miata soft top removal and installation
TRANSCRIPT
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7/29/2019 Miata Soft Top Removal and Installation
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MiataSoftTopRemovalandInstallation
ThiswriteupdescribestheprocessofreplacementofasofttopforaMazdaMiata. Myvehicleisa92,
butIthinkthatthismightbeverysimilarformanymodelyearsofMiata.
Irefer
to
this
as
removal
and
installation
because
removing
the
old
top
can
be
(at
least
was
for
me)
ataskrequiringasmucheffortasinstallationofthenewtop. Thisisparticularlytruewhenyouarenotan
expertatremovingconvertibletops,orhavenopreviousexperiencereplacingMiatatops. Without
adequateinstructionsthiscan(anddidforme)turnintoajobtaking15to20hoursandrequiringafew
tripstothehardwarestore. InstructionsfromMazdaorfromthepeoplewhosellyouthetopmight
claimthatthejobwilltakeyouanafternoonwithafewcommontools. Goodluckwiththat! Im
writingthisinhopesthatsomeoneelsewillnothaveasmuchdifficultyasIdid.
Theprocess(background):
1. ThezipperaroundtheplasticwindowofyourMiatajamsortearsleavingyouunabletounzipthe
window
to
lay
flat
while
you
drop
the
top
2. Aftermanycyclesofraisingandloweringthetop,theplasticdevelopsthatwhiteopaquelookandfinallycracks
3. Youusecleartape,andeventuallyducttape,topreventtheweatherfromenteringthecarwithvaryingdegreesofsuccess
4. Youconsiderreplacingthewindow,callthedealer,andhetellsyouthatjusttheplasticwindowpiecescosts$525plusinstallationcompletetopscostmuchmoreandinstallationcostcould
makethewholejobnear$1500ormoreyourreplyofyouvegottabekiddingproducesonly
silenceontheotherend
5. Moreandmoreofthewindowcracksoutandtheducttapebeginstoshowpatinathatyourebecoming
fond
of
6. FinallyyoudecideyoucantakeitanylongeranddecidetoyouhavetodosomethingandlookonEbayforoptionsandfindanumberoftopsforsaleatreasonableprices
7. Youbuyonewithanadthatsaystheywillsupplydirectionsandhelpabout$20moreforthistopsothatcangetdirectionsandhelp
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Okay,nowyouretothepointwhereyoumightneedsomehelp. HerearesomesuggestionsbeforeI
getintothedetails:
1. Thisisaprojectwhereitcanbereallyhelpfultohaveanotherpairofhandscloseby2. TherearetopsonEbaythatlookalmostidenticalandmyguessisthattheyreallyareidentical. I
paidabout$20moreformytopbecausetheadsaidtheysupplydirectionsandhelp. The
directionswereverygeneral,oflittlevalue,andthepeopledidtalkbyphonebuthadalmostno
knowledgeofhowtodotheremovalorinstallation. Dontpaymorefordirectionsorhelp!3. Therearesomecrampedplaceswhereitcanbehardtoseehaveaflashlight. Therearesome
headmountedflashlightgadgetsthosewouldbeidealforthis. WishIhadhadone!
