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Comments
ThanX, Steve.
They seem to have most parts on this site etc. M&T Manf. in RI
http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=12313
That one is best for reinstall and
http://www.toplessrabbit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2330
http://www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk/modules.php ... ic&t=12313
also the following has been helpful. there is a diy link on lower left...
http://www.cabby-info.com/
I need to try a fix of some sort. I was told gorilla tape but I think that some careful alignment, gluing, pinning & stitching might work??? What kind of glue ,Thread & type of stitch? Needle design? Anybody??? Perhaps some site pertaining to marine tops or sails???
ThanX, Steve.
I replaced my headliner pad and top. But i did try patches, gorilla tape etc. It won't last long.
On the cabriolet, I think it is the vinyl that dries out and shrinks. I purchased the cloth top and I am hoping that it will last longer. If you go that route. Definatley shop around. Prices range varies amazingly.
Looking at a 98 Cabrio GL for my daughter.
Can one install a Conv.TOP Motor into a
1998 GL ?
If so , could I do it myself? (pretty mechanically inclined).
How much $ ?
Junk yard?
Thanks !
several occassions when I parked the car, it refuse to start?
after about an hour, started right up?
I am a little afraid to drive and get stuck with no way home, is this a filter issue??
Does anyone know where to locate the fuse for the cruise control??
Currently saving to get her transmission fixed.....
Good luck with your transmission.
JR
Make sure you buy a top for a Mrk3 (<1999) since newer ones seem to be a bit wider and will overhang the window. On the driver side, I have to pull the top edge up to close the door when the window is up. Not a big deal but it will otherwise pinch the top.
JR
How do you disable the airbag light on the instrument panel?
Anyone have this problem
We've tried a few things.
1. the rubber "tubing" along the top of the door area sometimes folds over so there is not a good seal to keep out water. Keep an eye on it as you close the door. That's one problem.
2. Another was we found rain runs along the metal cowl (sp?) over the windshield, along the front edge of the convertible top until it finds a place to escape. It was over the driver's door. We have rust in the area of that cowl where water keeps accumulating.
Good Luck.
When we heard the motor click-click-click for the convertible top, and nothing moved, and found it wasn't a fluid issue, and then found it was $800 ish to replace the motor, we did this:
- in the manual you can "release" something, can't recall right now, to make it a manual top.
- once in manual mode it was still very very stiff to raise and lower due to the hydraulics still trying to do it's job.
- then we drained fluids from the motor, and left one of the screws "out" to let the vacuum escape (if memory serves), and that made it much much easier to raise and lower manually. The gist is, even after draining fluids, you still have to let the vacuum escape -- or something...anyhow once that happened it was a breeze to raise and lower. Never tried to replace the motor.
Good Luck.
Rhody3
ClaireS, Host
Automotive News & Views | Coupes & Convertibles
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Rhody 3
After experiencing similar symptoms, I disassembled the back seat and side panels in order to access the hydraulic rams for the convertible top assembly. I found one of the lines is leaking at the hydraulic fitting on the passenger side ram. I will be removing this line to see if it can be repaired or if a new fitting can be installed. The line, itself, is in great shape and the hydraulic pump works fine. Hopefully I can find a local resource to repair the line/fitting. If you are going to inspect your lines, you will be spending a good amount of time removing the back seat and panel assemblies as well as the trunk carpeting to expose all of the lines. Good Luck!
-TheImpalaMan
-TheImpalaMan
Thanks!!
But anyway, I bought my '85 Cabriolet after a freak hail storm (in central Virginia, which normally has lovely weather) had shredded its current vinyl top to feathers. Having already replaced the top once, the owner didn't want to do it again. I was a student, so I never considered getting the canvas top: I installed a brand new vinyl top, doing all the work myself. It was a pain, because I had to do it on a warm day, so that the vinyl would be ductile enough to stretch around the frame--which was no problem--until it cooled off in the Fall and suddenly the vinyl tightened up and my front cross bow began bowing in the opposite direction, so that there was no longer a seal above the windshield. (In the installation process, I also inadvertently bit a couple of holes into the top where I had used towel-wrapped vice grips--to give you an idea of the fragile quality of vinyl during manipulation.) And over the next year, the cheapness of the material really came to shine through, with creases and incidental holes popping up.
