Clam Shell bent rear tine

[Halo]

MY 99 Boxster

I recently had a problem with my top being stuck in the down position. I pushed the button and nothing happened.

Thanks to the many post here I was able to search for common issues to resolve my problem.

After unhooking all of the pushrods and manually putting the top up, I now pushed the button and the motor started working again.

I am not sure why it had stopped maybe the transmission had over traveled?

I had my wife press the top button while I looked at the V levers, I noticed the passenger side wasn't moving.

I then checked the cable all seemed to be fine. Next, I put a drill on the end of the cable and re-calibrated to match the driver side transmission.

I purchased new top cable rods to replace the red sockets to the white ones.

I did not notice at the time but I later found out that one of the clam shell pushrods had a bent rear tine.

The pushrod does not sit flush and I don't think I can repair it.

my question is: should I replace the pushrods as pairs or just replace the one?

bent side

good side

sorry for making a short story long

Kind regards,

Halo

[1schoir]

Halo:

You can replace just the one.

Although they look like and are referred to as "hydraulic" pushrods, they are actually spring loaded affairs. One really big spring inside.

Here is a photo that will give you an idea of what you are dealing with:

So, since it's not hydraulic, if you are so inclined and don't want to "spring" for a new one, you might try putting it in a vise and straightening it. It can't hurt, and, if it doesn't work you can always replace it. In any case, you definitely don't have to replace both.

The most probable reason for the one side getting stuck is that it went past the 50th tooth on the half-moon gear of your MY 99's transmission.

Regards, Maurice.

[Halo]

Thanks Maurice for the info.

I"ll give it a shot on trying to fix it first and will document the fix if I am successful.

From your photo does the pushrod separate by the ball end by threads?

or do I put it in a vice and "try" to stretch it far enough to shove the tine back into the hole?

I'll give it a try this weekend.

Kind regards,

Halo

[1schoir]

Thanks Maurice for the info.

I"ll give it a shot on trying to fix it first and will document the fix if I am successful.

From your photo does the pushrod separate by the ball end by threads?

or do I put it in a vice and "try" to stretch it far enough to shove the tine back into the hole?

I'll give it a try this weekend.

Kind regards,

Halo

Halo:

Definitely put it in a vise and use a pair of vise-grips with a lever and you may be able to generate enough force to pull it back so that you can straighten it.

Be careful, because that is a lot of tension and force generated by that fat spring.

If you can't pull on it hard enough, I wonder if it's possible to use the V-lever and the electric motor (or your cordless drill) to pull it so that you can put the tine back into position? Just a thought.

Good luck!

Regards, Maurice.

[Halo]

Maurice,

it is impossible (for me) to stretch it far enough so I can bend the tine back into the slot/hole.

I am just going to buy a new one. good thing I don't have to buy 2 of them.

thanks again for the quick reply.

Halo

[1schoir]

Maurice,

it is impossible (for me) to stretch it far enough so I can bend the tine back into the slot/hole.

I am just going to buy a new one. good thing I don't have to buy 2 of them.

thanks again for the quick reply.

Halo

Halo:

Just be careful to monitor the movement of the V-levers for the first few times after you install the new pushrod.

It will probably be 100% okay, but you just want to check it out to make sure that the tine (on either side) doesn't get dislodged from its slot.

If it looks like it might be headed in that direction, just re-synch the transmissions so that the V-lever doesn't travel quite as far in that direction. BTW, you may have already inadvertently made that adjustment when you disconnected all of the pushrods if you ran the electric motor for a second or so withtout the pushrods connected.

Good luck!

Regards, Maurice.

[Halo]

Maurice,

It should only over travel in the closed position correct? when it is open, it is relaxed.

I'll try to get my camera back there to see how far they stretch now in the closed position.

To be honest, I really don't know how far I may be off.

When I disconnected everything, I rotated the V-levers enough to put the clamshell in to the 45 deg. postion.

The white top pushrods went on from there. I just matched the existing red ones.

either way, I will try to take a photo.

Thanks again :renntech:

Halo

[1schoir]

Maurice,

It should only over travel in the closed position correct? when it is open, it is relaxed.

I'll try to get my camera back there to see how far they stretch now in the closed position.

To be honest, I really don't know how far I may be off.

When I disconnected everything, I rotated the V-levers enough to put the clamshell in to the 45 deg. postion.

The white top pushrods went on from there. I just matched the existing red ones.

either way, I will try to take a photo.

Thanks again :renntech:

Halo

Halo:

Correct. As the clamshell closes to its position flush with the trunk lid, that is when the spring is under more and more pressure, and as a result the tines are pulled down.

There is a starting point in the factory manual for setting the V-levers, which involves taking a measurement from one of the steel balls on one end of the V-lever to a spot near the rail on which the body colored arm of the clamshell slides back and forth.

I posted the measurements here in another post about 1 year ago, but haven't been able to find it again. If you have a Bentley manual, I think it covers the measurement also, but it's a little hard to decipher exactly what they are referring to, unless you know exactly what you are looking for.

The most crucial aspect of replacing the red ball cups with white ones is to make absolutely certain that you have the same overall length as the length of your original pushrods/plastic ball cup combination. It it's not correct, the front edge of the top will not align properly with the horizontal top edge of the windshield frame.

Definitely post a couple of photos and I'll find that measurement.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited April 28, 2009 by 1schoir

[atta]

There is a starting point in the factory manual for setting the V-levers, which involves taking a measurement from one of the steel balls on one end of the V-lever to a spot near the rail on which the body colored arm of the clamshell slides back and forth.

"distance from compartment lid link pivot at drive lever to top of convertible top compartment lid gasket" 195 +-0,5 mm.

That is from the center of the ball on the rear arm that connects to the clamshel,l to the top of the black gasket the clamshell rests on.

This is probably a good possition to start, but really the only thing that matters is that both V-levers are equal/in sync. So meassure anywhere you want, and just make sure they are the same. ;)

Atle

Edited April 28, 2009 by atta