Severe 997 Hardtop Chafing Paint Damage!

[dcooper]

I was anxious to get the hardtop off to enjoy the warmer weather (I have a 2006 997 Cab with hardtop option that was dealer installed last Nov).

So I followed the User Manual and removed it carefully per the instructions, and I was horrified to discover serious deep gouging damage on the left and right rear softtop cover, chafing had worn through the clearcoat, through the paint, and into the bare metal. The damage spots are about 4 inches long on each side.

The rear softtop cover needs to replaced, the damage is so severe, as I don't want bondo (or similar) used at some body shop to build up the worn away metal.

This is clearly a warranty item, but what the hell happened here? Has anyone here ever heard of this before?

I presume the hardtop is defective and will need repair/replacement as well. Surely, having the hardtop on for 6 months could not have been the problem? Surely Porsche engineers wouldn't design a hardtop that couldn't be used for longer durations? (I live in Boston...6 months of hardtop is an unfortunate fact of life).

Any ideas/comments/advice would be greatly appecieated. Thanks in advance.

Damon

[wvicary]

I know of a few hard top users and they have never had any damage. Could you post any pics of the damage??

[dcooper]

Yes, I'll post later today.

[dcooper]

I didn't get a chance to post a pic, but I brought the car + hardtop back to the dealership, and they believe may have over-tightened the hardtop beyond the 34lb/ft or torque specified in the manual, but aren't ruling out defective 997 hardtop or flawed Porsche 997 hardtop design.

They are bringing in their Porsche corporate rep, to examine and document the damage, as there may be engineering implications to the hardtop design that Porsche engineering may need to know about.

Just fyi.

Damon

[dcooper]

Update (for those of you following along at home)....

So they've had my car for a several days now, and the Porsche rep basically said to the dealer, "Do what you need to do to make this right".

I inquired about whether they could order me a brand new 997 Cab softop cover panel in my Basalt Metallic Black, but apparently (as shipped from Germany), it only comes with the electrostatic primer., no finish at all. The dealer has to get it painted apparently. Kinda sucks, since trying to exactly match the rest of the car will be a serious issue, according to the dealer.

So we're going to try the option of having the repair done at the dealer's body shop vendor (ugh). Porsche Nashua swears they only trust/use this one shop, and told the owner "this customer will be examining the work with a magnifying glass", so they understand this needs to be perfect. They have to fill and blend. They said it won't show up on CarFax, etc, since it's not an insurance claim, and the work is a warranty item, being listed as removing and replacing the cover. This better be perfect or I'm going to have some serious issues.

I don't know if Lemon Laws might come into play here, since the damage occurred when the hardtop was first installed by the dealer a few weeks after I bought the car last fall.

Anyway, the work should be completed today and sent for detailing Monday so I'll know Tues when I go take a look whether the repair was a success.

BTW, the dealer thinks it was over tightened when they installed it. Apparently the Porsche rep said he's seen these before, so BEWARE....make sure whomever (or you?) installs your hardtop, MAKE SURE they follow the torque prescription EXACTLY.

More when I get her back....

Damon

Edited April 13, 2007 by dcooper

[porschinator]

So true bro. Even Porsche techs don't always follow the specific ft/lb guidelines and just wrench away! Happens all too often. This is a good example for the rest of us...follow directions!

Hope your baby gets back to 100% soon

[dcooper]

Final update: I got the car back, the back soft top cover was repainted in the spots where the damage was and the Porsche dealer's (Porsche Nashua, N.H.) contractor did do a very good job. I literally was prepared to use a magnifying glass, and I examined the finished job in high intensity light from all angles, from all distances, and the damaged areas are undetectable.

It's very difficult apparently, to blend with the Basalt metallic black, but they really did a perfect job (no cost to me).

The verdict was that they had over tightened the hardtop beyond the 34lb-ft. of torque. The Porsche Zone rep called back the dealer to say that he now had 3-4 more cases of the same thing in this region, so let this be a lesson to us all...34lb-ft of torque...NO MORE, no less.

The service rep, Mike Cote, suggested that maybe doing a 3M/Autobahn covering on the soft top panel might not be a bad idea next fall before we put the hardtop back on for the winter again. Might help avoid any properly-tightened friction from affecting the finish. Might not be a bad idea.

Just glad to have it home again.

Damon

[2thfixr]

The rear latches on the cab top basically have 2 positions, latched and unlatched. You insert the red handled tool and turn it all the way in one direction or the other and there is no way to determine torque. I had a hardtop on my 01 996 C2 cab and did not have the chafing you experienced but my car came with the top from the factory. The only way that you could have torque issues is if you bought your top as an accessory. If your car did not come with a hardtop from the factory, it didn't come with the latches and your dealership had to have installed them. They need to be adjusted to the car when they are mounted to the car but after that, there is no torque adjustment when you install or remove the top. I suppose if your car came with the hardtop from the factory, the factory could have screwed up but regardless, the torque can not be adjusted by the owner when installing a top. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case people were trying to figure out how to torque a latch with the little red handle. :D

[dcooper]

I think you may be talking about the 996 Cab? The 997 Cab doesn't come with a hardtop from the factory and it must be purchased separately, but I did order it at the same time I ordered the car.

Damon

[Edgy01]

I have not had a problem with my factory fitted hardtop (2006 997S Cab) despite not torquing my allen bolts to 34 ft/lbs. The factory told me to crank it down 'good' and that was that. What keeps the top from rubbing where you had the damage are about 3 large silver-dollar sized rubber/foam pads that provide that separation between the top and the cover.

Dan

[Orient Express]

The rear latches on the cab top basically have 2 positions, latched and unlatched. You insert the red handled tool and turn it all the way in one direction or the other and there is no way to determine torque. I had a hardtop on my 01 996 C2 cab and did not have the chafing you experienced but my car came with the top from the factory. The only way that you could have torque issues is if you bought your top as an accessory. If your car did not come with a hardtop from the factory, it didn't come with the latches and your dealership had to have installed them. They need to be adjusted to the car when they are mounted to the car but after that, there is no torque adjustment when you install or remove the top. I suppose if your car came with the hardtop from the factory, the factory could have screwed up but regardless, the torque can not be adjusted by the owner when installing a top. Just thought I'd throw that out there in case people were trying to figure out how to torque a latch with the little red handle. :D

This is accurate for early 996s that came with a hardtop from the factory. When the hardtop became optional, and the latching mechanism had to be installed in the car, the latch changed from a pin to a captive bolt. In 2005 there was a TSB issued for securing the hardtop with this new latching mechanism (TSB 6117 - Modified Rear Hardtop Locks). The new latching mechanism is an 8mm captive bolt that screws into the receiver on the car. This is why there is a torque specification for tightening the bolts on the top. The new mechanism are parts A & B, and the old ones are C & D. The new parts are available as a kit and will work on both 996s and 997s.

I had this part installed on my 2002 996 Cab (under warranty no less!) because of problems in keeping the top from flexing and making creaking noises. The new bolts secure the top on quite firmly and quietly. But care must be taken not to over tighten the bolts.