Convertible top not in limit position

Hi all, New here so apologies in advance if I’m not following forum guidelines perfectly. I’m in the middle of a convertible top repair on my 2005 Boxster and I’m having a strange issue. I had to replace the drivers side convertible transmission gear and removed both transmissions from the car during the repair. During this process, I (regrettably) separated the pieces of each soft top pushrod. The car is now back together but I’m having an issue that I cannot find documented anywhere else. I have adjusted both pushrods so that the convertible top will close, latch, and will not warn me that the top is not in its limit position. However, when opening the top, the car will tell me that the top is not in the limit position. Its worth noting that when I attempt to open the top, the clamshell does not seat fully on its own. The motor sounds like it is under more load and will stop itself (I assume as a way to prevent itself from burning out) but the clamshell will be a hair above where it should be. I can give it a push and make it seat fully, but the car still doesn’t recognize that the top is in its "limit position" So, my question is as follows: Does my issue stem from the convertible pushrods being incorrectly adjusted or perhaps something else like an overzealous use of lithium grease in the transmission causing the switch to fail in one direction only? Any help is greatly appreciated. The weather is warming up here in Colorado and I’m eager to have a working top again! Thanks!

Yes - the pushrods are trying to push the top further into the top-well, and it can't do that. They then stall the motor which means the lid doesn't close. Things are adjusted correctly when the top stops just after seating on the windshield header when putting it up, and when it goes down, you hear it sort of stop and then run for a second. That second of run is it locking down the lid.. It's fine for it to display "Top not in limit position" as long as it's easy to close the latch that holds the top to the header, and then that message goes away and the windows go back up. BTW - when rebuilding a gearbox - you did go through the gearbox alignment?

Hey there, Thanks for your reply. And what timing! I just called it quits after monkeying with it for a bit this evening. I was hoping to see a reply from you as you seem to be the man when it comes to convertible top repair Any tips on adjusting the length of the pushrods? I tried closing the top all the way and then reaching through the back of the cabin to tighten down the bolts and got the result I described in my original post.

Try to adjust it so the top just goes into the sockets in the header when it stops. That's where it's supposed to be. You have it going hard against the header, so it's going too far. It should go just far enough that the latch catches without having to push on the top..

Thanks, very helpful. Im hitting a bit of a speed bump trying to tighten those bolts up with the top closed, however. There’s not enough clearance to get a torx bit into them because of other parts of the top. I can get them finger tight, but they slide out of position when I raise the top for better access. Would removing the clamshell help or is there another trick to this?

I generally tighten them with the top about 3" from the windshield header. And I use a tiny ratcheting wrench that takes a naked torx bit (from any of the 40 or so kits in my small tools drawer), in total - it only really requires a distance equal to the length of the Torx bit to be used. Amazon.com: NEIKO 03044A 1/4-Inch Drive Mini Ratchet Screwdriver Set, 8 Pc, Cr-V Steel, Tight Reach, 90 Degree Screwdriver, Low Profile, Close Quarter, Right Angle Offset, Short Phillips, Slotted, Torx Star : Tools & Home Improvement Amazon.com: NEIKO 03044A 1/4-Inch Drive Mini Ratchet Screwdriver Set, 8 Pc, Cr-V Steel, Tight Reach, 90 Degree Screwdriver, Low Profile, Close Quarter, Right Angle Offset, Short Phillips, Slotted, Torx Star : Tools & Home Improvement www.amazon.com There are others on the bottom of the page - some with more bits included.. This is one of those tools that once you have it, you'll wonder how you did without it.

I’ve got one of those handy. It’s been helpful so far. Just wondering, what position should the metal clamshell be in when the top is three inches from the windshield? I assume it makes sense to measure from the forward tip to the rest of the bodywork…

The clamshell should have started to close, but isn't fully closed. It is only fully closed when the front of the top contacts the header - and REALLY is fully closed after the 1 second added run of the motor that you hear after latching it. That's it being locked down by the spring/cylinders that pull it down (and push it up..)

I’m thrilled to report that the problem is solved! I’ll add a couple notes to hopefully help others down the road as I couldn’t find anything about adjusting the pushrod length elsewhere. What I ended up doing was removing the clamshell entirely via the 6 10mm bolts on the arms. I disconnected the hydraulic cylinders from the clamshell arms to prevent them from getting in the way. Then, I closed the top how deilenberger described, with the top forwards enough to catch the latch, but not actually latched. At this point, the pushrod bolts were still loose so they could slide to the right length. With the transmissions and levers constrained to their final position and the cloth top in its correct position, the pushrods could only be one length. I simply tightened them down, lowered the top a bit so I could reconnect the clamshell arms, put the cowl back on, and I was ready to go. The top now opens and closed fully with no faults. The key was having the clamshell off and disconnected as the bolts were very difficult to access otherwise. A bit unlucky that it was raining in my area by the time I got it finished but I’m ready for sunny weather now! Huge thanks to you, deilenberger. Hopefully this helps someone in the future avoid the same headache.

