Roof problem, need help!

[saj8162]

Hi guys, just went out and brought my first porsche boxster!, its a 1997 plate!

Picked the car up friday, saturday morning washed the car, went to put the roof down, didn't unclip the roof fully, pressed the open button, back pannel opened roof about to open, heard a nasty snapping noise in the back, quickly let go and pressed the close button, back roof panel closed back down,

Now when i go to press the open button just gettin a clicking noise from the back!

Mate at local garage had a look, can c a rod on each side, with a red bit on the end, seems not to be attached to anything, its like this on both sides, when i drive can hear it rattling about, been told most likly them rods that need changing!

Got a apointment with the porsche dealer's who booked it in for to have a look at and diagnos the problem, could it be anything else? is it worth getting them to have a look at it? if its gona be them rods anyway?

Also how do u get to them to change them, had my mate at the local garage have a look, and we struggling to get to it? is there a way u can lift up the back bit manually?

Im really anoyed ive only had it a week, and i havent had the chance to get the roof down on it!

If any1 can help me please would be much appreciated! cheers!

[1schoir]

Hi guys, just went out and brought my first porsche boxster!, its a 1997 plate!

Picked the car up friday, saturday morning washed the car, went to put the roof down, didn't unclip the roof fully, pressed the open button, back pannel opened roof about to open, heard a nasty snapping noise in the back, quickly let go and pressed the close button, back roof panel closed back down,

Now when i go to press the open button just gettin a clicking noise from the back!

Mate at local garage had a look, can c a rod on each side, with a red bit on the end, seems not to be attached to anything, its like this on both sides, when i drive can hear it rattling about, been told most likly them rods that need changing!

Got a apointment with the porsche dealer's who booked it in for to have a look at and diagnos the problem, could it be anything else? is it worth getting them to have a look at it? if its gona be them rods anyway?

Also how do u get to them to change them, had my mate at the local garage have a look, and we struggling to get to it? is there a way u can lift up the back bit manually?

Im really anoyed ive only had it a week, and i havent had the chance to get the roof down on it!

If any1 can help me please would be much appreciated! cheers!

Mate:

If your "red bits" (red plastic ball cups on the end of pushrods) haven't exploded or cracked, you can just press them back on once you have them aligned with the steel balls that are underneath the base of the B-pillars.

No need to go to the dealer for this type of repair, if you are willing to DIY.

You can access the connection point a little more easily (or at least be able to see it), if you put the convertible top in the "service position". That procedure is covered in the owner's manual.

If you don't have an owner's manual, post here again and we'll spell it out.

Regards, Maurice.

[saj8162]

Hi guys, just went out and brought my first porsche boxster!, its a 1997 plate!

Picked the car up friday, saturday morning washed the car, went to put the roof down, didn't unclip the roof fully, pressed the open button, back pannel opened roof about to open, heard a nasty snapping noise in the back, quickly let go and pressed the close button, back roof panel closed back down,

Now when i go to press the open button just gettin a clicking noise from the back!

Mate at local garage had a look, can c a rod on each side, with a red bit on the end, seems not to be attached to anything, its like this on both sides, when i drive can hear it rattling about, been told most likly them rods that need changing!

Got a apointment with the porsche dealer's who booked it in for to have a look at and diagnos the problem, could it be anything else? is it worth getting them to have a look at it? if its gona be them rods anyway?

Also how do u get to them to change them, had my mate at the local garage have a look, and we struggling to get to it? is there a way u can lift up the back bit manually?

Im really anoyed ive only had it a week, and i havent had the chance to get the roof down on it!

If any1 can help me please would be much appreciated! cheers!

Mate:

If your "red bits" (red plastic ball cups on the end of pushrods) haven't exploded or cracked, you can just press them back on once you have them aligned with the steel balls that are underneath the base of the B-pillars.

No need to go to the dealer for this type of repair, if you are willing to DIY.

You can access the connection point a little more easily (or at least be able to see it), if you put the convertible top in the "service position". That procedure is covered in the owner's manual.

If you don't have an owner's manual, post here again and we'll spell it out.

Regards, Maurice.

Thanks Maurice. I wasnt given a owners manual, is it easy to do?

I had a look, they look like they have snapped in half from the end! where the red bit is, Im useless when it comes to repairs, Ive been quated £30 plus vat each rod!, and the dealer's charge £75.00 plus VAT per hour for repairs! Im thinking of cancelling my apointment next wednesday as they just gona tell me i need new rods, and get a bill of £75.00, It wont be the motor or anything would it?

Theres a garage local who just specialise in convertible's repairs, he aint back till the 16th of this month, so think ill just wait for him and get him to fix it!

Or if any1 knows any1 that could do it for me, around coventry, westmidlands area, Uk would be much appreicated!

[1schoir]

Thanks Maurice. I wasnt given a owners manual, is it easy to do?

I had a look, they look like they have snapped in half from the end! where the red bit is, Im useless when it comes to repairs, Ive been quated £30 plus vat each rod!, and the dealer's charge £75.00 plus VAT per hour for repairs! Im thinking of cancelling my apointment next wednesday as they just gona tell me i need new rods, and get a bill of £75.00, It wont be the motor or anything would it?

