Common Spyder Convertible Top Problems (Link, motor drive pin)

[wret]

Many Spyder owners have had some or all of these problems. Fortunately most are easy and inexpensive to fix.

Top does retract properly / top does not fit in well without help.
One very common problem with the 2g Eclipse Spyder roof system, and one that will effect all cars at some point, is the elastic straps connecting the floating rib to the 2nd rib. The elastic gets all stretched out. The elastic straps are connected by plastic clips that snap over the top of the ribs. They keep tension on the floating rib so that it folds properly as the roof retracts. They are easily removed by opening the roof partway and accessing them between the roof and the headliner. I replaced the fabric elastic with the heaviest stuff I could find at a fabric store. Just cut the stitching to remove the old stuff and use a double layer of the new elastic if it isn’t as heavy as the old (mine wasn’t). Just stitch it back on with a needle and heavy thread using the existing holes in the plastic clips. Be sure to test the length first to make sure it will stretch far enough to clip onto the ribs and still have tension for proper retraction. Others have gotten new elastic from the dealer. When you are done, clip them back in place.

The improper folding of the roof during retraction causes a couple of other problems. The worst of these is bent links that connect the floating rib to the side frame. You can access these by pealing back the headliner from the front. It’s held by a couple of screws at the corners and a strip of heavy Velcro. A sign that these are bent is that your headliner does not seem to fit properly and rattling of the links against the side frame. The links are pretty easy to straighten (too easy actually). Some have found that the links were broken and had to be replaced. I hear they are not cheap from the dealer.

Another problem resulting from the bent links is that there are staples attaching fabric webbing to the top side of the ribs to support the roof. As the floating rib gets more and more bent and out of position, the staples pull out. The bad thing about this is that they tend to stay there half pulled out and can start poking holes in the roof fabric. Remove all the staples as soon as you can. After replacing the elastic and straightening the links you can re-staple the webbing. This can be done with the roof in partially retracted position. Mark the webbing in fully up and latched position, retract the roof partway, line up the webbing over the rib, and fire in some staples. Be sure they go in all the way.

[wret]

Roof does will not raise or lower electrically.

Before tearing anything apart, verify that the switch is not set to manual. It's amazing how often that switch can get flipped by accident. It's located in the trunk behind the left taillight cover. If the switch is "auto" but the roof doesn't raise or retract, check the motor pins (see below).

Another common problem with the Spyder is broken motor gear pins. I was resigned to buying new or junkyard motors, which are very expensive (around $300 each new). I got brave one day and took one motor apart and found that the motor itself was fine but a pin, which holds a bevel gear onto the gear reduction, was broken. I replaced both of mine, one with a bit of drywall screw (very hard metal and hard to work with) and one with a piece of coat hanger wire. I have not had a problem with either side since but others have reported that the coat hanger wire sheared after a short time. The illustration shows where to look for the gear pin. The roof will open and close on only one motor so if yours does not move at all and you can still hear the motors, chances are both motors have sheared pins.

Tools needed: Torx screwdriver (m30), Philips screwdriver, socket wrench (8mm), hex wrench (2mm), punch

1. Remove rear seat bottom and back.
2. Remove rear speaker grill covers then remove the screws to plastic sidepieces.
3. Remove sidepieces. You can’t take them all the way out unless your remove the seatbelts. Just get them out of the way.
4. Disconnect power to top motors and remove two 8mm bolts and two torx screws holding each motor in place. There is a plastic spacer over one bolt on each side. Don’t loose them. You may have to bend a metal mounting ear inside the speaker cover area to access one side of the motor.
5. Remove the motors. Don’t mix ‘em up or you may be lowerin’ when you should be raisin. They may be identical though and just wired differently.
6. The motor assembly has three basic sections, which I call the motor, the gear reduction, and the transverse drive. Remove the transverse drive box held by four small hex screws. You can start the screws with the hex wrench then back them out with a small philips screwdriver. I recommend that you do not play with the gear reduction part it’s got a whole bunch of gears in there and it will take you a while to get them all back in properly. It’s pretty neat though how a very small motor with several hundred rpm’s can be reduced to about 1 rpm with some amazing torque.
7. Drive out broken pins with proper size punch.
8. Replace with suitable size pin. Look for steel wire about 2.4mm in diameter. I've had good luck with heavy coathanger wire I roughed up the pins with pliers to keep them in. Someone else said they left theirs long and bent the ends. The right size pin form the dealer should stay without modification. Edit: After a couple years I had a coathanger wire failure. I found that my small philips screwdriver had a shaft 2.4mm in diameter. I don't have that screwdriver anymore. This is hardened steel and is easy to bend in a vise and snap off a piece.
9. Put everything back together. The trickiest part is getting that darned spacer back in place on the motor mounting bolt. It will help to twist a piece of wire around it so you can stick it up in there in the right position while you spear it with the bolt.

Worn / faded top

I have played around with dyes and coloring, even paint to keep my top looking halfway decent. Nothing I tried really worked long term. I colored my tan top brown and eventually black with Renovo convertible top dye. While it looked better than my stained and worn tan top, nothing I tried made it look new again. Once the nap is worn away or gunked up with pigment, it just doesn’t look right again. I eventually put on a new top, which I bought for around $300. It took a whole weekend, working by myself, to install. I did a fairly decent job but I would encourage anyone to consider paying the extra money to have a professional do it. I can’t say it was particularly difficult and it does not require much in the way of materials or special tools but it almost a sure bet that there are parts of the process that you will have to do over and over again to get it right. And if you screw up, you may have to live with it. If you pay some one else, you get to be picky.

If you have made up your mind to do it yourself, send me a memo and I can give you some tips and maybe eventually right up some instructions.

Ron Tew

[wret]

View of "floating rib" and link with elastic replaced with latex tubing.