When I finished school, I decided to replace the top with canvas, and it has been worth every penny and the two days of installation. The whole top moves more fluidly--not hindered by the weirdly rigid "fabric"--and there have been no issues with inappropriate tension arising from the canvas like there was with the vinyl; plus it didn't stink like the brand new vinyl does. For all the cost and trouble of having the top replaced, it is decidedly worth the extra $150 to have a high-quality, durable roof on your car. If your transmission is idiosyncratic, maybe your car's on the way to a junk yard (I buy these old cars because the West German engineering and parts are more reliable and easier to repair than contemporary VWs, so I'm at a loss for the overall quality you're dealing with), but if there's any chance that you'll have it for over a year, your best bet is to replace the top properly.
Once you have these items here are some tips.
-Read the directions on how to use the awl to sew. I replaced the needle and twine that came with the awl with the sewing machine needle and thread since the originals seemed like they would make too big a hole in the cloth wouldn't look good. Check out a local awning, tent, or tarp company for different color threads. UV resistant thread will last longer.
-You have to be able to get one hand behind the material you are sewing. I was able to do this by lowering all the windows and unfastening the fabric bands that hold the interior liner to the top's metal frame. (The bands are just under the liner by the passenger windows.)
-Partially open the top to take tension off the material so you will be able to overlap the edges of the seam as they were before the seam split.
-When I sewed the passenger side seam I reached through the passenger back window with my right arm and held the awl in my left. To sew the driver's side seam I reached with my left arm and kept the awl in my right. With the tension off the roof material you should be able to pierce the top layer of the overlap and use the needle to pull it to properly overlap the under layer.
-Because of the way you use the awl you'll have to do all of the passing of the thread through the awl loops by feel. I didn't get someone to sit inside and pass the thread because it seemed more trouble than it was worth.
-I started my stitching at the end of split nearest the side of the car and worked my way up and over the curve of the roof. Begin your stitching in the undamaged section of the seam an inch or so away from where you'll have to pull the two pieces of material together. Finish your stitching about an inch into the undamaged section of the seam.
-Because access to the interior of the roof is difficult and you probably haven't done this often, expect this to be slow. It's also slow since you want to make small (1/8 inch) even stitches to ensure strength and good looks. The splits in my roof seam were each about 10 inches long, 5 inches on the top portion of the roof and 5 on the vertical side portion.
-Stitching the first 5 inches probably took me twice as long as entire split on the second split. Overall it probably took me 4 hours to stitch all 20 inches. Be sure to pull both the interior and exterior threads taut for each stitch before going on to the next stitch.
-Rest assured that you will get knots, tangles, loops, etc in the interior since you are working blind and have to have a fair length of thread to sew with the awl. When this happens I just tied off that length of stitches and began a new series of stitches.
This wasn't an easy process. I completed the sewing over two afternoons, but given the cost of having someone put a new roof on or take the old one off, repair and replace it, it was well worth it. I was told everything from $800 for a repair to $800 to put on a new vinyl top (not including the price of the top), I think it was well worth the time and effort.
I'll see if I can figure out how to post some photos.
Much apprecaied...
Leftie
Robin
I believe in your hardworking,and I wont fix hardtop too,almost split complete.
Please if You can send some picture or where I can buy instructions to take off
and saw that on professional machine. Thanks,
Sincerely
Derwagwnhaus
I have my rear seat and the carpet in the trunk. I have remove the screws and clips to remove the rear side panels but I am having trouble removing them. I do not want to damage the panels so is there a book or someone to explain the removal process.
Thanks so muck
Mike
AHK
--Roof motor will NOT retract roof (only a clicking sound...no sound of motor running)
--Roof motor WILL raise roof without problems
Any chance this could be an issue with the hand brake not indicating that it's set?
Any chance that there's an electrical fix that doesn't involve replacing the roof hydraulic motor?
Any other ideas that would lead to a less expensive fix?
At least I now have the top in manual mode and can put it up/down by hand.
Thanks for any assistance.
Wish I could offer more help. Worth it to check handbrake issue. Sounds logical. You might get lucky. Your problem sounds different than mine. I had my local VW Mr-Fix-it to investigate my problem, verify motor issue and provide a quote for replacing it. That's when the $800+ parts price tag arrived and decision to live with manual operation. Junk yard could offer no help for part.
Just looked in my VW Repair book for you (Bentley Publishing), could find nothing detailing parking brake link to convertible top motor. Sorry.
Hallkanea
I'll keep looking into this and let everyone know if I figure it out.