G
gherndon
Click here to upgrade
- Reaction score
- 0
THIS IS THE ULTIMATE FIX- THE WAY FORD SHOULD FIX IT !!!
I have read many posts about rattles in the hardtop. A 2004 and a 2005 which I test drove both had a rattle in the hardtop on the driver's side. This leads me to believe that it is a design/assembly problem.
My 2004 hardtop rattled severely on the driver's side from the day I picked it up. The passenger side made a slight noise. At every bump in the road I could hear the top "bouncing" on the locking pins. When I would move the driver's side locking lever to the final "lock" position I would have very little resistance. The locking lugs were not pulling the top down with any significant force.
The top is manufactured by an outside supplier for Ford. The supplier has welded the vertical adjustment nuts for the hardtop latches to the bracket so that they cannot be readily adjusted. Ford will not accept the responsibility or the expense of cutting the welds and properly adjusting the vertical position of the latch pins. (Not that I blame them for this.) Their solution is to order new latches which also come with the adjustment nuts welded.
Today I removed the top, and removed the driver's side locking lever assembly. I marked the position of the bracket on the top. I then removed the bracket. ( Removing the interior plastic trim piece for the porthole window makes this easier. ) I secured the bracket in a vise and used a chisel to break the welds on both adjustment nuts. I then rotated the nuts two turns to shorten the length of the locking post to have the post pull the top down tighter. I then tightened the nuts securely and reinstalled the braket. Prior to installing the top I coated the weather strip lightly with pure silicone grease (any dielectric grease from the parts store will work. This is the clear silicone grease used to seal electical connectors and for application to spark plug boots to keep the boots from becoming stuck on the spark plugs) I then reinstalled the top with the factory clear mylar strips. Per the manual, I set the top braket levers to the "center" position and securly tightened the front attachment bolts with the supplied tool. I then moved the rear levers to the "locked" position. Both levers had approximately equal resistence when moving from the "center" position to the full forward "locked" position.
Since I had a lift available I checked the retaining bolts for all of the X-braces on the underside of the car. All were tight.
The top is now 100% quiet with no rattles or gasket creaks; even when the car is racked by turning into an up or down slope (driveway etc.).
I am hoping that this will be a permanent solution. You can probably get a dealer to do this for you if you will pay them by the hour for the repair. They may not want the liability of cutting those welded nuts. I doubt Ford will cover it under warranty. But you can alway ask.
I am somewhat surprised that no one else has thought of this......
Good luck to all of you with rattling tops.
thanks
I have read many posts about rattles in the hardtop. A 2004 and a 2005 which I test drove both had a rattle in the hardtop on the driver's side. This leads me to believe that it is a design/assembly problem.
My 2004 hardtop rattled severely on the driver's side from the day I picked it up. The passenger side made a slight noise. At every bump in the road I could hear the top "bouncing" on the locking pins. When I would move the driver's side locking lever to the final "lock" position I would have very little resistance. The locking lugs were not pulling the top down with any significant force.
The top is manufactured by an outside supplier for Ford. The supplier has welded the vertical adjustment nuts for the hardtop latches to the bracket so that they cannot be readily adjusted. Ford will not accept the responsibility or the expense of cutting the welds and properly adjusting the vertical position of the latch pins. (Not that I blame them for this.) Their solution is to order new latches which also come with the adjustment nuts welded.
Today I removed the top, and removed the driver's side locking lever assembly. I marked the position of the bracket on the top. I then removed the bracket. ( Removing the interior plastic trim piece for the porthole window makes this easier. ) I secured the bracket in a vise and used a chisel to break the welds on both adjustment nuts. I then rotated the nuts two turns to shorten the length of the locking post to have the post pull the top down tighter. I then tightened the nuts securely and reinstalled the braket. Prior to installing the top I coated the weather strip lightly with pure silicone grease (any dielectric grease from the parts store will work. This is the clear silicone grease used to seal electical connectors and for application to spark plug boots to keep the boots from becoming stuck on the spark plugs) I then reinstalled the top with the factory clear mylar strips. Per the manual, I set the top braket levers to the "center" position and securly tightened the front attachment bolts with the supplied tool. I then moved the rear levers to the "locked" position. Both levers had approximately equal resistence when moving from the "center" position to the full forward "locked" position.
Since I had a lift available I checked the retaining bolts for all of the X-braces on the underside of the car. All were tight.
The top is now 100% quiet with no rattles or gasket creaks; even when the car is racked by turning into an up or down slope (driveway etc.).
I am hoping that this will be a permanent solution. You can probably get a dealer to do this for you if you will pay them by the hour for the repair. They may not want the liability of cutting those welded nuts. I doubt Ford will cover it under warranty. But you can alway ask.
I am somewhat surprised that no one else has thought of this......
Good luck to all of you with rattling tops.
thanks
