raleighcab

Gracias Loren! :D

May sound stupid but where do I hook up my OBDII analyzer on my 996? The owners manual says nothing about it and it doesn't seem to jump out at me... :)

Don't EVEN try this yourself. I took my cab to an Independent shop recommended by my dealer and most of the Porsche "know it alls" in my area. To make a long story short they screwed it up big time. You should have the dealer do any install. It will cost you more but you will be much happier and have no headaches because dealers usually have one or two guys who install all their tops. Experience is key when installing these tops. They are very complicated and if you mess something up VERY expensive to fix.

I actually talked to one of the sales reps at GAHH when I was recently looking at tops. They are actually using the same exact glass they use on the Boxter tops. So in my opinion it looks kind of strange because of the much smaller size in proportion to the roof than stock. Some people might not mind it though.

My CEL came on about 3 days ago and this morning I started the car up and it was off! :unsure: I don't think I have ever had a car where the CEL went off without being reset. Not that I'm complaining...just wanted to know if anyone else has ever experienced this.

And if so are you having any issues? I have been given a pair of Michelin Pilot Sports in pristine condition and would hate not to use them. Next to some old Bridgestone RE730's I have that are 265/30/18 there is barely a discernable difference. The Michelin's are very slightly taller. Thanks in advance!

I just went through all this. My plastic rear window was separating from the fabric which is a very common problem with the OEM Tops. The fabric was actually in good shape still but I decided to replace the whole top because it was 6-700 dollars to just replace the rear window and I figured I might as well tackle the whole thing now because at 5 years old the top is going to need replacing in the next couple of years anyway. A couple places that sell high quality German fabric tops like the OEM are: GAHH http://www.gahh.com/ M and T Manufacturing http://www.convertibletopguys.com/ Both of these places sell high quality tops for around 1k with the plastic rear window sewn in. WARNING: Do not make the same mistake I did. Have the dealer do the install. I had a local shop do my install and they messed it up big time. As we all know these are rare cars and not many shops have installed a 996 top. Spend the extra money and have it done right by the experienced mechanics at the dealer. I had to take mine and have them fix all the fups the first installer made. Good luck!

NO...LA Dismantlers were totally not helpful. I am sure they have the part I am looking for but getting them to look for it is useless. I found a company called SilverStar Recycling that specializes in Mercedes and Porsche Parts. They seem to be much more pleasant and helpful to deal with. :D

Here is what I do with service groups that perform below my expectation, or ones that I have a dispute about broken parts etc. with. I simply pay them their invoice amount minus the cost of the broken part plus 1 hour labor. However if you have already paid them before resolving this issue, shame on you, as you just lost that leverage! eek.gif Now onto a possible solution. If I understand your post correctly, the broken part in question is the header latch receiver on the center of the windshield header. This is the part includes the map and courtesy lights. In the center of this assembly is a little opening with a spring mounted flap on it. Behind the flap is a micro-switch that is activated by the flap being pushed up by the roof latch. There are several of these micro-switches on the top mechanism that tell the controller that various events have or have not happened during the opening and closing cycles. The little flap can get slightly bent so that the micro-switch does not fully engage. It can be quite literally 1/100" out and the micro-switch will not close. A fix to this is to place a small round self adhesive furniture/knick-nack felt foot on the center of the flap. This will give the flap the extra depth it needs to actuate the micro-switch. I had a problem with the switch on my Cabriolets top, and this is how I rectified it. IPB Image However if the micro-switch is broken, then all bets are off. You can either repair/repair the micro-switch, or get a new latch receiver assembly. You can test the switch by pressing on it with your finger. If you hear it click, then it is OK, it just the flap that is bent out of tolerance. Think of it on the bright side, at least it did not happen on a Friday night 300 miles from the nearest Porsche dealership whose service department was closed on the weekend anyway! (ask me how I know....) No...I definitely haven't paid them yet and your idea is a good one and I might go that route. I actually found a yard out in CA that has the whole assembly and they think it is in good shape and I plan to have the shop call them about getting it. But from my understanding from talking to the shop whatever broke is actually on the top side of the latch. I don't think it is the part you have a picture of. Of couse I could be totally wrong...but from the way they explained it to me that is what I concluded. Is there a microswitch trigger on the top side of the latch?

Thanks for all the replies. I have not even hinted at legal action at all and I am actually being very nice about this in my view. But I don't want them to think my niceness is weakness so I may have to turn into a hard *** this coming week. They still have my car and they were supposed to call me Friday and give me an update but I haven't heard from them. I am still trying to find a used part because I do feel that for such a small part it would suck for them to have to have to pay for the whole assembly. However if it comes down to that then they will have to deal with it. They told me that the top can now be manually latched (my automatic top is now a manual!) so I am thinking I might offer to let them search for a part...for 30 days or so and then when they get it replace it. Of course I will get this agreement in writing. It's still such a pain in the ***...but what can you do? This is when you wish you owned a Camry and replacement parts were a dime a dozen!

So my 996 Cab needed a new cloth top and I found a great deal on one. I did my due diligence and found the best installer in my area...one recommended by all the Porsche experts in the area. They even do the top installations for some of the Porsche Dealerships in the locally. To make a long story short they have my car for two days and I am ready to pick it up at 5pm the second day and I get a call that the car won't be ready until the next day. So when I call the morning of the 3rd day they put me on hold then a guy gets on the phone and tells me there is a problem. He says that when the installer went to close the top the top stopped right before latching. He said this often happens because the new top is tight. The installer then pulled the top down and broke something he called a "sensor" that tells the microswitch to latch the top. This plastic "sensor" is apparently near the latch and when the top gets close to the windshield it activated and it tells the microswitch to latch the top. I am still trying to picture this in my head. I had never really ever looked at that part of the top because it had always worked perfectly. Anyway...so this guy called Porsche and of course they don't sell that little piece they only sell the whole latching mechanism to the tune of $625.00 dollars! Nice! So this guy hints around asking if I ever had a problem like this before with the top. Like maybe it was broken already! Anyway...I insist that the top has always worked perfectly and I tell him I will make some inquiries to see if we can find that piece or a used mechanism from somewhere that might be much less expensive while he does the same. So we have had no luck so far in finding the part. One place had the whole latching mechanism but the specific piece we need was broken. So...my question here is. Shouldn't the installer be totally responsible for this damage and pay the full amount to fix the damage? Whatever it may be? Because I am getting the feeling this guy is going to try to get out of this and make me pay. Any help or advice here is greatly appreciated! John

I have a 99 996 Cab. My top needs to be replaced. I am having a top manufactured and the manufacturer asked me to find out if my Cab has a "long or short" cable. Apparently he says that there are two different lengths of cables used on the 996. One is 34 and 3/4 inches (short) and the other is 34 inches (long). He says the cable is on each side of the top and runs the length of the top from back to front. Does anyone know how to determine this without physically measuring? I currently have my hardtop on and physically measuring is not an easy thing to do at this point. Thanks in advance for any help!