Removing the hardtop

[trauh]

My 2001 996 had the hardtop on it (with the improved hardtop latches, per Porsche). When I went to remove it last night, I had a very hard time getting the top off. I opened the doors, lowered the rear quarter windows, fully unlatched the front catch, and then opened the latches in back (yes, all the way to the stop). It was a real struggle to get the back to release; with the latches open I had maybe a quarter or half inch of vertical play, but could not lift the top any higher in back than that.

After 20 minutes of opening and closing the latches I finally popped the front out of the tabs and then muscled the back out. Did I do something wrong (like not lowering the front windows even though the doors were open), do I need to adjust the latches, or do I just need to apply more force?

[Cay-Ute]

Trauh, I just removed the hardtop from my 03 C4 Cab. I did as you, lowered the windows, unlatched the front and did the 1/4 turn on the rear. With the help of my wife, we gently moved the top towards the rear and everything came free pretty well, I would say we moved it as level as we could about 1-2 inches backward then we were free to lift it higher and off. Pretty straightforward actually. Hope this helps.

[bavarian]

Trauh, I took my hardtop off a few weeks ago, and it was stuck on one side. The handle had been turned all the way, but it still felt locked. I had to lift up from the windshield, and then it finally released. BTW, I had installed the new latches also. I'm not too worried about it.