nile13

My passenger side cab top motor is inoperable. Again. The recall was done about 4 years ago. Both top motors were replaced. Now one is bad again.

What seems to be happening is that the motor skips gears internally. As such, it can't even be closed manually.

Please give me suggestions. Has anybody been successful with dealer doing recall work again for free? What other options exist? Does anyone have a working (even very weak) motor that I can borrow for now? The car lives on the street and the roof is slightly open right now. Not great.

Arena993

nile13:

IIRC there is a DIY for replacing that gear that sits inside. I would venture to say a dealer would be no help after that period of time. The only other suggestion is to buy a used one on fleabay.

Mike

vern1

is this the locking motors that attach it to the roof or the ones that raise and lower?

nile13

Mike, since this is a Porsche AG recall, my assumption is that they should make it work. We'll see tomorrow.

Do you know where that DYI would be? I'll try to find it, but have not seen it yet.

nile13

It's the top locking motor. My side transmissions are detached and the rest of teh roof operation is manual.

Arena993

I am assuming that the dealer did the recall it was the locking motors that are on the top that lock it to the frame.

It wasn't like a DIY on p-car.com but someone did a writeup on the fix. And IIRC it was pretty much the same problem you are experiencing. i will look for it as well.

Mike

nile13

Mike, I found this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...t=cab+top+gear

I assume that's what you were referring to? I'll try to take the motor out tomorrow and see if I can turn the gear and make it ork at least temporarily.

Has anyone tried that $119 replacement gear from Vertex?

vern1

How can you confirm if the recall was done?

nile13

You can call the dealer and give him the VIN.

e9stibi

I just found this ebay offer in German ebay over the weekend:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Porsche-911-964-993-Cabrio-Zahnrad-Verriegelung-Verdeck_W0QQitemZ370062828172QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item370062828172&_trkpa rms=72%3A1229|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

He claims it is a quality product but 80 Euro is steep ...

Erik

nile13

That's about the same price as the $119 from Vertex after money exchange and shipping.

So, did anyone buy a gear from Vertex?

Arena993

Nile that is the thread I was referencing.

Mike

Arena993

nile13:

Here is a motor for sale on eBay. Just saw it this may help you out as well. Check the part number listed to see if it is the right one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts...=p4506.c0.m245

Mike

nile13

i took the motor apart today and, as expected, found a cracked gear with one strip tooth. For now i repositioned the gear so the stripped tooth is away from the driving gear. The roof latched and unlatched a few times i've tried it, but I do not expect this to be a permanent solution.

I also called around and here're are my preliminary thoughts so far:

1. Porsche most likely will not do anything to replace the motors again.

2. There is a special "recall" part number, 000.043.300.44.001 that will give you both motors from the dealer for about $400 (vs. $700 for one from Sunset under a regular part number). It is unclear if they will have the same problem. They are warranteed for 2 years. PCA membership might net a 10% discount.

3. Spoke Vertex to find out about their $119 gear. According to them it's made from harder metal and sounds like it might be one of the solutions. The person I spoke to also seemed like a nice guy and another suffering Sox fan. That's important.

4. I am very tempted to custom order some gears myself. if anyone knows of any gearmaking outfit around Boston or anywhere else, I might spearhead that effort.

5. If someone is willing to excersize their German and ask the German ebay seller whether he's willing to do some sort of small group deal, I'd like to see if that's an option.

nile13

Mike, thanks! I did not see that one on ebay yesterday. I might buy it as a backup or as a parts project to make gears.