Hardtop clonks !

[Robin]

Having fitted my hardtop last Friday, the weather has naturally turned warm & sunny , I'm also reminded that it clonks when I drive over bumps.
I've noticed the front of the bottom edge is about 2 mm further back on the LHS than the RHS however there is still a gap all round supported by rubber so I'm not sure exactly what is hitting what so as to make the noise.
I've got the fitting instructions showing three screws under the plastic cover over the fitting lugs, for adjustment in each direction.
So I'm going to remove the hardtop & make adjustments at the weekend & hopefully that may cure the clonking.
Anyone else had a clonking hardtop & any tips on solution ?
Cheers for any replies.

[tags]

Robin, When i had mine on, it "clonked" over heavy bumps and bugged the hell out of me. Worse though, the roof leaked at the A pillar, not much and nothing to worry about, but annoying all the same. Since having the roof off, i have gummi-pfledged the seals and it has never leaked. When i get the hardtop back on, i will know if the gummi-pflege has solved the leaks, if not then mine will definitely need adjusting. I remember asking on here if they could be adjusted last year when i first got the car. I was told they weren't adjustable. It would be interesting to see these instructions. Have you got them scanned, or maybe a good digital picture.

Let me know how you get on with the clonking. I also found that the 2 levers at the back would work "loose", not to fully open, but maybe a third of the way. I guess its just not tight enough.


Cheers.

[TonyCal]

Robin I have the ideal thing to stop your Hard top rattling. We use it to fix Windows and Doors its called fixing foam, only trouble is you might not get the top off again

[Robin]

Robin I have the ideal thing to stop your Hard top rattling. We use it to fix Windows and Doors its called fixing foam, only trouble is you might not get the top off again

Tony
Maybe I'll do that or put gripfill all round the edge, then sell it on as an ///Mcoupe for £4,000 more

Tags
PM me your email address & I'll send you the adobe hardtop instruction docs.

[Big Red]

Hi Robin,

If you remove the covers at the front of the roof, you will see adjusting screws on the brackets.
Also remove the plastic covers that sit in top of the rear fixings, and you will see 2 10mm bolts that hold the rear fixings in place.
with these all slackened, you can adjust hte roof until it is fitting squarely all round.

If it is rattling from the rear, the rear handles need to be tightened down to draw the roof down tighter.
These are adjustable by winding the slotted nut at the base if the handles.
There is a special tool to do this, but if can be done with a pair of pliers or vise grips.

The roof has lots of adjustments, front/back, side/side, up and down.
Might take a while playing about with it, but when adjusted properly, it shouldn't leak and shouldn't rattle.

I had a creak from mine when I first fitted it, "was not supplied with the car, I picked up s/h and painted it to match" but after I adjusted it properly I have had no problems at all.
Just refitted around 3 weeks ago after the summer, and fitted straight on with no adjustment this time.
Once you have it set up properly, you shouldn't need to adjust it next time you fit it.

If you need any other help, let me know.

Gordon

[Robin]

Gordon
Many thanks for your tips, which in conjunction with the diagram I have should hopefully set me on the right course of action to remedy the problems. One of the rear handles is rather loose even when fully rotated to the lock position. I'll need to tighten that slotted nut along with realignment using screws under plastic cover then.
I can imagine it may well be quite a fiddly process with an element of trial & error
I'll post an update here as to how I get on.

[kayell]

Hi Robin..I have sent you an email to let me know how you get on. Hope you get it. I have the same problem. ....Keith

[Big Red]

Hi Robin,

It really is pretty straight forward, easiest to remove the roof, remove the two plastic covers on the front, the two around the handles at the rear, and the two covering the rear fixing brackets.

Then refit the roof to the car, slacken all the fixings and set the roof into the correct position.
Then tighten the front, make sure the back is lined up and tighten the two 10mm bolts each side in the bottom brackets.
Then with the two handles locked down, tighten up the slotted nuts drawing the rear of the roof down tight.
Once fitted, remove and fit all plastic covers, and be happy that when you refit it it will not leak or rattle.
You may find the rear handles are a lot stiffer to lock into place, just turn them in a positive movement.

If you have any problems, give me a shout.

Gordon

[Robin]

Update
I took the black plastic covers off the hardtop fixings. When you do this all is revealed. They say a picture speaks a thousand words... well taking off the covers says even more.
There is a surprising amount of adjustment that can be done in all directions including if you slacken off the brackets that the T30 screws screw into by the windscreen pillars. The diagrams don't illustrate this rather important point that the windscreen pillar screw brackets can be loosened. Unless they are also loosened then the amount of horizontal adjustment will be restricted.
I've now adjusted the hardtop so the bottom corner edge is in line with the door frame as they suggest in the drawing.
To try & minimise vertical movement, I've also adjusted it to be pulled harder down in the vertical direction onto the car, though it seems to prefer to sit slightly lower on the RHS from some reason.
It clonks less now but still clonks if I hit a bad bump. So I'l play around with it a bit more at the weekend maybe.

[tags]

I adjusted the hndles on mine to make the gap less and make the top sit closer to the car. Seems to have reduced banging on bumps and only here it on heavy bumps. I still have a 2 - 3mm gap on the drivers side A pillar and will have to wait til i have an extra set of hands to adjust it, but as you sady, with the covers removed it looks simple to do.

Thanks for the instructions Robin.


Tags