scottiemac

OWWAUSA, if you go to Rennlist and search "cab top question" you'll see a post I made asking about those plastic parts that I struggled with. There's also a picture I posted. This should help. Cheers.

You have to put the clamshell in service position (which as I see it is open all the way back and the top released from the windshield header and partially open) first. Then on each side of top at the rear there are cables that run from the back of the top to the body. The cables snap on to small balls that stick out from the fuzzy cover that fills the area where the top sits when down. When you have popped these off (I just used a small screwdriver) the rear section of the top can be folded forward. I just used a small bungee cord to hold it up out of the way. Now you have access to the cover that fits in the top stowage area. There are 4 (IIRC) plastic clips that fit across the back of the bulkhead (where the rollbars are). Take the clips out and you should be able to pull the cover out. I struggled a bit as there are two plastic parts (one on each side) that stick through the cover (I think they are where parts of the top frame rest when it is down). You have to work the cover over these and it is a PITA. I was afraid to tear the cover when I did mine so I went at it the other way from the back end of the cover and suffered lots of skinned knuckles and cursing. I since found out that you just pull the cover over them. Once you have access to the area the bolts will be under some small bits of insulation material around where the rollbars tie into the chassis. Use a Sharpie to mark where the bolts are and take off the 3 nuts. From there it's just the same as a coupe. Good luck.

I just changed the rear springs on my 99 Cab. The guides that are referenced in the other posts are excellent to assist. Probably the hardest thing is accessing the top bolts underneath the back part of the convertible top and clamshell. Next up is getting the lower mount back in place on the suspension. I found standing on the hat part of the rear disc is helpful in pushing the rear suspension down and the using a floor jack with a large diameter socket under the bottom of the strut to get it into place helps. Mostly just brute force and a pry bar. It's not a bad job and gives you a chance to closely examine a few things while the back of the car is up in the air. Good luck with it.

If I were you I'd stay away from any kind of rust proofing. The only ones I've found that works really well is the oil spray from Krown. I've used it on my truck and several (lesser) cars but would never put it on my Porsche. It does a great job but it makes such a mess. In Toronto you have lots of days that you can take the car to a coin car wash and clean out the wheel wells, etc. where the stuff collects. If you look under these cars they are pretty well protected with plastic panels and are easy to keep clean. FWIW. Have fun.

Thanks Loren. Much appreciated. My car is a US model that I imported into Canada but I assume they are close in hours and intervals. My concern is really not with the mileage accumulated but the age of the fluid. By my calcs the car will be about 30 years old before I need to change the oil! Thanks also for the pointer to the tutorial. I've got an order in to Sunset for new rear springs - maybe I'll call them and add the parts needed for a transmission oil change.

I did the spring oil change on my 99 Cab/Tip on the weekend and while I was under there I noticed that the transmission oil pan had a build-up of oil/dirt residue on it. I've never experienced any drips on the garage floor so it was just sweating a bit. While I had the car up on stands I cleaned off the pan and then went around and snugged up the pan bolts to compress the gasket a bit. Since the car has about 60,000 kilometres on it and I don't know if the trans fuild has ever been changed I thought I'd call the dealer and see how much it might cost to do that. I was figuring maybe $300 max. I just got a call from them and they want $920 for the job. I've read that the job is fairly long and labour intensive but I just about flipped backwards off my chair when I heard that number. Can anybody share the hours to do the job and what the parts cost might be (fluid, gasket/filter, etc.). Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers, Scottie

Great. Thanks very much for the info.

I have a 99 Carrera Cab and need to replace the rear springs. They have sagged so that the rear is noticably lower. I searched and found how you get at the upper mounting bolts in a coupe but haven't been able to find what I have to do to get at the bolts in a cab - it's a lot busier back there. Can anyone share how I access these on my car? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

57, going on 21!

Thanks guys. I checked it on the weekend and it turns out the front is just outside spec - both sides in the 145mm range, while the rears are considerably outside spec - in the 132mm range. I guess the rears have sagged with age. I don't mind the look of the rear and the height has never been a problem from a clearance standpoint but the front just looks a bit funny being higher. What I'd really like to do is lower the front but as the car has stock suspension that will be difficult (short of cutting the springs), which I really don't want to do. Cheers, Scottie

Hi. I have a 99 Carrera Cab and the car has a definite nose high attitude. The suspension is stock. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be like this or if the rear springs are starting to sag. Is there an official method for measuring ride height and a set of specs to compare with? Any help would be appreciated.

Interesting. I have heard something similiar to your description regarding the rubber from the tires. Could be the position of the mufflers too. They do seem very close to the tires. I have new Michelins Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires on. Amazing traction for winter driving in Chicago, but the compound may be very soft and can contribute to the odor. The Plus size may be getting the inside of the tire closer to the mufflers too. Not sure. Thank you for the reply though. I have had the burning rubber smell from mine since I've had it. Have had both PZero and SportContacts on the car and they both do the same. I'd say it's normal - strange but normal.

