Convertible Top Popped

[jojeeka]

I was putting my top down on my '95 the other morning and when it got all the way down I heard a pop!  I tried to put the top up right away to see if something was messed up and sure enough the top seemed to only be powered on the passenger side.  But really wouldn't go up with just the one side working.  I got my wife and asked her to assist the top on the driver's side as I pushed the up button.  That worked easily with the passenger side still working on its own and my wife slowly assisting the driver's side.

 

This weekend I hope to check out what exactly happened.  Any guess from what I described (the pop!)?

 

Does the top only have one motor or is there one motor for each side?  If there's only one motor then the motor seems to be fine and just something on the driver's side is bad, perhaps a top cylinder?

 

From what I've read on the forum I will need to take the back seat out.  Not sure how to do that.  

 

Also, do I have to remove the roll bar plastic for something?  I thought I saw something about removing the plastic around the roll bar in order to get to a top part.  Wasn't following exactly.

 

Any videos available on here or youtube on how to remove the rear seat all the way to diagnose the top problem?  I've a visual person.  Reading I don't always get it right away.

 

Thanks!

[Galaxie500XL]

Not necessarily. Before taking all that stuff off, check the ends of both hydraulic cylinders that raise and lower the top. I'd bet you'll find the end piece that attaches the cylinder to the top frame has broken on one side. You can check this out without taking anything apart.

 

Happened on my convertible several years ago, and cost less than $10 to fix. I simply replaced the end with a heim joint the same size and thread as the old part, and actually was a better stronger part than the original.

 

Took less than an hour to replace, and I didn't take any of the interior apart.

[jojeeka]

Thanks for the info!

 

I looked in the trunk and moved some stuff out of the way and all i could see was rectangular things on the driver side and in he middle.  But I only looked for a few minutes.  Tomorrow I should have more time to investigate.

[Afubar]

Not sure about a 95 but on my 93, the shop manual said to remove back seat to gain access to both the top pump and the RKE module. However, removing the seat gained me nothing. Access to both was easier from the trunk, simply remove everything from trunk to include the thin "carpet", crawl into trunk , gently lift up on the boot the top retracts into and you should be able to find the pump up near the back seat area (course top should be in the up position).

As for the top cylinders, those, I believe, are better seen from inside the car on either side of back seat. Good luck.

[Galaxie500XL]

Get in the back seat with the top raised, and look in behind the quarter window in the gap formed between the car body and the interior panel. You should be able to see the rod ends of the top cylinders without disassembling anything, but you may have to move the headliner aside to see.  I'd bet you'll find the metal fitting that bolts to the top frame to be fractured, and no longer attached to the top cylinder rod on the side that doesn't appear to be moving well.   A flashlight may be helpful.