Clam shell won't open

My 1999 996 cab has a clam shell issue. Basically it won't open. I tried the manual method and I must be stronger than I look because I broke the bolt on the clam shell motor in half. In another post someone suggested pressing down on the clam shell on the right side (driver's side) and guess what...that worked! And then the clam shell seemed to work fine and like an idiot I didn't worry about it until now when it won't open again. After a few curse words I figured out I needed to press down on the passenger side this time which required a fancy Porsche yoga pose as I hit the convertible close button while pressing down on the passenger side of the clam shell. That worked fine (well fine might be too generous of a word) when the top was down but now it is up and no amount of yoga training will allow me to hit the convertible open button and press down on the passenger side of the clam shell. Plus I want to fix this permanently because it is getting a bit ridiculous. Can someone please tell me how to fix this issue permanently before I rip the top out completely and turn the car into a dune buggy?

There is a motor that pulls the cables that release the clips that hold the tonneau cover allowing it to open. This motor isn't the problem but the cables are and they break. 1999-2005 Porsche 911 Drive Cable 996-561-021-03 | Sunset Porsche Parts The part number is 996-561-021-03 Three years ago is was $1K now it is $3k!

Have you checked the reservoir level for hydraulic fluid? It may be low.

Quotes source post: 20084081

The hydraulic system raises and lower the top but it is a mechanical system that controls the tonneau cover aka clamshell.

Likely issues with the motor-driven push/pull bowden cables that move the clamshell. If they get bent or damaged (likely by hidden gunk in the sliders at the end of the cables), that causes all sorts of issues with the clamshell movement or the latches that hold it down. Fix it sooner rather than later because more things can break if the problem gets worse. Ask me how I know... https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...more-pics.html

Thanks for all the tips. Yes, maybe these cables are bad but both right and left hooks release and both right and left parts of the clam shell raise about and inch, but the rear doesn't seem to lift up at all. Something is holding the rear down. Is there another hook at the rear of the clamshell? That is the part that seems stuck. I think I remember someone saying that there is some sort of clip or something that might fall off, but have no idea what they were talking about, Does that make an sense? Also why would pushing down on the clamshell suddenly cause these cable to work?

Yes, there is a third clip in the center rear of the clamshell. It's driven differently. There is a dedicated small cable connected to the clamshell drive motor that pushes that clip open. You can see it in Post#17 in the thread referenced above

Thanks Frisbee for the information, but I don't see the clip you referred to in Post 17. Maybe I'm blind. Can you point it out to me more specifically? Are the bottom two pictures in that post both related to the latch in the rear of the clam shell?

The latch is not in the photo. The cable that drives the latch is shown. Here is a photo of the center latch with the clamshell open: I think the cable for the center latch is part #8 in this diagram:

Thanks for explaining that and for the added pictures. In the diagram, to me it looks like the rear latch is number 8 that connects to a different cable that ends somewhere not depicted in the drawing. Am I looking at that right? If so, where does that cable go to? The Clamshell motor? I thought that only had two cables?

Found this image online and labeled it.

That is extremely helpful, thank you. I'm going to try and work on that tonight. Hopefully I can get the clamshell open so I can get access.