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If anyone knows where to find the thread about affordable top replacement and sources, I would love a hand finding it. Search didn't seem to help much..
If you have experience with gluing in the entire window, not just one portion of the window perimeter, and have tips to share, I'd be grateful.
Ugh. I just bought a 2002 a week ago and one corner was coming unglued, as well as maybe a 6 inch long area at the top middle. I've ordered clamps and Rhino glue, which some swear by, apparently, but I had to run it around town to get new tires, get re-inspected, etc, and of course it's 99 degrees in Maryland today. The glass completely fell out. Then I went to disconnect the lead for the defog, and found a 4 inch wire with nothing attached.
I had found a thread earlier where people were giving suggestions of new tops, one of which was very good for only around $500 (plus whatever for installation). Looking for that thread now, in case my repair goes poorly. I also will continue looking for more step-by-step instructions, particularly for removing the original failing adhesive.It seems I have a pretty sticky mess on my hands right now, with adhesive on the glass, on the top, and on a 1" wide strip of top material which went on the inside of the top, that lays half on the glass and half on the top.
I guess I'll order another 6 clamps and see if I can get this thing to stay in.
I'll look up your previous post. A major concern I have right now is the old glue. Here's a picture of the rear glass. As you can see two pieces of the fabric strip are still attached. I was able to get all of the glue off of both sides where the glass was exposed. The hundred degree weather yesterday combined with my broken AC turn the old glue into a sticky mess. For that reason I would really like to get all of the old glue off, or as much as possible. I used a rotary tool along with a brass wire brush attachment on the last 3 in or so of the fabric strip as seen in the second picture. It seems to remove about two-thirds of the glue, even though it appears that the glue is still well embedded into the fabric. I did a couple Google searches and it doesn't look like convertible fabric is available for very cheap oh, so I guess I plan to reuse the old strips. I just hope that the new glue was able to penetrate the fabric and isn't just sticking to the old glue which seems very weak in the heat. I guess my next question is, should I completely remove the fabric at this point given the original glue seems horrible? Or is it a waste of time given I can't clean all the old glue off anyway? Adhesive gone on all exposed areas Area in red was wire wheeled with dremel
Motomorelli, thanks for the reply. I read your earlier post, very helpful. If you can post more pics, that would be great. I am still contemplating whether to move forward with the Rhino glue; I was considering the 3m 5200 instead. The slow cure time is the only thing kind of holding me back. If you think that the NP1 is just as good, and it cures faster, I would definitely consider that. The Rhino glue seems to have worked for a lot of people, but I've heard it is hard and not flexible, which does not seem great for this application. The fast cure 5200 only comes in white, as far as I can tell.
The magnets are a brilliant idea. Where did you get yours? I see packs of 10 on Amazon for $15, and I see sites with much stronger magnets for $10-15 each for similar size but much more powerful (probably more powerful than is needed for this.)
I'm going to start gathering more materials and as I'm able (in the 100 degree east-coast heat wave) prep the car for the project. If anyone is reading this in the DC/Baltimore metro area and wants to lend me a 10,000+ BTU window AC unit, let me know.
I did not understand your putty knife comment, perhaps pictures would help explain. You said: Between magnets it is important to use a putty knife to apply pressure for a good bond.
I think I'm going to completely remove the old fabric from the window. Let me know if you think I'd be better off leaving as-is and just re-gluing what's come apart.
Update: I did pull the remaining fabric off the window, and I was very happy that 95% of the adhesive stuck to the glass, leaving that side of the fabric very clean and ready to accept new adhesive. I also wire-wheeled one of the 4 strips best I could to remove the old adhesive. It made quite a mess as little ***** of adhesive go flying everywhere, even on the ceiling. I cleaned the glass so it is very clean of adhesive.
After 9 years, the lower right corner of the rear convertible top window is becoming unglued. This seems to be localized to that corner area only, and the top is otherwise in perfect conditions. I do not want to replace the whole top right now, and I would rather attempt a repair.
I have searched the forums and found three postings on the subject. One recommends the following two adhesives:
3M 1300L
Bostik 2402
Anyone has a suggestion or can recommend an appropriate adhesive?
TIA
Hello from Melbourne Australia, I have the same problem with my 2023 TT rear window glass becoming detached from the soft roof material. Question: does the water leak inside the cabin or does it drain to the outside the vehicle?
07-20-2019, 07:58 PM
