RutgersU

I've heard it is bad to drive with the electic top down without using the boot(car has windstop). Is this true for all trips at city and highway speeds?

Also, is it bad to leave the cab top down for extended periods of time (several days)? It seems like a lot of wear and tear on the electric motor to continuously raise and lower the top. So, which causes more harm: keeping top down or raising and lowering as needed.

Thanks for any information.

amfp

Without putting the boot on allows much more stress on the top lining and padding. As much as the boot is a pain, it should be used, expecially for highway driving.

Keeping the top down for extended period of time can allow the canvas to shrink. So when you finally put the top up it strains the cotton seams/canvas that can eventually cause it to wear prematurely and eventually rip.

I personally do not keep the top lowered more than one day, and bring it up overnight. Been doing this for 4 years, and top, back window are still like new, and had no problems with motors.

For the electric motors that I have heard can be a problem, just make sure when raising and lowering the top, the car is level, and top is properly aligned.

grungyspeed

I agree with mo.

To me the most important factors are to make sure the car is level when you use the top and make sure you put the top up at night.

The thing that bothers me about the cab tops on the 993 are that Porsche added alot of weight putting in motors for the electric top but still make us get out of the car to put the boot on.

Give me a manual top if I have to use a boot

I had my car for about 30k miles and got lazy putting the boot on. No problems, but it is recommended that you use the boot.

Mark in Hermosa

Just to add to the above, which is good advice, you should take good care of the window. On a monthly basis, I use Novus 1 & 2 to clean and protect the window. You can buy the stuff at any pet store that sells fish supplies. It is used to clean fishtanks (the acrylic [sp] ones. Use #2, then #1. Put it on just like a good wax.

Timg-B'ham

The main problem with driving without your boot is wind, in my opinion. That's what does the damage.

If you're just driving to the grocery store at a reasonable speed, I see no reason to hassle with the boot. However, if you're on the highway (or a fun twisty backroad) its worth the extra time to put on the cover.

As to the electric motors, make sure the metal top frame has tight connections. If you hear anything rattling around, take the time to grab a wrench and take care of it!

Grungy is right, make SURE you are on level ground when raising/lowering your top. Failure to do this will ruin an expensive $750+ motor (or three) in a hurry!

alex 95 993

Definitely make sure that you clean the back window properly. I made the mistake of letting it get somewhat dusty once and upon raising the roof found a small section had been scratched a bit.
Also if you have a light color paint job pay particular attention to your paint at the back of the car. I found that when I had the roof down and the cover over it, driving at higher speeds was actually causing the cover to stretch down a bit and rub against the body work in two areas causing a bit of discoloration in two spots. Luckily some heavy cleaning got the black out. I fixed this by gluing two small pieces of white cotton cloth to the bottom side of the cover at offending sections (maybe 1 1/2" wide each).

RutgersU

Thanks for the help, guys. I think I'll take your advice and just keep raising and lowering the top. I'll use the boot too...unless I get too lazy.

John

alex 95 993

BTW Has anyone had any problems with the locking rotor motors at the front of the top that lock the roof into place after it has been raised. Apparently one of mine has burnt out and the other is close to burning out. Atleast thats what the dealer mechanic has told me. I get a clanking noise when the roof locks as if one of the locking mechanisms is getting stuck. I am really wondering whether this is more a roof misalignment problem rather than burnt out rotors. I would think that if the motors are that gone I wouldnt even be able to lock the roof into place at all. I was quoted around $1300 dollars to get it fixed. I haven't fixed them yet because they still lock enough into place to shut the top, but because they dont go all the way I constantly get a warning light about the roof when it is up.

Mark in Hermosa

Alex:

One of mine went out last year. The part is $450 (each). Labor is about $80. This is a really easy DIY, in my opinion.

hn

While we are on the top subject, Mine has about 4 worn marks on both sides where the top folds (i think) but the rest of it is still in perfect condition. I was told i should change the whole top instead of just the sides because of the labor cost. I was quoted $1600 for a new after market top (Robbins German cloth)from a local shop.
Anyone has any opinion about fixing just the sides and also the Robbins top.
thx

Mark in Hermosa

No experience with replacing, but 2 questions come to mind:

1. How well will they stitch it together. A shotty job will cost you a new top in the long run. Will the fabric texture match?

2. How well will the color match? Take the fabric (in the sun and in artif. light) and compare. Hold at different angles.

alex 95 993

Mark:

Thanks for the info. One question though, what were your symptoms of a burntout motor. Was your top locking into place at all, as mine does lock into place but at the last second when the locking mechanism should fully engage I get a loud clicking sound and can see that the right hand lock is fully in, but the left hand one isn't. I am worried that this may be a combination engine/misaligned roof problem. Also could you point me to directions on replacing the motor myself.

Alex

Just a final question to anyone out there.
When putting my top down the top does not fold properly and I have to get out of the car to pull it into place. This appears to be happening because the metal brace (you can see the brace by looking between the two folds of the roof when its been put 3/4 of the way down) that packs the hood down into place is not extending enough. The result is that part of the fabric gets caught over the two metal pegs on each side of the roof. I actually ended up with two tiny tears in the fabric from the pressure of the metal pegs before I realized this was happening. According to a mechanic at a local porsche dealer there is a porsche note out about a fix for this. Does anyone know where I can find out information about this recommended fix as well as whether its something I can do myself.

Thanks in advance

D.G..

Alex,
I also own a '95 Cab. I was told by the dealer that a change was made to the mechanisim that folds the top as it goes down in 96+ models. He said the '95 could be retro-fited, but didn't think it was worth the money. Another change that went into the '96+ models was a teflon coated guide pin that allignes the top to the windshield. I purchaced two of these pins and installed them myself. They eliminated almost all of the creaking noise that the top made when going over a large bump. In fact, I'm not convinced that the noise that is still there isnt the infamous windshield creak.

Hope this helps.
Dave

alex 95 993

Thanks for the reply Dave,

When I first went into the dealership they did replace the pins free of charge with I believe the new teflon ones. What do you do then when putting your top down? Do you get out of the car and pull the fabric fold into place so that its not over the pins or have you not had this problem. It sounded from the mechanic like it was a pretty common problem.

Alex

Mark in Hermosa

Alex:

My motor would engage the top, then click, click, click like it couldn't follow through (ie the gears were stripped). It had nothing to do with alignment, the motor simply went bad.

I was lucky. The dealer goodwilled this one for me. He told me it was roughly $500 to replace, as noted above. As I mentioned, this is a DIY. I watched the mechanic replace it. It took a screwdriver and the metric hex socket to put it in. That was all. Take a look at your top. Unscrew it and look inside to get a feel.

Good luck.