@ccoppin26 Excellent result! A great way to set the length. The only downside I see to that is the bolt heads for the lid are painted in position, so they have a seamless look to them where they're tightened down. I guess you lose that a bit removing the lid, but in the scheme of things (1) no one will every notice it except you (2) It's the right way to do it (somewhere, perhaps on AllDataDIY - I've seen mention of this. It didn't float to the surface of my mind until you mentioned how you did it. Thanks again, especially for following up on the fix - so many people (probably from Facebook) ask a queston, get some good answers, and we never hear from them again.

@ccoppin26 Thanks for this. I'm currently dealing with both pushrod plastics broken. The passenger pushrod is also bent. I'm not sure how much force it would take to bend one... hopefully not a lot. I bent the passenger pushrod back as close as I could to match the driver side, and reinstalled ebay plastic ball ends as close as possible to the original as I could see. However, when lowering the roof to the final position (I think thats when it happened) the passenger pushrod plastic broke and the driver side popped off. Maybe the driver side was no all the way seated. So I'm hesitant to try another set of plastics and have them snap again. Adjustment seems very difficult without taking the clamshell off (which seems like a big deal). Maybe I'll try the thin wrench as mentioned by @deilenberger I have an original Porsche pushrod ordered to replace the passenger side just in case.

I'd agree wutg @ccoppin26 - you need to see what's going on at this point. The length adjustment on the pushrods really is critical when the top is CLOSED (leading edge against the windshield header, and latch able to be latched.) That's the real basic adjustment. The open state is just a "where it falls" sort of thing, it has to retract the top enough that the lid can close over the retracted top, but there isn't any critical dimension there. If you get the pushrod length correct for the top closed, the top-open position should work just fine. I'd strongly suggest: 1. Take photos of each of the bolts holding the lid to the brackets 2. Using a grease pencil or other marker to mark the exact positions of each bolt head so they are returned to the correct spot. One thing - I misunderstood when I first looked at the top mechanism. What looks like hydraulic cylinders - aren't. They are springs inside a carrier assembly. When the lid is open - the end connected to the spring fully retracts toward the spring housing. The spring is stretched (and the end extended) when the top lid is closed, the spring action is there to make the adjustment non-critical, and to keep the top down and in place with some constant force on it pulling it down. Once you realize what it's doing - it starts making a lot more sense. Happily - the cylinder/springs never go bad - since they're awfully expensive in the Porsche parts book..

I had tried that. Again, it’s a lot easier to just remove the clamshell. That way you can get it into the correct position and snugged down before moving it. You’d think the pieces could stay still for ~1/6 of the top operation… but it just won’t. I was contorting my arm for hours before I caved and took the shell off. Save yourself the pain!

I recall someone saying that they thought they had the ball joints on, but they weren't pushed completely on. That said, are you sure they were on completely? I think that this point you need to check the mechanism more thoroughly. There may be something else bent or blocked in some way, causing the problem. I would remove the ball joints and raise and lower the top manually to get a feel of it. It should settle down on both ends without being pushed... if you feel varying force or hear something weird, you may be able to see what's binding when you're near that point of resistance.

I was able to install without removing clamshell. I screwed the plastic unto the pushrods, then put the plastic ends on the balls, and then lowered the roof until the clamshell was almost closed (maybe 3 inch opening). Then I was able to reach in and screw in the bolts on the arm of the pushrod. Maybe I have longer skinnier arms then most. The drivers side initially was still popping off at the very end of the closing sequence. I couldn't quite understand why, but lining the plastic cup against the ball, it seemed a few mm short. So I unscrewed the plastic a couple turns to lengthen the arm. That resolved it and it would open/close without popping off. To assist a little, I removed the big plastic covers on the inside of the roof mechanism and that gave me more access to the ball joints. I actually extended the passenger side one turn as well as that seemed to get the roof closer to the windshield on the closing cycle. I think the roof works better than it did before now. The only thing I don't really understand is why the mechanism turns the transmission arms past the most extended position at the end. Maybe that has something to do with what happens when the roof is folded as opposed to when the roof closes. Also the new plastic pieces I ordered fit the balls better. Not that hard to put on, but easier to take off.

The forward edge of the top should touch the header and basically seat the two guide posts into their sockets. There should be VERY LITTLE effort required to lock the latch assembly. If force is required, that force is then transferred back through the top frame to the plastic attachment points, which eventually causes them to fail. This really is a critical adjustment for longevity of the opening/closing mechanism. The mechanism runs after the header is reached by the front of the top - to lock down the lid. When it does that final run, it's pulling down on the lid with the spring links, which extend a bit and exert pressure downwards on the lid. Just curious - how long did it take you to get the plastic pieces back on the lid-arms? I've done it either instantly, or stood there cursing for 10 minutes. Finally I got smart, and used a grease-pencil (fancy crayon) and marked the curve of the arm it attaches to on the plastic. Line them up and they go right on. No more cursing.