Hard top catch broken

[Stefan]

(1999 Boxster)

This morning, I was going to remove my hard top. When I pushed the passenger side latch lever forward, there was a faint pop sound and the lever moved way too easily.

After some inspection, I found that although the lever moves (easily), the post that goes into the spin lock doesn't appear to be rotating. This means that I cannot remove the hard top.

So I have some questions:

(1) In PET it seems like the part I will need to replace is 986.563.404.02 "catch". However, there is another part number (900.067.378.09 pan-head screw micro-self-locking). Is that a screw that goes down into the catch from the top? (I can't tell from the picture and I cannot remove the hard top for closer inspection) Is it something I might need?

(2) Does anyone have any tips for removing the hard top given that the latch on the right side is in the latched position and the lever does not unlatch it? There is a very small amount of space where I can see the silver post that is supposed to spin. I think the space is too small for pliers. Perhaps there is some way to remove the latch from the hard top or the spinlock from the car with the hard top in place?

(3) Has anyone ever heard of this problem?

[Stefan]

Duh. I just realized that if I can't remove the top then the bolt can't be simply broken. Perhaps there is some mechanism that connects the lever to the bolt.

Any insight from anyone who has seen the mechanism up close would be appreciated.

[Stefan]

I have found and fixed the problem. As I suspected, the problem was that the mechanism connecting the lever and the post was broken. It turns out that there is a pin that goes through the two to transmit the torque from the lever to the post.

Here is a picture of what I am talking about. The remnants of the broken pin is circled:

Here is the piece of the pin that was left in the lever. I'm a bit surprised that it was hollow.

To fix it, I had to squeeze the two parts together (because there is a wavy washer that pushes out on the lever) so that the holes lined up then hammer in a nail

I put it back in and turned it and the nail broke. So I put in a bigger, stronger nail (the biggest that would fit in the hole). I also lubed the spinlock mechanism. Now it is all as smooth as butter and works perfectly.

[Popolou]

Good bit of detective work there.

In case the bigger nail breaks, try a broken drill bit. It should be far more rigid and less likely to snap when you'd least like it.

Regards

Popolou

[Stefan]

That's a great idea. Thank you.

[tobesetc]

I have just got a 2003 Boxster S and I also bought a hard-top (it didn't have one before). My fitting broke in exactly the same way, so I very much doubt we are the only people to have this problem. Is this the only hard-top fitting mechanism, or is there an alternative? (For example, I've also got a Toyota MR2 with a hard-top and the rear fittings on that are more like the front latch on the Boxsters roof - a much better method of attachment). Meanwhile, I'm currently waiting for a new part to be delivered to fix it.

One comment though - I wouldn't suggest using a drill-bit. That would be made from hardened steel which is great for drilling but will tend to make the metal more brittle than mild steel (that's why drill-bits often break if you exert a bending force on them) and thus makes them not good for this purpose.

[psdc]

On 14/02/2007 at 0:23 AM, Stefan said:

I have found and fixed the problem. As I suspected, the problem was that the mechanism connecting the lever and the post was broken. It turns out that there is a pin that goes through the two to transmit the torque from the lever to the post.

Here is a picture of what I am talking about. The remnants of the broken pin is circled:

Here is the piece of the pin that was left in the lever. I'm a bit surprised that it was hollow.

To fix it, I had to squeeze the two parts together (because there is a wavy washer that pushes out on the lever) so that the holes lined up then hammer in a nail

I put it back in and turned it and the nail broke. So I put in a bigger, stronger nail (the biggest that would fit in the hole). I also lubed the spinlock mechanism. Now it is all as smooth as butter and works perfectly.

 

I'm having the same problem but I can't work out how to get the top off the car? I suspect the key statement is "Squeeze the parts together"

[Stefan]

I can't find the original pics for this but this writeup seems to be solving the same problem in almost exactly the same way.

 

http://rainydaymagazine.com/wp/2014/04/28/boxster-hardtop-fix/

 

Good luck!

[lkchris]

You might try loosening the pinch bolt that secures the spin lock to the car and then lift the hardtop off with the pin still in the spin lock ... maybe to provide easier access to fix the basic problem.

[psdc]

Thanks IKchris - I did think that if I could get the latch off the roof life would be easier but I couldn't work out how. attacking the other end of the locking mechanism is a good idea. Where is the pinch bolt?

[lkchris]

Just follow down from the spin lock--perhaps removal of the carpeted trim is required.  It's a little tricky to remove, and is surely covered here somewhere you could find by searching ... probably for hardtop installation.