4. Thetopyoubuyaftermarketwilllikelynotbethesameastheoriginal5. Besuretotapesomepaperorclothontheplastic(orglass)windowtopreventitfrombeing
scratchedduringtheinstallation
6. Readtheseinstructionsand/orothersyouhavecompletelybeforeyoustartjusthelpstoknowwhereyoureheaded
7. ThesearetheinsightsofanovicewhojusthappenstohavegonethroughaninstallationtherearecertainlyotherswithmoreinformationorbetterproceduresIvejustnotbeenabletofind
them
Toolsandparts(thatIused)
1. Screwdriversa. Flatb. Phillipslongformostofthescrewingandunscrewingc. Phillipsshortforonetightspot
2. RivetGun3. Aluminumrivets4. Washerswith1/8inchholesandlargearea5. Pliers6. Socketwrenchandextension10mm7. Drillwithand1/8inchbits8. Protectiveclothtocoverthecarbackandsidespreventsscratchingthepaintandleavesa
placetosetthings
9. Plasticcupstostoreandkeepseparateremovedscrewsandhardware
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InFigure1youcangetsomeideaofwhat
youredealingwith. Atthefrontthe
figureistheHeaderSeal. Thisisaflimsypieceofblackmetal. Thefabricofthetop
fitsagainstthetopandtheheadersealfits
overthe
fabric
holding
it
to
the
tops
frame. Theheadersealandtopare
securedtotheframeinthefrontwith
screws. Thetopwrapsoverthefrontpart
oftheframeandgetsscrewedon. Along
thesideswherethetopmeetsthe
windowsthereare3foamrubbersealson
eachside. Theseareheldinslotswith
frictionnofasteners. Twoofthesecanbegentlypulledoff. Underthemsealsaresomethinmetal
pieces(thathaveslotsforthefoamrubberseals)thatarescrewedtotheframe. Runningalongthe
sidesof
the
top
is
asmall
cable
(about
1/8
inch
diameter)
thats
attached
to
the
tops
frame
at
one
end
byarivetandattheotherendbyaspring. Thiscableslidesthroughasleeveintheoriginalequipment
top,butsomereplacementtopshavenosleeveorcable(liketheoneIpurchased).
Theattachmentoftherearofthetopishiddenbythecarpet,butunderthecarpet,thetopisheldto
theframeofthecarwithsomeboltsandmetalbrackets,andheldinaplasticweathergasket(thisis
alsocalledtherainrail)byrivets.TopRemoval:
Startwiththetopup(andwindowzippedup)soyoucanseeclearlyin
thebackofthecar. Youwillbedoingmuchofthisworkwhile
kneelingontheseats. Tostartremovingtheoldtop,youneedtopull
upsomeofthecarpetfromthebackflatareaofthecarwherethe
windowandtopnormallyliewhenthetopisdown. Thisishelddown
byplasticpushpin
typegadgets
photo1. Theycan
beremovedby
usingascrew
drivertoprythemandplierstopryandlift.Ihadto
prybehindthecarpettoo. Thisscratchesthepaint,
butthisareaisneverseenanditishardtogetthose
plasticpinsout. IthoughtforsureIwouldbreak
themwhendoingthis,butIfoundthemextremely
robust. Thesepinsareinthebackedgeofthe
carpet nearwherethetopbegins. Seephoto2.
Photo1 plasticpin
Photo2plasticpinholdingcarpet
Figure1 TopDiagram
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Thecarpetisalsohelddowninthemiddlebyaplasticpin. Theremaybeothersholdingcarpetdown
alsojustpullthecarpetuptofindwheretheyare.
ThecarpetisalsohelddownbyaPhillipsheadboltthatgoesthroughalargeplasticmount. Thebolt
andplasticmountareshowninphoto3andtheboltisshowninphoto4. Unscrewtheseandplacethe
screwsand
plastic
mounts
aside.
Nextpullbackthecarpetandexposethemetalbracket
ontowhichthetopandweatherstripismounted. This
isshowninphotos5and6. Therearethreesectionsof
metalbrackets: Onesectionacrossmostoftheback,
andoneacrosseachsidearea. Thetopfitsbetween
twopartsoftheweatherstripthatcanbeseen
hangingbelowthemetalbrackets. Thesebrackets
appeartoworktosqueezethetopandtheweather
striptogetherandholdtopfirmlytothebodyofthe
car.
Inphoto5youcanseethatthebracketsarefixed
tothecarbodyusingsomenuts. Thereare13of
thesenutsthatattachtoboltsthatarefixedtothe
bodyofthecar. Theyare10mmnutsandIwas
abletousearachetextensionanda10mmsocket
toremovethesenutsusingonlymyhands.
Afterremovingthenuts,allthreebracketscanbe
removed. AtthispointIdrilledouttherivets
holdingthetopandweatherstrippingtogether
usingainchdrillbit. Acoupleoftheserivetscan
Photo1boltandplasticmountholdingcarpet
Photo4 bolt
Photo5MetalBracketandweatherstripbelow
Photo6 MetalBracket
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beseeninphoto7and8.
Toreducethetensiononthetop,Iunlatchedthetopatthispoint. Thenremovethetopandweather
stripassemblyfromtheboltsbeingcarefulnottoteartheweatherstrip. Theweatherstripisaplastic
materialthatcanbetornifyourenotcareful. Seephotos7and8. Justreleasethetopandstripping
fromtheboltsandleaveitset. Nowyouhavethebackportioncomplete.
