I used lithium grease.

Hi All,

I have a 2004 base (as most know):

The convertible top recently began making new, somewhat strained, noises while the clam shell opens. Once the calm shell is complete the actual top movement is normal.

I opened it up and looked around. I thought i saw one of the swing arms out of alignment (in retrospect i think not). What i did discover is that the metal tracks/rails that they slide in were dusty/dirty and very dry. So i cleaned them with WD-40 (cheap) and them lubricated them with teflon infused lubricant. The noise is greatly improved/eliminated. Ah, memory is imperfect.

Any general advice on those parts, maintenance etc?

TIA,

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Generally the grinding comes from a broken gears in one of the transmissions.
You can purchase aftermarket gears through eBay.
The gears are plastic and you should replace with plastic.
Several places offer aluminum gears as replacement but those are dangerous as they could badly hurt someone's arm.
The plastic ones are made to break albeit they become a wear item with time.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

That's good to know since eventually I'll have to replace them.

But given that the noise went away, i'm thinking it was either the motor struggling or the arm binding/jumping.

What do you lubricate that metal track with?

TIA,

Thanks Pedro

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Seems to have worked fine throughout.

thanks. My thoughts were 1) HHS2000 (awesome stuff but costly), 2) lithium, 3) what i have (teflon spray lube)

Was not sure if it is advisable to use a dry lube due to exposure to debris.

G

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com