jnnking

I've searched but couldn't find the whole story. Exactly what and where do I disconnect something to allow me to manually open and close my top?

Thanks!

pchak

I just keep the main nuts just a little loose (not too loose-the washers will rattle).
So much faster, especially when you run out to the parking lot to beat a rainstorm

jnnking

What main nuts are you referring to?

allill

bill, how heavy are those 18" cups versus the 17"s. sorry jnnking, didn't mean to jack the thread. bill's car looks nuts with those, i like it a lot.

fluid15

Next to the rear seats, remove the panel and you'll see the linkage where the bolt/nut can be loosened. I believe there is even a photo in the owners manual showing this, as a remedy for a failed motor (using one of the provided tools).

jnnking

Thanks fluid15, now I know where to look.

murfysflaw

resurrecting an old thread... so you can just leave those nuts loose and operate manually or if you're going to do this for an extended period of time, would you be best suited to actually remove entirely? i'm debating converting to manual myself.

jnnking

Yes, you can loosen them to operate manually. I'm not sure about removing them though. I'm not sure, but they probably need to stay in place as a hinge point.

Deadeye

It's actually a large bolt (with a 19mm head) located behind the small access plug just above and rearward of the rear speaker in the side panel. I loosened mine about 6 weeks ago after reading a thread about a broken frame bow and will not go back to powered operation until I have to sell. The only minor irritation is the idiot light in the clock but I think I'm going to pull the bulb. I think this just loosens the mechanical connection between the cable drive and the operating arms. OP mentioned he's been doing this for years w/ no problems.

murfysflaw

That's what I'm thinking too... I did it manually and it seems I can lower faster than the power anyway since I walk around and make sure it's folding correctly, etc. anyway.

What the hell..> i'll give it a shot and see what happens.

PG993

I did the exact thing a few weeks ago as well but I also disconnected the cable from either side of the motors behind the back seat to prevent the gears from working. I find that I now use the top much more often than before since I am not constantly worried about it will jamming or breaking down from constant opperation. I open the top and close it at will- call it 20 seconds with my kid on one side or 30 sec on my own.

Paul

sdcabrio

So you just use the console button to latch and unlatch at the winshield and manually take it from there?

Sounds fine to me. I think I'll wait until I have a motor issue to do this, but nice to know.

The power aspect of the top is no big deal 'cause I always get out and put the boot on,........it's not like I just power the top down and drive off.

rj777

Jim,

I recently switched to manual top operation. Cabrio tops can be somewhat problematic on 993s. I've gone through two cables, some general maintenance to get the side windows to close with a tighter fit, and two sets of top motors (the ones that latch the top to the windshield), although I will say that PCNA came through for me on the latter item. I got one set free as part of the recall, and PCNA compensated me for the first replacement set because the factory originals failed about a year before the recall started.

I thought I was all set to resume a life of carefree 993 automatic cabrio top operation, but when I went to put the top down (electrically) last fall on a group drive, the top stopped moving about halfway through its descent, and I didn't want to force it, so I immediately put it back up (electrically), and it stayed up for the rest of the winter and spring.

I remember Bill in Nashville (from this forum) telling me--at a local PCA dinner earlier in the year--that he finally went to full-time manual top operation a while back, so I decided to try it too.

I found that there is one helpful thing to keep in mind. I guess in retrospect, it may be obvious, and you may have already figured this out, too, but I'm not sure that it is explicitly spelled out in the owners manual, and it wasn't obvious to me, until I got a tip from a friend.

After you've loosened the bolts, and before you attempt to actually lift & lower the top manually, you will need to depress the power top-down button (for about 2-3 seconds) to disengage the windshield latching motors. As soon as you see the latching bits swing over (and recede), then simply let go of the power button, get out of the car and manually lower the top.

For returning the top to its closed position, just reverse this process. Raise (lift) the top manually, set it down on top of the windshield, get in car, and depress the power top operaton button (again, for about 2-3 seconds to) 'reset' the top motors into their fully locked position.

As others have said, the manual process is quite quick. Much quicker than waiting for the automatic operation to complete.

I hope this is helpful.

Regards,

Rick

dlambert

Thanks for resurrecting the thread. I recently purchased a 993 cab and while the top works well would like to not have issues on the road. My question is... if I go to manual mode how difficult is it to reverse the operation and go back to automatic mode? Thanks for your remarks.

David

rj777

David,

Just tighten the bolts inside the rear side panels and you should be 'good to go'. That's it. Nothing else involved. You're back in full auto operation mode.

Regards,

Rick