Nowmovetothefrontportionofthetop. Unlatch
thetopifyouhavenotdonethatyet,andliftentire
frameofthetopenoughtomakethefrontportion
accessible. Thefabricofthetopisfastenedtothe
topframeassemblywithPhilipsscrewsthrougha
headersealthatholdsthetopfabrictothemetal
frameof
the
top
see
photo
9and
10.
Unscrew
thesescrewsandremovethismetalpiece. Mytop
wasstucktometalframeandrequiredsome
peelingawayfromthemetal. Attheedges,the
screwsgothroughtherubberweathermolding. Thesemustalsoberemovedtoremovetheoriginaltop
sincethefabricofthetopissandwichedbetweentherubbermoldingandthemetalframeofthetop.
Photo9Headersealheldbyscrews
Photo8 RivetholdingtoptoweatherstripPhoto7Rivetsabovemetalbracket
Photo10 Headersealbeingremoved
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(Thereisnoneedtoremovethelatchesthatfastenthetopdown.) Inphoto10youcanseetheheader
sealbeingremovedbyhand.
Nowyouhavethefrontportionofthetop
releasedandyourereadytopeelofftherubber
moldings.There
are
three
pieces
molding.
The
uppertwopiecescanbegentlypeeledawayfrom
themetalstrips. Removetheseandplacethemin
placeswhereyoucanrememberwhichonesgoto
thepassengeranddriverside. Thelowestpieces
ofrubbercantbecompletelypeeledoffbecause
theyreattachedatthebottom(closesttothe
door). Thelowestpieceisnotyetcompletelyfree,
sojustpeelitawayexceptatthebottom. Next,
unscrewthethreemetalstripsfromtheframeof
thetop.
The
strips
are
the
shiny
flimsy
metal
piecesseeninphoto11. Therearethreeofthese
strips. Besuretokeeptheseseparatedforpassengeranddriversidetosavetimelater.
NowthepartthatIhadthemostdifficultywith:
thesides. Thefabricofthetopisfastenedto
theframeonthesidesalso,butyouhavea
hardtimeseeingthis. Thescrewcantbeseen
untilyoutakeoffthelastpieceofmolding. I
usedaflatscrewdrivertoprybetweenthe
molding
and
the
bottom
of
the
metal
frame
of
thetop. Thisareaiscircledinredinphoto12.
Themoldingisattachedtothemetalframe
usingblackplasticpushpinssimilartothose
usedtofastenthecarpettothecarphoto1.
Therearetwoofthemonbothpassengerand
driverside. Onceyouhavethisseparatedyou
canplacetherubbermoldingwiththeother
piecesofmolding. Theplasticpinsremainedin
themoldingforme. Now,ifyoulookatthe
placewhere
these
plastic
pins
were,
you
can
seeaPhillipsheadscrewholdingthefabricof
thetop,andasmallmetalbracket,tothemetal
frameofthetop. Thisisabitchtogetat! Use
ashortPhillipsheadscrewdrivertounscrew
this. Thenpeelthispartofthetopfromthe
frame.
Photo11 Thin
metal
brackets
for
foam
molding
Photo12areawherepinsandscrewarehidden
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Thefabricofthetopisalsoheldtothetopframebysomepiecesoffabricthatslideintogroovesonthe
barsoftheframe. Workthefabricoutoftheseslots. Opentheseslotswithascrewdirverslightlyif
necessary. Useautilityknifetocutthetoparound1/8inchcable(Dontcutthecabelitself). Now
yourereadytoremovethetop. Inthebacksection,besurethattherivetsthatyoudrilledoutareno
longerholdingthetoptotheweatherstrip. Youwillwanttoreusetheweatherstrip,sobecarefulnot
todamage
this
as
you
pull
off
the
old
top.
NewTopInstallation:
Laythenewfabrictoponthetopframe. Becarefultohaveclothorpapertapedtothewindowto
preventitfrombeingdamaged. Thenrivetthenewfabrictotheweatherstripasitwasbefore. Usethe
sameholesforrivetsthatwereusedbefore. Theweatherstripholdsthefabricofthetoponbothsides.
