to life with additional information and pictures.

I seldom answer top problem questions on other message boards but direct people to the top section of renntech for these reasons.

For rbs, what are the part numbers on your repair invoice.
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Old 06-06-2005, 03:31 PM   #13
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Well then, I will search the renntech threads on the top to see if it can be brought down manually. So keep me guessing... it's good for me I guess.

Good news on my top.

The cables appear to be the reinforced kind with the criss-cross reinforcement seen bulging out a bit from under the plastic tubing covering them.

The push rod assemblies have WHITE ball ends... which means they're the newer ones released last year and not the red ones that were original to the car.

I think I've determined what's causing that intermittent cracking sound as the top comes down. The nut that holds the white ball joint in place on the push rod is fell off.

:dance: :dance:

Just went out to take some pictures of the upgraded cable for you guys to see and there she was... the nut was lying right there on the rubber mat! I just have to run to the store to get some lock tight stuff to goop on the threads before I tighten it.

This really eases my mind... I was freaked out I would be somewhere in Nevada on my trip and the top get all torqued up and the clamshell bent and no dealership in sight... or I get it to a dealership and they want to charge me $$$.

BTW, my mechanic, who works at a dealership during the day, says they replace the upgraded, reinforced cables all the time without doing the transmissions. So, if you have the originals on your 97-99 boxster, it can be done at the dealership if you are not handy.

If you haven't had a good look at the top raising and lowering mechanism on your boxster, it's a good thing to learn about. It's actually quite ingenius, and learning about it and seeing if those nuts are on there will ease your mind as well.
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Old 06-07-2005, 06:39 AM   #14
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part numbers were:

986-561-180-03

and

986-561-179-03

they are listed as folding top transmission
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Old 06-07-2005, 07:18 AM   #15
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Those are the new style top transmissions used on 2000 up. Because your original transmissions were replaced that is why your repair was expensive.
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Old 07-03-2005, 05:49 PM   #16
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So i thought I would check the plastic housing on my cables this afternoon.

I put the top in the service position, took off the clip and yanked out the plastic housing and drive cable on one side.

To my surprise, there was about 2 inches of drive cable showing beyond the plastic housing/ferrule.

I was a bit dumbfounded - I have a 99' box and the cables or transmissions have never been replaced, they are the older style.

I tried to put the drive cable back in the hole and but it wouldn't go far enough to clip the ferrule back in place, there was too much metal sticking out. Now i was really confused. I started wiggling and pulling the wire a bit while holding onto the plastic housing, I pulled out about a foot of the metal cable beyond the metal ferrule/plastic housing without any resistance!

Boy was i freaked. I started wiggling the wire while pushing it back into the plastic housing. It would only go so far and there was still about 2 inches of the cable sticking past the plastic housing. I kept trying to pull it out a bit and wiggling it while tyring to push it back. After several tries, the drive cable got reseated on the transmission end and went all the way back in so that there was only 3/4 of an inch showing. I tried to push it further in thinking i could get it to show only 1/4 of an inch, but i couldn't. I put the cable back, put the clip back on and tested the top - it still works fine.

Moral of the story? I don't know for sure, but I was expecting to see only a 1/4 of an inch sticking of cable out past the plastic housing. I guess i don't understand enough about how the top works exactly to explain what i experienced - my guess the drive cable on the tranmission side that is inserted into the worm gear loosen or was not tight (it's supposed to be). It shouldn't have just pulled out like that. I had to wiggle it so it lined back up and went back into the worm gear. When i first removed the cable to inspect it, it was almost like nothing was holding it on the other end. One thing, even for a 6 year old car, there wasn't any evidence that the plastic housing had any stretching.

Larez2
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Old 07-03-2005, 08:23 PM   #17
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Based on what you describe I would say you have the new style transmission. You can pull the drive cable with the square end out of the plastic housing with your fingers with the new style.

Can't do that with the old style as the other end of the drive cable is crimped to the worm gear and we need vise grips or heat to get it out of the worm gear. Or for some reason you cable is not properly secured to the worm gear if you have the old style.

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