I have a 2004
Boxster S
, I can hear the top motor trying to open however something is not right - only the left side of the compartment lid is raising. I have been searching forums and YouTubes and cannot figure out how to lift the compartment lid manually to access the mechanism to troubleshoot. After taking this photo I lowered the lid and don't really want to tweak it again... Suggestions?
I'm sure
@deilenberger
will chime in with MUCH more detail, but the first step would be to look at the ball joints for the mechanism, as there are designed-to-fail if something is really broken. Your manual should detail how to inspect these, and there are plenty of videos and posts here as well. The basic idea is that you are lifting the rear of the convertible top, so you can see these - my guess is that one or both of yours are broken.
Once these are disconnected, you can raise/lower the roof manually as well, so you can feel if it's binding or not (by hand). You can also test to make sure the transmissions (two motor boxes with gears inside) are working at all... maybe one is broken.
In the end, someone will need to dive in and do some troubleshooting. It's just a mechanism, so you can do this, but you need to be patient and observant, that's all. I expect a mechanic can do this as well, if you're not inclined to.
Thank you
@schwinn
- problem I was having last night was finding how to manually lower the top. I could not find it in my Bentley manual and all the posts I was finding were demonstrating how to manually raise the top (not lower). I finally found a post on RennTech that seems to be helpful (but also seems like it is a PITB). I am going to make another attempt tonight.to find those elusive ball joints and try not to break anything.
Having been working on replacing my ball-sockets tonight, I'm well-versed on where to look for them. They are visible with the roof in "service" position just being and inward of the body where it starts to curve for the top behind the door.
To convert the top to all manual operation - you need to remove the ball-sockets from the bow on the top that moves the forward edge of the top. Obviously - one on each side. Then you can use the motor to open and close the lid. If you want to manually operate the lid (something I'd only do if I was repairing things) - there are two arms coming off the bell-crank on the transmissions (one arm per side) that connect to a thing that looks like a little hydraulic cylinder. It's not actually a hydraulic cylinder, it's a contained spring that is designed to be pulled on. It moves the lid to the closed position then is pulled on a bit more to hold the lid down. If you needed to manually operate the lid - you'd have to remove that spring assembly.
Rather obviously - one side of yours has come unfastened.
This is looking at the left (port) side gearbox and bell-crank. The part in the red circle is where you have to disconnect the spring assembly (#8) in order to manually open the lid.
The part in the aqua color circle is the arm that goes forward to the front hoop on the top. It connects via a similar ball-socket arrangement..
The above is the ball-socket joint from the arm that started in the aqua circle in the picture above this. This is the one that moves the convertible top. The image is a bit confusing since there is no vantage point where you could see what this picture shows. It really should be horizontally flipped to make sense..
OK - flipped. This would be viewing the passenger side (starboard, aka right-side) on a left-drive vehicle. The arm comes forward from the bellcrank as seen in the 3rd image up.. You're viewing through the right fender/quarter-panel, through the metal. You obviously can't do that - so imagine looking at it from the trunk (left side of the picture) or the top of the gap between the body and top (upper right corner of the picture looking down.)
I don't think these are your problem, but you may want to disconnect these so the top isn't operating while you're trying to get the lid working correctly. Your choice. If you do plan to disconnect them - have spares of the plastic ends. They are designed to break if execssive load is put on them, and you might do that disconnecting them. I always try to keep a spare set around - they're cheap on eBay (and probably even cheaper on AliExpress.)
I think the point circled in red in the top picture is where your trouble is..
Good luck and let us know how it works out..
Yikes.....all these
Boxster
top issues make me SO HAPPY I have a
Cayman
. Good luck to those struggling with these issues.
Thank you so much
@deilenberger
for your expertise and the detailed write-up and especially the graphics. I did not get a chance to poke at it today (I an in the Seattle area and we aren't getting a lot of sun at the moment).
Yeah, yeah, wiseguy!
TOTALLY joking with that comment... but I get what you're saying. Honestly, I would never have a
Boxster
if it wasn't a convertible... it was the only reason I bought it, as it was intended to replace the motorcycle + car that I had before (ie, this was the best of both worlds, within reason). I would have never experienced the
Porsche
world without it, scary enough to say!
Still, I'm very happy with mine top, and have had no issues (other than a broken part which was caught soon after purchase, and repaired on Carvana's dime). As long as it's setup properly, it works great... even after 13 years. We're just learning how it REALLY works... in case we ever have to tinker with it.
Again, no insult intended to you at all! I get it... fewer moving parts = fewer issues in general. (That's one reason we just bought an EV as well!)
Well my garage is finally above 40 deg and there is forecasts of sun sometime in the
next
couple months so finally getting around to tearing the
Boxster
apart.
@deilenberger
thank you again for the detailed info and pics, I was able to get the lid open and diagnose the issue. The right side cable was broken, the transmission and everything else seems ok. I have been trying to see if something else might have led to the cable breaking, the top appears to manually raise and lower normally and nothing else seems damaged.
The only concern I have is with the push rod - both sides (L&R) appear to be seeping oil. I have not been able to find any info online about what they even do or if this should be a concern or not. Can anyone tell me if they should be replaced or if it is not a big deal (they are about $250 ea so not super eager to replace if I don't have to....)?
That's not a concern. It's probably oil someone sprayed in the balljoint and got carried away. These aren't hydraulic, although they DO look like it. They push the lid up, and when doing that are just like they are now.
They also pull the lid down, and if you wonder how the system knows how much pressure to use to pull the cover closed - it's this cylinder that does it. Inside it is a spring - that is extended when the cylinder is made LONGER. It's made longer when the top seats on the body and the bell-crank pulls the other end of the cylinder/rod. It's a very clever system to provide spring pull-down force on the top so alignment isn't MM critical.
As far as I could tell - they're just a simple spring mechanism with no hydraulics involved.
It looks as if the cable was routed with a kink in it - had anyone been working in the trunk lately?