Usethelargewasherswitha1/8inchholeforthe
rivet. Placethefabricofthetopbetweenthetwo
sidesoftheweatherstrip,putawasheroneach
side,
put
the
rivet
through
and
pop
the
rivet
to
holdthingstogether. Iusedthewashersshownin
Photo13. Therivetswere1/8inchaluminumlike
thoseshowninPhoto14.
Once
the
top
is
riveted,
place
the
sandwich
of
top
andweatherstripontheboltsandplacethemetal
bracketsbacktoholdthingsinplace. Gettheentire
topandmetalbracketsontheboltswithnutsstarted
beforetighteninganything. Leavenutsuntightened
tilllater.
Next,putthefrontpartofthetopoverthefront
partoftheframeandscrewthetopinplace.
Thispartisprettysimplethereshouldbeholes
inthefabricorindicatorsthatlineupwiththe
screwholesopeningsinthetopasshownin
Photo15.
Afterthefrontisattached,thesidesofthetop
mustbefastenedtotheframe. Foldthetop
undertheframe,replacethebracketandscrew
Photo13 Washers
Photo14 Rivets
Photo15Screwingthetoptothefrontoftheframe
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thetoptotheframe. ThisisshowninPhoto16. ItsatightfitsoyoullneedtouseyourshortPhillips
headscrewdrivertodrivethisscrew. Photo16istakenlookingdown,slightlytowardtheback,andat
thebaseofthefoldedtop.
Nowputthethinmetalstripsbackontheframe
andscrew
them
onto
the
frame.
Pieces
of
the
fabrictopwillfitbetweenthestripsandthe
frametoholdthetoptightlyinplace. Replace
thefoamrubberweatherstrippingonthethin
metalbrackets. Thebottomfoamrubberpieces
willneedtobefastenedoverthescrewand
bracketshowninPhoto16.
Tightenthe13nutsonthebackofthetopthat
holdthemetalbracketsandtopagainstthe
backofthecar. Oncethisisdone,replacethe
carpet. Usetheplasticpinstofastenthecarpet
tothemetalbracketsandtothebottom(inthe
center). Thenreplacetheplasticmountsandscrew(showninPhotos3and4)throughthecarpet.
ThetopwillmayhavesomeplaceswherefabricwrapsaroundthebowsofthetopsframewithVelcro
tosecureit. Somebowsonthetopwillbesecuredbyhavingthefabricfitintogapsinthebows. Tuck
thefabricintothebowsontheframeandsecuretheVelcroaroundotherframebows. Youcancrimp
theplacesontheframebowswheretothetophasbeentuckedinthiswillpreventthispartofthetop
fromcomingfreefromtheframe.
Lastly,removetheprotectivepaperorclothfromwindow.
TheCable
ThereisonepartoftheinstallationthatIamstillunsureabout(atleastonepart). Ileftthecable
attachedtothetopandsimplyinstalledmynewtopoveritmynewtophasnocableinit. Instructions
thatIhaveseentellonehowtoremoveitandthatseemsprettysimple. Ithinksometopscomewitha
newcablealreadythreadedthroughasleeveinthetop. Ifyouhavea
toplikethatIthinkyoudneedtoremovetheexistingcableandattach
itwithanewrivet. AtsomepointImayfindthatIneedtoremovethe
cableon
mine
also
just
to
prevent
this
from
being
aproblem
when
put
thetopisbeingputupandtakendown. (Ivesimplynotdonethat
enoughyettoknow.)
InstructionsthatIdohaveseentellmethattoremovethecable,one
needstousetheindrillbittodrillouttherivetnearthefrontas
showninPhoto17.ThisisillustratedinFigure2.
Photo16screwandbracketfasteningtheside
Photo17Cableanchorpoint
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Thenewtopshouldhaveacableinitthatwillberivetedtothissamepoint. Ontheotherendtherewill
needtobesomewaytoattachthecabletothespring. ThisareaisshowninPhoto18. Itlookstomeas
thoughonecouldusetheexistingspringand
simplyattachthecabletoit.
Ihope
this
has
been
of
some
value
to
you.
Good
Luck!
Figure2
Drilling out
the
rivet
Photo
18
Spring
attachment
on
the
side