Chuck, no personal experience but have you looked at http://www.gahh.com/index.php

Pat, the part you are showing is part of the assembly #21. I started having problems with one of mine (99 C2 Cab) last week. Tried to fix it but it kept popping loose - finally took the whole assembly off the car. It mounts up underneath the clamshell on a couple of pins on the hinge (#6). Haven't figure out what it does. I think you need to buy the whole assembly and I think it runs about $150 (list). Scott

Thanks Phillipj. I wish it was the part you refer to as it's a lot cheaper but no such luck. Thanks for the comments though and I'll file this away for the future. Cheers, Scott

Thanks dr914jr. That's the part that is causing the problem. The one on the passenger side keeps popping off. There is a metal bracket that is part of the assembly and I think it's bent. The metal bracket screws to the plastic with a couple of Torx screws. I'm going to take them both off and compare as the one on the drivers side seems OK. Even though they are a mirror image of each other hopefully I can bend the little metal bracket back into shape. Will advise how this goes - may end up getting a new one from the dealer (should be easier now that I have a part number). Thanks everyone for your comments. Cheers, Scott :thankyou:

Hi. I have a 99 Cab and I need some help with a part that mounts underneath the clamshell. On the underside of the clamshell between the two hinge points is a plastic assembly that looks like a little wing. I was lowering the top and stopped halfway to make sure the plastic window was folding properly and I noticed that this little assembly had dislodged. I removed it, figure out how it was supposed to go together then re-installed it. The next time I cycled the top I heard a clunk and it had dislodged itself again so I just removed it. Top seems to work well without it there and I can't figure out what it does. Can anybody fill me in on what this thing is supposed to do? Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Scott

Normal at operating temperature. Thanks very much

Hi guys. I'm not sure if I have a problem here or not. I have a 99 Cab/Tip and have been getting a very faint coolant smell for a while now. There are no apparent leaks and the coolant level never seems to go down. The other day after I had driven the car I popped the hood to check the oil and noticed that the little plastic plunger (with the wire on it) on the bleed valve was in the extended (i.e. bleed) position. I pushed it back in but it as soon as I took my finger off it it rose back up again. Is this normal or do I need a new bleed valve? Can you buy the bleed valve separately or does it come as part of the coolant tank? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Cheers, Scott

Rick, not an expert but you might read through the other recent post about my Tip issue "Tiptronic Problem". They sound related. Cheers

Loren, just to close the loop on this issue, I finally had a chance to take the car in to the dealer. I related the problem to the shop foreman and he took the car into the shop, hooked it up to the computer and was back with it in about 10 minutes. They reset the fault code and tried it twice again and couldn't get it to repeat. He noted that the battery seemed to be down a bit (car not getting used as much with the cold weather) and said the problem may be related to that. He also said there could have been a momentary loss of contact in the Tiptronic shift quadrant that set the fault. The car is now in the garage with the battery tender on it. Scottiemac; What did they do to reset the codes? I had a low battery issue and virtually the same thing has happened to me! Hi. I 'm not sure what the dealer used. Loren would be able to fill you in on that, but I did get an OBDII scan tool for Christmas and when the problem occured again I plugged in the scan tool, it retrieved a fault code (it might have been 0714, can't remember) and then reset it with the tool. You don't get a CEL with this code - just the flashing Tip lights. I've thought about the problem a bit and it seems to originate with a hard shift from Park into Reverse when the car (and the outside temperature) is cold. What I try and do now is give the car a bit of a warm up when it is cold outside and then slowly make the shift from P to R. Seems to work for me. The problem has never happened when the ambient temperature is warm. Good luck with the problem.

I have a 99 C2 Cab and have been running Mobil 1 5W50 for about a year. I tried it because some of the other grades weren't available. At idle when engine is up to temp I get 1.5 bar. Car starts easily when cold (I live in the Great White North).

I have a 99 C2 that came with a hardtop and from what I understand they are a pretty common (and often un-used) option. I don't think you have to do anything to install it. There seem to be lots of used ones out in the market. Just make sure you get the plastic cover that conceals the front latching mechanism. To me it sounds like the dealer just wants to do a little profit boosting. Good luck ;)

Welcome. I brought a US spec 996 Cab to Canada about a year ago. The Daytime Running light fix is easy and works like a charm. The speedo and dash issue was solved with a quick trip to the dealer (Calgary). They charged $37 to switch the dash to metric. It took about 10 minutes. When you download the manual it will also tell you how to change the speedo reading between miles and kilometres. Good luck.

Are their lights in the garage? If so have you thought about putting one of those solar charging panels on the dash and charging it through the lighter socket?