hardtop not sitting right?

[amaurer]

I'm replacing the weatherstripping on my front doors as I have had a gap at the top. It seems, however, that this may be due to the hard top not sitting just right, however.

Take a look at this gap, present only on the right side. Is this normal? I tried giving it a beating, and it wouldn't sit down....

 

[Degnol]

There is a funky little piece of weatherstip that's supposed to go in there. Did you check for some debris in the "socket" to see if it would allow the post to go home?

GL

Ed

 

[okie]

I'm replacing the weatherstripping on my front doors as I have had a gap at the top. It seems, however, that this may be due to the hard top not sitting just right, however.

Take a look at this gap, present only on the right side. Is this normal? I tried giving it a beating, and it wouldn't sit down....

it could be me but i noticed on your tub rail the hardop bottom lip is hitting a bolt. When i was installing my hardtop after it was painted ( was a pain in the ass getting everything alligned without chipping) it fit very snugg. so no that isn't normal. Oh i almost forgot : where that hardtop post goes into the tub , on the lower part of that whole that the post goes into there is an adjusting screw that will tighten the hardtop. heres the picture of what i am talking about. And no this hardtop adjuster bolt is not the same as the door striker bolts although it might help loosening them a bit.


i hope that helps

okie

 

[HawkDriver]

Okie, those screws are the door striker screws.

Did you loosen those up and make sure it's letting the post slide all the way down?

A small gap is normal if you don't have that piece of gasket thingy. Unless you used abnormally thick weatherstip on the rest of the edge, it should only be like a 1/8" gap or so.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

I know you live on the "convertible friendly" coast, but I'm in PA and I'm days away from taking my top off. I'd be worrying about that problem in October. Those tops can be a real PITA to continulously take on and off.

 

[amaurer]

I've never had the top off, so honestly I don't even know how it works. This little annoyance is just one in a long line courtesy of the previous owner. I do know, however, that this gap raises the top of the door frame enough to prevent the weatherstrip from sealing, which is irritating.

The screws from the striker don't seem to be the culprit, I've had them in and out a ton.

I gather there are supposed to be some bolts holding the hard top posts to the tub; I found a threaded hole in the tub at each post, about 6" below the seam. I didn't have a bolt in place in either one; are these suppose to hold the posts via friction or do they engage a hole in the post?

 

[KOOTENAY KRUZER]

Friction.

 

[yellowstoner]

Try trimming just a little off the post (an inch or so) that is not going in all the way. That helped on my top when I was having a similar problem.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Do you have the weatherstripping that sits on top of the tub on both sides? That could explain the difference on each side. But a small gap is normal since there's a weatherstripping that should go there anyway.

Also, there is a sheet metal baffle inside the door frame about 10" down from the top. if one of the posts are hung up on it that will cause this problem. If you don't put the posts straight down the frame it will deform this baffle and make it impossible to get the posts in all the way. I needed to take a jack handle and wiggle it around in there to get it back into a circular shape.

Or you could just cut the posts.

 

[Greg1190]

When I put mine back together I had to use nylon ratchet tie downs to square everything up. I had to pull the windshield back due to new rubber seal between window frame and tube. Then I had place a strap over the top to pull it down towards the tube. Just a lil added muscle to help me line everything up and to assist the new tube seals in settling in. Just a thought. And Oh! there is a lil seal that goes between the post and the tube. You can cut beer coozi for that. But drink the beer. Don't let it go to waste.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Mine has similar gaps on both sides. The PO cut off both posts flush rolleyes, so that's not the issue, at least in my case.