Top won't close, clamshell moves just 1-2 inches

[dammad]

I'm away from home and was enjoying a drive with the top down on my 1999 996 Cab. Got to the hotel and went to close the roof, but nothing.. I parked it and looked at the roof mechanism. It seems the rear of the top cover clamshell operates as expected but the left and right side don't 'unlock' at all.. I've looked down the sides at the mechanism and it all looks good. The only problem I can visibly see is that the carpet on the cab decking has shifted and is wedged between the top and the roll-over protection system. However I don't see how this can stop the front left/right sides of the clamshell from unlatching..

When I operate the top, the rear of the clamshell motors up about 1-2 inchs at the rear side only and then timeouts. Press again is it closes up okay the 1-2 inches on the back. The sides of the clamshell don't seem to unlock/move.

How to unjam it?

Edited October 18, 2012 by dammad

[dammad]

Alas since I'm away from home I don't have my durametric to get more info. :-(

[frisbee91]

I have a good understanding of how this system works, but I'm not clear on your issue.

Is the entire clamshell moving, or does it remain locked in position? There are three latches that hod down the clamshell when it is fully closed. The one in the center rear (under the center brake light) is operated by an independant cable connected to the rack-and-pinon gearbox & motor that operates the clamshell. The left and right are more complicated. The left and right latches are operated by a pushrod connected to the slider-actuators that actually move the clamshell. The slider-actuators are in turn operated by cables from the gearbox & motor for the clamshell. There are more possiblities for problems with these.

If you have an more details or pictures, I'll try to help. Might even have parts leftover from when I repaired mine earlier this year.

[dammad]

frisbee91,

Thanks for your comments and insights. The problem was that the center rear latch was opening allowing the clamshell to open up about 1-2" in that area, but the left and right latches did not open and so the clamshell was well and truly staying in position on both sides.

I went back to the car late yesterday evening to try it again and after a couple of tries the clamshell opened and operated the top to close without problems.

I've not tried it again since I'm not at home and don't really want to get it stuck again until I'm home at the weekend. Since the top did operate eventually this seems to indicate that none of the pushrods/gears are broken. The car was much colder last night so perhaps there is some kind of tolerance issue that caused something to bind in the heat of the day (it was 80F during the day).

[frisbee91]

This is just a guess, but perhaps the rack-and-pinion system is not fully actuating for some reason. As the motor actuates, the rear latch disengages in the first inch of stroke or so. It's probably worth inspecting either way when you get a chance. It's never good to get stuck with your top down.

[timmhaines]

Help, top is down, manually unlocked lid per instructions, the hex is missing, just a square bolt with a snapped stud in the middle, used a 5/16 socket to turn it,and it only turns one turn, but unlocks the lid, will not lift more than an inch.

Has anyone seen this before and what is the fix, motor runs when operated for a couple seconds.

any help is appreciated.

Best regards, Tim

Edited February 19, 2013 by timmhaines