Convertible Top Canvas repair
 

As I've mentioned in another post... my canvas top has slipped off slightly from the last frame (the frame on top of the engine compartment).

Does anyone know how to remove the canvas from that last frame ? I'd asked my mechanic to look at it and they say they "need to drill" to get the canvas from the frame ??

I thought the canvas was glued to the frame and a wedge put in to keep the canvas in place ?

The canvas has slipped out about an inch or slightly more, the plastic window flaps in the wind on highway runs... I've got the hardtop on at the moment to prevent any damage to the window.

BTW, is it normal to have creaking noise from the hardtop in the area up front where the guide slips into the cavity on the top of the windscreen frame ? Or has my rubber seals given way ?

It's a '01 base boxster.

no drilling. your mechanic doesn't know what he is talking about. the top is held in the last frame by glue and rubber seal. first put in service mode, remove the rubber seal and then pull the top out. its glued in using automotive tape so it will need some force but carefully. you might have the undo the top from the frame just before the engine one. that has a wedge and a rubber seal insert.

shlim:

Take a look at section 8 and the five photos there for a good look at how the rearmost portion of the canvas top is fastened into the rear main bow: replacingthetop-adiy - mikefocke2

I agree that your mechanic appears to not know what he is doing in this instance.

Regards, Maurice.

Bala, Schoir, thanks !

The photos are just what I needed ! The work needed to do the repair doesn't look that bad. It looks like this is a common area of failure for boxsters in my part of the world... I saw another one at the workshop that had the canvas in the same area pulled out, and that one was even worse, I could see the seam of the canvas even with the plastic cover closed.

At least my mechanic didn't attempt to do a repair he wasn't familiar with.

The instructions on Mike Focke's web site is excellent. But read and read before you do it. It is pretty thorough. And follow it to the letter. Don't ask me why I'm saying this!

Your fix should be pretty simple. Remove the top from the last frame over the engine. Check the frame just before that and make sure that part is all in and doesn't need any fix/adjustment. Both frames are easy and I don't think you need to remove anything else. Keep the top in service mode (again see Mike's instructions).

For the last frame though, you should clean out the existing glue/tape, reapply new one (3m), and then put the top over the tape and then the rubber channel into it. Use a heat gun/hair dryer on the tape to warm it if it's cold by you. Helps in adhesion. Also use silicon lubricant spray for sure. Makes installing the rubber seal very easy. Pay attention to the instructions on how to align the top seam over the last frame. Very important.