Convertible Top Adjustment

[Don Z.]

I used the search, but perhaps I used the wrong terms. Please forgive me if this is posted elsewhere.

My car is a 2006 987. I have about 60,000 miles on it, so it's out of warranty. Over the winter, my wife had a problem with the top (I believe she broke one of the arms, but I was out of town, so I don't have all the details).

We currently live in Boeblingen, so she took it to the dealer in Stuttgart. 1200 euros later, less VAT, it was fixed. But because it was winter, the top wasn't used that much. Now, I get to play with my car again, and I've noticed that when you put the top back up, on the passenger side it "jumps" out of the plastic trim on the back side of the window. Fully closed, it is stretched over the trim instead of tucked inside. While no water leaks, I can see that it's stretching the stitching a little bit. If I stop the roof 3/4 of the way closed, I can pop it back in, but this is inconvenient to say the least. If I close the top all the way, it is too tight to pop back behind the plastic.

On the inside of the car, the inner liner also jumps out of its track. The driver's side is fine.

Is there a way to re-adjust this, without going back to the dealer? Believe it or not, customer service across the street from the factory is at a level slightly lower than you'd find at a Chevy dealer in the States. I'll do it if I have to, and I will try and convince them that while nine months have gone by, it should be covered, but if I can fix it myself I will have both learned how to do it as well as saved a good deal of time and aggravation. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Wayne 962]

Hi Don. Yes, what you have described is due to improper alignment from the dealer . You can fix their error yourself using my instructions, which are located here: Pelican Technical Article: Convertible Top Repair - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-08)

-Wayne

[Wayne 962]

Specifically, you want to disconnect the cable from one side, and then raise / lower the roof on the other side (as detailed in the article), until you have the proper left/right alignment. The factory manual says to use a drill, but that's way overkill - the method I outlined in Figure 7 worked best for us when we were realigning the roof.

-Wayne

[Don Z.]

Thanks, Wayne. I did look at that article, but I thought it applied to the cables themselves, not the canvas. If I'm understanding you correctly, if the lever arms on both sides are in the same position at the same time, the canvas will be in its proper place. It is not a case of the canvas itself being off centre.

I did check with the wife, and she told me that it was the transmissions that were replaced. So what you are saying does make sense. Considering my last convertible was a '65 Corvair, the learning curve here will be a little steep at first... but I'll get there.

[Wayne 962]

I would suggest that you take some photos of the problem and post them here, just so that we can be sure we're all on the same page?

-Wayne

[Don Z.]

OK, I got a brief break in the rain today, and was able to cycle the top. There is no sort of binding, or anything like that as it goes through the cycle, but after it is locked home, it looks like this:



I did notice that there were some velcro "tabs" inside, that go around the metal support frames. One was not connected, so I "re-wrapped" it, but this doesn't seem to make a difference.

I won't be able to check the alignment (i.e. measure the lever arms as in Figure 8) until this Saturday or Sunday, at the earliest... if we have reasonably nice weather.

Thanks again for all your advice.

[Wayne 962]

Right, there was a problem with some of the early roofs - the velcro tabs are indeed there to try to get this to seat properly. Try tightening them up a bit more.

-Wayne