What a horrible experience.....

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So my son was sitting in the back seat of my Mustang a few weeks ago and when he got out, his butt was wet from the seat...so I started poking around on the mustang forums to see if this was a common problem with the convertibles. It turns out that there is a drain in the panel behind the door that gets clogged from runoff from the top. I read a few posts and took the back seat out and all the panels off of the passenger side and fixed the leak....which was a major pain all by itself. Then I decided to check the other side just to make sure it wasn't clogged. As I started to remove panels, liquid started leaking into the area the back seat would be. Apparently with moving the top up and down to get the panels in position, the actuator blew a seal and started shooting hydraulic fluid EVERYWHERE. At this point, the top was all the way down and had to have the wife hold the button to raise the top while I was pulling it up and fluid was spraying....it wasn't very enjoyable.....
 
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Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Somebody at Ford must love hydraulics, as most other manufacturers use electric actuators for this type of stuff.


Many, if not most/all verts use hydraulics. I know many GMs do, including Saab. Mercedes uses hydraulics as well.
 
Whatever happened to the manual top that you folded yourself? I bet it's not even available anymore (except in a Jeep Wrangler)
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Whatever happened to the manual top that you folded yourself? I bet it's not even available anymore (except in a Jeep Wrangler)


But, but....don't you like convenience???
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Problem with conveniences like this is when they fail they cause a whole lot more INconveniences and added cost as well.

I liked the old Miata drop tops light weight easy to raise and secure, and less to break, who needs power?
 
I think the most recent cars with manual tops were Miatas and corvettes. Thanks guys, it was a mess but I don't think I'm gonna fix it anytime soon....still gotta fix the radiator that cracked a few weeks ago... (Face palm)
 
Stang40, not to make light of your situation, that royally sucks all that stuff piling up at once. Hope you got it cleaned up ok with no additional damage.


But...

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Whatever happened to the manual top that you folded yourself? I bet it's not even available anymore (except in a Jeep Wrangler)


But, but....don't you like convenience???
crackmeup2.gif
20.gif


Problem with conveniences like this is when they fail they cause a whole lot more INconveniences and added cost as well.

I liked the old Miata drop tops light weight easy to raise and secure, and less to break, who needs power?


LOL! Yeah I guess they design things nowadays based on people that NEED to have the top they can put up and down while driving, smoking, texting, eating and putting on makeup. Too much inconvenience to stop and actually (UGH!) push something with your bare hands!?!?! eww.
 
That stinks - both figuratively and literally!

A buddy of mine was looking for either a Z3 or Z4 BMW (I don't remember which one) and one of his requirements was that it had to have the manual top instead of the optional automatic one. Of course in his car you could to the whole job with one hand without moving from the driver's seat.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Whatever happened to the manual top that you folded yourself? I bet it's not even available anymore (except in a Jeep Wrangler)


IIRC, Miata/MX5s still use that.
 
I think that if the drain clogs on mine, I'll go to either my top installer or a dealer. I feel for you.
 
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