Targa owners - had my roof refurbished

Hi fellow targa owners. Ive had my Targa for 4 years and have noticed recently that the roof was getting slower to close. Then one day it made a weird noise and I decided to keep it closed and booked it into Northway Reading as they are one of the few independents who can tackle the Targa roof. On inspection, it was concluded that the chains needed replacing as well as part of the unblind mechanism (we managed to save the motors!) AS the same time I decided to get the back boxes replaced on the PSE as these were blowing. Picked up the Targa this week and the roof is now perfect and the exhaust is LOUD! They have been wired up to the PSE button on the dash too. Northway have done a great job (Paul is their Targa roof expert) and looking forward to enjoying the Indian summer (given i missed the whole of July and August weather with the roof closed!) My view is that all the targa roofs will eventually break down at some point and investing in a refurbishments will give them a new lease of life with new parts and a complete clean out. Not sure Paul wants to do many in a year but he is worth looking at if you have concerns on the roof. In terms of the Top Gear Valved back boxes, my first thoughts (in addition to the loudness) is that the character of the car has changed. I'm noticing a deep bass drone at just over 2000 revs which is different from the original PSE. I'm not a fan but it doesn't last long before reverting to a great sounding build to higher revs. Im expecting the exhaust to bed in too so it should change slightly over the next few weeks. Northway were impressed with Top Gear as they have had bad feedback on the DesignTek versions. I'll upload some sound bites in due course.

good news on having a working roof! As a fellow targa owner I have tried to keep it running smoothly, but am afraid one day it will give up! If you don't mind me asking how much was the roof refurb? If you dont want to post on here can you send me a PM thanks

Good to see there is someone out there willing to tackle the Targa roof, for on going maintenance however I purchased a boat lubricant "McLube Sailkote Dry Lubricant" its a bit pricey but after a couple of applications the roof runs very smoothly. its designed not to attract dirt or salt so won't clog the cables like grease or silicon sprays.

Paul is a top bloke. He fixed the roof on my old 968 cabrio - I was envisaging a big bill and he spotted a missing bolt - he had the parts diagram for the car, ordered the OEM bolt and fitted it - total cost of about £15...

I have a friend with a 996 Targa who had his roof refurbished by Precision (Demort did the work and the roof operates really smoothly now) earlier in the summer and the cost varies significantly depending on what they find when the roof is removed and the parts are all inspected as no 2 cars are the same on wear/tear and how they have been treated. Precision gave a best/worst case figure I believe and in the instance of my friends car, it was towards the lower end of the scale. Interestingly Targa cars seem to have problems with the rear wash wipe which can be problem that is uneconomic to fix.

Happy to share the cost of the roof refurbishment as its a fixed cost of £1700+VAT. This doesn't include the replacement of the motors or any unforeseen issues (I had to replace one of the curtain strips at +£100 for example, motors were fine thank god) I will be ensuring Northway lubricate the roof at each service so hopefully this will keep it clear of dirt and grime. Ive had the roof open permanently since I got the car back .

I paid a wee bit more for my jobbie (Porsche Torque) but it needed new motors as well! Silky smooth now and had a great time over the Summer!

I do think I have been lucky with mine, never had an issue with it and it has always been smooth and runs fairly quickly still even with the engine off. Unsure if that is because I use it often and always silicone the rails or just pure luck. I will be heading straight for the nearest bit of wood to touch it. :superstition:

I have tried a lot of different lubricants on mine, read a lot of forum posts from hear and the US about it. the best my a mile, and this is after I fully cleaned off the other gunk that was on there, is Silicone spray, works well and lasts well too. Probably not the right thing to use, but it works best for me

There are 2 schools of thought on this which ill get to in a bit .. Ive overhauled one or 2 of these , ive looked at every bit of Porsche literature i can find ... Porsche are a bit ecconimical with their details but basically they say you fit the cables / mechanism dry. Small amount of grease ( white ) on the linkage pivot points . The mechasnism that runs up and down the frame is supported on 8 plastic / rubber feet each side , the frame is ally with a plastic coating to help the feet move . The cables are standard sunroof cables in design .. if the metal tubes are gold in colour then they are original .. if silver then they have been replaced ... also they have strengthened the tube frame .. a mod they never told us about but which means the motors should never spin up and damage them . They Cant be replaced with the roof in situe and its 2 days work to overhaul one of these . Worst one ive seen .. and when i get them they basically dont work at all .. it was a 2010 997 .. it had had cable replaced and the garage used something like axle grease on the cables and mechanism .. Frame was badly worn after 1-2 years . Lubricant / grease will attract dirt .. bits of leaves , mud , grit etc ..this in turn becomes a grinding paste .. this will wear away the frame causeing a flat spot. This is in the mid section .. the ones i see are pure ally , there is no coating left .. the plastic feet jam on this .. so even when its cleaned with new feet it can still lock up . Ive found that the less feet you need to change the better .. change all of them and it will lock solid .. new frame really is needed but useing old feet is a work around . So .. 2 schools .. Dry .. it works fine but will eventually jam due to normal debris build up on the cables .. 15 years is what i expect with this. Lubricate .. well if you do it regually then in therory it will continue to work .. your kinda washing away the old grinding paste or just keeping it so wet it will slide .. i expect the frame will still wear though . i dont have the answer there im afraid .. Im a dry person but if lub works for you then im not going to argue . After thought .. the front glass seal .. it has x2 drain tubes .. ive seen these fail after 2.5 years .. the latest ones .. well .. 2 out of the 3 have come back after 3 monthes with broken tubes .. considering ive replaced something like 50 of these it had me puzzled .. Im of the opinion Porsche has changed manufactuors and the materials is not that good .. we have nothing back from Porsche .. but atm im wary of changeing these .