Theres a garage local who just specialise in convertible's repairs, he aint back till the 16th of this month, so think ill just wait for him and get him to fix it!

Or if any1 knows any1 that could do it for me, around coventry, westmidlands area, Uk would be much appreicated!

saj:

If your red plastic ball cups have snapped in half, 95% of the repair is replacing the ball cups, with the new, updated, less brittle white plastic ball cups. The other 5% is the possibility that you may have to re-synchronize your convertible top transmissions, or at least rotate them so that the new pushrods (with the new white plastic ball cups will line up and be able to be pressed back onto the steel ball underneath the base of each B-Pillar.

Unfortunately, Porsche does not sell the plastic ball cups by themselves. If you are going to get them from Porsche, you are forced to buy the entire pushrod that has the white plastic cup on the end of it. There is a guy in Belgium who has had the plastic ball cups manufactured and they are EXACT replicas of the ones that Porsche sells. If you want to buy them directly from him, send me a PM and I will give you his details.

I doubt very much that you have done anything to the motor (which is located in the convertible top well, just forward of the third brake light). The red plastic cups were replaced by Porsche with white ones because the red ones tended to get brittle and cracked more easily.

From your description of how you opened the top, it sounds like the extra resistance that was caused by the latch staying partially hooked on is what caused the ball cups from popping off/splitting apart. If you replace them, it should be as good as new.

To put the top into the service position, first get the clamshell into the rearmost position (45% angle) by operating the switch. Note that at this point, your canvas top will not move because it is not connected to the V-levers that operate on the two sets of pushrods. The set of pushrods with the ball cups on the end operate on the canvas top, and the set of pushrods that look like hydraulic cylinders (black) operate on the clamshell. Now, manually pull the forwardmost edge of the convertible top back so that it is about 12-18 inches from the top of the windshield frame (where it would normally be if the plastic ball cups were connected and the clamshell in the 45% position by operating the switch).

Now, unhook the black plastic/canvas apron from the rear of the convertible top well. Just pull down on the metal bar that runs across the rearmost edge of that black apron so that you disengage it from each of the two clips (left and right).

Then, you must pull off the lowest part of the tensioning (metal) cable that runs from each side of the underside of the rear main bow of the convertible top frame, through a loop sewn into the sides of the aforementioned apron and terminates in a steel ball cup just outside each side of the engine cover. Pull these off manually by pulling to the outboard on each side.

Once you have pulled off those ball cups, you can then grab the rear main bow under its center and pull up with some force and that rear main bow will end up in a roughly upright position. That will give you access to the engine compartment below and give you a better look at where to hook on your new plastic ball cups.

If your pushrods (with the plastic ball cups) have not gotten mangled, then you can just replace the plastic ball cups by unscrewing off the old ones and screwing on the new ones by the same number of turns. Just be sure to mark the position of the old plastic ball cups on the threaded rod that they are screwed onto at the end of the pushrod and match that position with the new ones.

Once you have done that, it's just a matter of rotating the V-levers to the correct position (with the switch) so that the center point of the plastic ball cups line up with the center of the steel ball that is screwed into the lug at the base of each B-Pillar and then pressing on the plastic ball cup so that it snaps back onto the steel ball. Remember, the parking brake must be engaged and the parking brake idiot light on the dashboard must be illuminated before the convertible top motor can operate.

One word of caution. Since your pushrods are now dangling, be VERY CAREFUL not to let them dig into the foam liner beneath the V-levers. If you rip or tear the foam liner, you will get water into the passenger compartment the next time you wash the car or get some heavy rain. If that happens, you run the risk of flooding the central alarm control unit that sits on the floor under the front seat (left side for U.S. cars, yours may be under the right side seat). That is a more than a $2,000 repair, so be very careful to repair any such rips or tears or to replace those foam liners entirely. You will notice a drain hole at the lowest point of those foam liners, so make sure that the drain holes are clear as well of leaves or debris so as to avoid the flooding problem I described.

One last point. If you decide to buy the pushrods from Porsche (and the rest of your pushrods have not gotten mangled) you can buy the pushrods for the 987's. The white plastic cups are the same, but the overall part is cheaper than the pushrods for the 986's.

Let us know how you make out.

Regards, Maurice.

[saj8162]

thanks Maurice.

Would be great if u can pass me the contact details for that guy i can purchase them rods, need them ASAP, thanks!

And thankyou for ure help!

[1schoir]

thanks Maurice.

Would be great if u can pass me the contact details for that guy i can purchase them rods, need them ASAP, thanks!

And thankyou for ure help!

saj:

Check your Private Messenger, I have just sent you a PM with the details.

Regards, Maurice.

[saj8162]

Thanks for every1s help!

was the push rods, end bits had snapped off, i ended up taking it to the porsche shop not far from me, they was a great help, fixed it for me in 40mins while i waited, total cost including parts £132.00 including Vat!