99 Boxster Roof Off Tracks! Need help

[986andmx5]

I'm new to the Boxster community and my fears of reliability came true this weekend when raising the convertible top. It appears the attachment bolt from the passenger side black actuator came out mid-operation (pic5) and somehow the ball socket on the driver side of the clamshell/ tonneau cover popped off the track(pic 3,4)?! Not sure the exact order of events, but after searching forums and youtube, I am unsure of how to proceed.

The top will still raise and lower evenly. Both lower connecting arms with plastic endpoints are intact (pic7). The threads seem to be intact where the passenger side hydraulic arm bolt attaches to the transmission assembly (I was able to get them to catch and left it hand tight for now- pic5,6).

If you have experience with these tops please advise and thank you!

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[986andmx5]

I have things moving in the right direction or so I hope! I removed the clamshell which allowed me to pop back in the ball on the driver side where it belongs on the sliding track. With the top in maintenance position I reattached the bolt end of the black hydraulic arm on the passenger side with 17mm open ended wrench. Ops checked good.

When I went to replace the clamshell it was twisted, so I have to work on getting that sorted. Hopefully if that goes well everything will operate smoothly.

[Boleador]

Good luck! The mechanism back there isn't super complicated and, as you've found, it's pretty easy to figure out how everything works. While you're in there make sure you check all the mechanism connection points and try to figure out why it got loose in the first place. Torque up the bolts, lube the friction points, check the foam rain liner for any tears/holes, and make sure the drains are clear of debris.

My top came loose a few months ago, and when it did, it drove a metallic arm right through the foam liner...

[Luckyman01]

to pop back in the ball on the driver side where it belongs on the sliding track

Consider replacing the top guide arm slide, and the bearing sleevs, 999-924-130-40

and the sfety clips 999-166-077-02

These are dirt cheap and woth the time.

Personal experience.

[Luckyman01]

986-561-577-01

[986andmx5]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, so far I have been impressed with how easy the Boxster is to work on. Good idea to replace those cheap plastic bits and hopefully avoid this from happening again. I have no idea why the passenger arm bolt would have loosened completely from the transmission assembly while the driver side is still torqued snugly.

[986andmx5]

Before asking a friend to come over and help straighten out the clamshell I took another look at things. I may need to make some adjustments.

Pics 8 & 9 show the clamshell attachment arms when the top is in nearly stowed position. The drivers side is about 1-2 inch higher than passenger side. Pic 10 shows the arms when the top is opened more.

Pics 11 & 12 show the top when it is near its service position. The arm on the driver side starts to dig into the weather stripping.

I've read up on the disconnecting the cables from the motor assembly and I assume that is what my next step should be? If so, can someone please clarify what side cable I should remove and what direction I should operate the top? I would go by trial and error, but I'm afraid of making things worse. When almost closed, the top looks to hitting the header roughly even. I wouldn't have noticed things were off if I was looking only at the top. Thank you!

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[986andmx5]

I worked on trying to solve this for a few hours today and read up on forums for a few more. No matter what I did to sync up the transmissions, the clamshell support arms became uneven at some point in the operation. The driver's side has a lot of tension on it and starts to dig into the weather stripping as in the photos. I made a youtube video that captures my issue and bewilderment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rPTbLx6-sM

I'm not sure where to go from here.

[Luckyman01]

986-561-552-01-GRV

In my case it was the right arm, the twwek was subtle but it mattered.

[986andmx5]

Originally Posted by Luckyman01

986-561-552-01-GRV

In my case it was the right arm, the twwek was subtle but it mattered.

Thanks for sharing, I will compare both support arms and check out the push rods for abnormal bends as well. Were you able to reshape yours or did you have to order a new one?

[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.

[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

[986andmx5]

This issue has me baffled and slightly demoralized that I will be able to find a solution. I took everything apart today to get a look at the studs that the transmission attaches to and everything looked fine.

I torqued it back together by spec, alignment was still showing true by the notches in both transmissions and yet still having the same issue- aluminum clamshell support arms are uneven throughout travel and the driver side hyper-extends into weather stripping when it reaches it's most rearward position.

At this point I am considering converting to manual operation if that would fix my issues.

[MrBen]

Did you take the transmission apart and check the gears. If the nylon gear is broken or missing a few teeth that can happen. Did you use a drill motor to check the cable operation.