Quote:
Originally Posted by Overdrive
Sorry I left this thread kind of abandoned, been super busy lately and haven't had time to troubleshoot.
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I have to ask again, what way, if any, is ther for me to manually raise the clamshell? I really want to get under there and look around....
...As for the window, I dunno if it has to do with the car thinking the top is out of position (it is completely closed and locked, no leaking), or if the regulator decided to go at the same time as this issue. ....
...I can feel the glass move a fraction of a fraction of an inch when I pull the door handles, but it will not lower at all on its own....
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If, as you say, you can feel the glass move slightly, but not enough to clear the top frame, your window regulator is the culprit. The cable is either stretched or frayed, or one of the plastic bits through which it is routed has broken off (thereby allowing some slack). If the cable has stretched or there is some slack, the normal window drop will not occur because its motion will be "wasted" taking up the slack.
As to getting access to the convertible top's "works", here is a procedure:
First, unlatch the latch of the convertible top at the top center of the windshield frame.
To get the top to open manually, you must disconnect the white (or red if yours are original and have never been replaced) plastic cups at the base of the B-Pillar and the black hydraulic pushrods where they connect to the V-levers.
Disconnecting the white plastic cups will allow you to operate the convertible top manually.
Disconnecting the black hydraulic pushrods will allow you to operate the clamshell manually.
To have a better chance to see the parts that must be disconnected, you will have to pull aside the (vinyl) rain curtain which is all the way at the back of the convertible top well, below the rear of the frame. That curtain is loosely held in place by yet another cable that is located at the rearmost corners of the (carpet-covered) engine compartment lid (on the car body, not on the lid). That cable is held on to a small metal ball and you must pry it apart from that metal ball.
That particular connection is easy to separate, unlike the black hydraulic pushrod.
Once you have the curtain's cable separated, you may also have to remove the black plastic cosmetic covers that are simply clipped onto the arms that support the clamshell.
To access the white plastic cups, sit sideways in the driver's seat with the door open and your feet on the ground. Look down from above the side of the car (just behind where the rear quarter panel meets the rear of the door if the door were closed) and you should be able to see the white (or red) plastic cup. Pry that cup off by levering it outboard. You will nee a fat screwdriver or pry bar.
Then you will have to reach between the roll bar hoops, or possibly reach through them, to get at the connection of the hydraulic push rod to the V-lever. That connection is a real bear, so you will have to apply a great deal of pressure to separate it. Be careful not to hurt yourself there, but you just have to get the connection apart, again with the red plastic capped tool in the tool kit, a fat screwdriver or, preferably an angled screwdriver-type pry bar. I have also had success using a non-automotive tool called a cat's claw, which is usually used to pull nails.
If you absolutely cannot get the push rod disconnected from its steel ball, you can try reaching further back to locate the other end of the push rod. At that connection, the push rod has a small rod which runs perpendicular to the push rod and goes through the clamshell support arm, where is is fastened by means of a clip. If you can reach through there and press off the clip, you can pull the push rod away from the support arm. If you do that on both sides, you can pull the clamshell up manually and have access to "the works".
Once you have the various parts disconnected, DO NOT press the dashboard switch without CAREFULLY marking (and photographing) the position of the V-levers relative to the sides of the body that they are mounted on. Otherwise, it will be much more difficult to re-sychronize the V-levers.
Also, be very careful if you decide to operate your top because the push rod arms that are normally connected to the steel balls at the base of the B-pillars will be dangling from the V-levers. When they are dangling and you move the convertible top V-levers, those push rod arms can dig into the foam liner and tear it, which will cause leaks into the cabin later on. Those push rod arms can also dig in and prevent the V-levers from turning.
Regards, Maurice.