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Convertible top question

venturawildes
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987_RDC Member

987_RDC

Posted
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Is the rear fabric tight from the cords that connect to the rear of the top? I know you can adjust that portion but wondering if the bolt came loose.

jrod5150 Member

jrod5150

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Mine was doing that when I first bought it. It was time for a new top anyways and I figured whomever I have put the new top on, could make some adjustments so that wouldn't happen anymore. Four shops later its finally fixed. It's really hard to find someone with the skill to properly adjust these tops. If your near LA I can give you a refferal.

av8sky Member

av8sky

Posted
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My car has the exact same issue please let me know what you find out. I took mine to an upholstery / top guy and he didn't think it could be fixed. I played around with it a little to me it seemed liked the elastic that keeps tension on it was too short or out of adjustment. I am interested to see what you find.

1schoir Member

1schoir

Posted
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Depending on your model year, there are a total of three possibilities that can cause the (piping) edge to fall out of the guide channel when you close the convertible top:

1. The inner metal cable is broken, stretched, or has come loose either where it is anchored at the back under the B-Pillar frame member or at the front where it attaches to the spring on the aluminum shoulder plate (one on each side).

2. The center ("shoestring" type) elastic lace has broken in the middle (under the canvas, in its sleeve) or become separated from either the strap in the middle of the canvas or one of the edges of the top.

3. The velcro straps surrounding one of the convertible top frame members on each side of the top have come undone or have torn away from where they are sewn in.

Regards, Maurice.

venturawildes Member

venturawildes

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  • Author
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Well it was a partial victory, I adjusted the cables in the back, under the clamshell and the top no longer rattles. However the kink midway is still there, my best guess is that the cable along the side is stretched, everything else looks ok. It appears to be "non adjustable". Any ideas? I know if I could find someone who was a bit old school, they could shorten the cable a bit. I hate to think that the only option is a new top. It still looks great.

venturawildes Member

venturawildes

Posted
  • Author
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The inner metal cable is broken, stretched, or has come loose either where it is anchored at the back under the B-Pillar frame member or at the front where it attaches to the spring on the aluminum shoulder plate (one on each side).

Does anyone have a picture of where the spring Maurice refers to is located?

1schoir Member

1schoir

Posted
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Here is a photo of the setup with the aluminum shoulder plate and the spring holding the forward end of the cable (note that these photos are from a 986, but the setup is similar for 911's):

post-6627-0-70586900-1355611345_thumb.jp

The red arrow is pointing to the spring (which is covered by factory heat-shrink tubing to prevent squeaking), and the small green arrow shows the point on the aluminum shoulder plate where the spring is anchored.

.

.

The other end of the cable can be seen in this photo and you can also see where the aluminum shoulder plates are located relative to the rest of the canvas top:

post-6627-0-52844500-1355611831_thumb.jp

(The end of the cable is near the red and blue arrows)

Regards, Maurice.

1schoir Member

1schoir

Posted
Posted (edited)

If it's identical to the front of the canvas top on a 986, it's only a matter of a few screws and peeling back ("un-glueing") the canvas up to that point.

On the DIY for the 986 top that you will find at this link, it's only up to step #4: https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/replacingthetop-adiy

Take a look at the photos and instructions there and compare the setup with that of your 996 and see if it's the same. If so, it will only take about 1 hour to get that far, and a little longer to put it back together.

BTW, if you take it apart that far and find that the cable is broken and can't be repaired, you should be able to pull out the inner metal cable (after unscrewing the screw at the B-Pillar end) and replace it with a new one. You will probably have to use a rivet to attach the little spring to the aluminum shoulder plate.

Regards, Maurice.

Edited by 1schoir
Chuck996 Member

Chuck996

Posted
Posted

I had the same problem on my 1999 Cab. after a new top was installed. Took it back to the installer and found out it was a broken cable. New cable cost $60.00. So far so good.

Chuck

  • 4 weeks later...
venturawildes Member

venturawildes

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It is the cable, but I am having the hardest time figuring out how to get to it. I took off the weatherstrip, and the four Phillips head screws underneath, but it appears to me that piece is part of the frame structure, i.e. it's hinged. Please see pics. Any idea how to get this off so I can get at the cable attach point on the top of the "top"? post-41546-0-73250000-1358116725_thumb.jpost-41546-0-37764300-1358116840_thumb.j

av8sky Member

av8sky

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I need to replace my cable on my 03 996 as well. I was fortunate enough to meet up with the guy that some of the local Porsche dealers use to do their top work. He looked at my top and confirmed I needed a cable and spent a few minutes explaining the process. He said it would be almost 5 hours of labor and talked about what is involved to install a new cable. I joked with him and said if he kept explaining everything that I might attempt the fix on my own. He laughed and encouraged me to do so and then took the time to explain in detail how to fix it. I think you might need to remove that philips screw in the left corner of the second picture. I also remember him saying something about removing the rubber seal that goes around to the front enough so that you can get to the front of the metal trim. I think once that black trim is off you have another set of screws to remove. He also mentioned something about a screw being covered by a piece of rubber. I am waiting on parts and I will be tackling this project myself very soon. Good luck I hope this helped a little bit.

venturawildes Member

venturawildes

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I am being quite serious here, without this forum, I could not own this car. I'm pretty handy with a set of wrenches, my Father was a mechanic and I grew up working on cars. This car is something different, you absolutely need to know the "trick" if not, it's not going to happen for you. Most of the stuff thus far I've been able to tackle. Overflow coolant tank (lower the engine), spark plugs (take the mufflers off), door microswitches (don't turn the key on with airbags removed), ignition switch (go in through the vent).

Just a hearty thank you to everyone, what a great forum.

venturawildes Member

venturawildes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I need to replace my cable on my 03 996 as well. I was fortunate enough to meet up with the guy that some of the local Porsche dealers use to do their top work. He looked at my top and confirmed I needed a cable and spent a few minutes explaining the process. He said it would be almost 5 hours of labor and talked about what is involved to install a new cable. I joked with him and said if he kept explaining everything that I might attempt the fix on my own. He laughed and encouraged me to do so and then took the time to explain in detail how to fix it. I think you might need to remove that philips screw in the left corner of the second picture. I also remember him saying something about removing the rubber seal that goes around to the front enough so that you can get to the front of the metal trim. I think once that black trim is off you have another set of screws to remove. He also mentioned something about a screw being covered by a piece of rubber. I am waiting on parts and I will be tackling this project myself very soon. Good luck I hope this helped a little bit.

I just got a quote, and it was 5hrs as well. The guy didn't know if he could get a replacement cable, but he seemed talented enough to be able handle making one.

av8sky Member

av8sky

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I just ordered a cable for $81 from Sunset. I also looked at the Porsche manual And read what it said about replacing the top. It gave some details on all the screws you need to remove. I am going to try and document and take pictures of cable replacement and I would be happy to forward them to you if I can get it figured out. Good luck and I agree with you this is a great forum and it has helped me considerably my first year of ownership.

venturawildes Member

venturawildes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I just ordered a cable for $81 from Sunset. I also looked at the Porsche manual And read what it said about replacing the top. It gave some details on all the screws you need to remove. I am going to try and document and take pictures of cable replacement and I would be happy to forward them to you if I can get it figured out. Good luck and I agree with you this is a great forum and it has helped me considerably my first year of ownership.

That would be awesome and greatly appreciated.

  • 2 weeks later...

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