I think my Vert Top needs replacing....

Huachipato

Screaming '04
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My car is being daily driven. It is kept in a garage both at home and at work - but it is driven daily none the less. It looks like the last few weeks it has developed a leak behind the back seats, in the area where the convertible top would fold down into. So far the most part the water is still somehow draining out of the car instead of soaking the floor board or the rear seats.

I was searching for the infamous holes below the window, and found none. What I did see though was that the cloth top had worn out like a ragged pair of jeans (I'm regretting all those times I took my car through a car wash). The cloth is still there, and no holes to be seen, but I can tell the cloth itself is wearing thin.

I'm thinking my short term solution might be to spray scotch guard around the rear window area as it will probably be over a month before I get the parts and set apart the time to actually do the work.

It may be time to invest in a new top. Mainly just the outside cloth and probably the back window to cover all bases. I would want a cloth again - or something of better quality to make it through the next 13 or more years. I do also want to do the work myself.

Has anybody done this job? Any recommendations on where to buy a good quality top?
 
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Slippery Nut

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My car is being daily driven. It is kept in a garage both at home and at work - but it is driven daily none the less. It looks like the last few weeks it has developed a leak behind the back seats, in the area where the convertible top would fold down into. So far the most part the water is still somehow draining out of the car instead of soaking the floor board or the rear seats.

I was searching for the infamous holes below the window, and found none. What I did see though was that the cloth top had worn out like a ragged pair of jeans (I'm regretting all those times I took my car through a car wash). The cloth is still there, and no holes to be seen, but I can tell the cloth itself is wearing thin. I'm thinking my short term solution might be to spray scotch guard around the rear window area as it will probably be over a month before I get the parts and set apart the time to actually do the work.

It may be time to invest in a new top. Mainly just the outside cloth and probably the back window to cover all bases. I would want a cloth again - or something of better quality to make it through the next 13 or more years. I do also want to do the work myself.

Has anybody done this job? Any recommendations on where to buy a good quality top?
I took mine to a shop in Seattle and had a good quality cloth top put on. There was other miscellaneous items needing repair as well, cost just under $2500 of which the labor was prolly 70% the cost. Well worth the expense.

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01yellercobra

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If the back window has separated from the cloth that can be a source of a leak. Found that out on our 06. We used 3M window adhesive to glue it back together, but it only slowed the leak down. We ended up taking it to an upholstery shop as it wasn't something I wanted to try on my own. Since the stock top was vinyl we upgraded to cloth. I want to say it was about $1400 out the door. But we didn't have any other work done. Just the top.
 

Huachipato

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In looking over my back window - the glue seems to be holding up fine. I don't see any obvious tears or separation from the back window and the cloth. I looked it over both on the outside and inside.
 

01yellercobra

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In looking over my back window - the glue seems to be holding up fine. I don't see any obvious tears or separation from the back window and the cloth. I looked it over both on the outside and inside.

That's good. On ours the window was still attached to the inside part. For lack of a better term. But it had "fallen" away from the outside. The shop told me 7 years was normal for the vinyl tops. So I imagine at 13 years you're due for a new one. My buddies is definitely in need of replacement on his 03.
 

ashleyroachclip

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Place a small sprinkler on the roof, turn the water on while you are inside the car .
You will find the leak .
 

Huachipato

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Yesterday I finally decided I had all I needed to properly tackle this issue. After doing some research, it pains me to say that I have probably been ignoring my top since I bought the car new. I started research by seeing if I could Scotch Guard the convertible top. What I found instead is that there is a regimen that can be followed once or twice a year to keep the top clean and waterproof. I did this yesterday but I think I'll start a regimen to do this in the fall and spring (you know - trying to avoid the summer heat and winter freeze).

So here is what I did:
Started by cleaning the top as recommended. I had to wet it first, so I recruited my daughter to be on hose duty first. I figured I'd hunt for this leak in the back first.

The the top getting drenched - I did spot this leak:
20170731_183050.jpg

Just a little trickle next to the rear window on the passenger side. Now that I know where the leak is, I figured I'd clean the top.
20170731_184634.jpg

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Notice how the top absorbs the water? Anyways - here is what I'm using to clean and treat the car top:
20170731_181558.jpg

Once cleaned and somewhat dry, I thought I'd tackle a little tear I had in one of my seams:
20170731_195308.jpg

20170731_195301.jpg

Who knew sewing would be part of a car repair? I was using a UV protected thread so hopefully it will hold up in the long run.

I did add a little glue into the seam as well and it didn't turn out exactly as expected, but better than before at least.
20170731_202109.jpg

I did also try and tackle the leak. I had some Tear Aid patches for cloth. This stuff is very flimsy but strong. It was hard to get it in place, but here is what it looks like:
20170731_213337.jpg

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20170731_213839.jpg

This morning, I got up early and inspected the top again. It looked clean and dry - which is what I needed for the next step.

I essentially sprayed the whole bottle of protector on the top:
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I made sure to put extra on the seams or where it was apparent there was a crease of sorts. I tried to also focus a lot on the sewing repair I did as well as the seams, leading and side edges.
20170801_092011.jpg

I removed the clips from the back of the window, and here is what I see of it now:
20170801_091826.jpg

By the time I made it into work - the top was looking great:
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20170801_091954.jpg

I really hopes this works. If it all goes as planned, the water should just bead off the top going forward. I will update the post once I had my first bout with rain (which may be later today).
 

*Jay*

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I absolutely love 303 products, use their Aerospace protectant on my interior plastic, leather, exterior plastic, tires and everything under the hood.
 

c6zhombre

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Great job on it.....years ago on here I posted about my mystichrome top with pics....used 303 "sunbrella" product and it did wonders. Cleaned the top first, then let dry....taped off with paper all around then applied the sunbrella. It came out fantastic and repelled water like a ducks back
 

Huachipato

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Well - I still have a leak all this time later. I found a guy that does a lot of custom interior work and convertible top replacements. I'll giving him the work instead of trying to tackle this one on my own. He actually quoted me right at the low end of my expectations so I'll start working with him to get the top replaced sooner rather than later.

I have to say - in retrospect I have treated my top like crap. I think the worse thing I did to my car is taking it to the car wash often (the drive through type)... I know better but did it anyways. My paint is suffering as a result of this as well. I had to drive it in the rain on Monday and I had water coming in the back and drivers window (where it meets up with the top) so I think it merits replacing at this point.

The 303 is still working it's magic - fun to see the water just bead off the cloth. I plan to treat the new top once the job is completed.

Also - I got to mention that I seriously was looking at the Smooth Line solution (removable hardtop). They have a "Cobra" top style that I think would look really sharp on our cars. The cost to do either one would have been about the same. However, the more I think about it the more I realize how practical it is to have the convertible soft top working - so I feel I need to get a good working soft top first.
 

Revvv

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Great job on it.....years ago on here I posted about my mystichrome top with pics....used 303 "sunbrella" product and it did wonders. Cleaned the top first, then let dry....taped off with paper all around then applied the sunbrella. It came out fantastic and repelled water like a ducks back
I did not know 303 made such a product. I'm interested.

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3xBlackCobra

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Yah definitely avoid car washes. Not good for paint or vinyl convertible tops.

Personally, I've probably taken a hose to my car maybe twice. I just wipe the dust off before/after drives with a Cali duster, and clean it with McGuire's exterior detail spay once a week or so.

My car isn't driven often, though, so it's pretty easy to keep up with it
 

RI-SVT

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I always wash my car at home (never wet the top), never goes out in the rain, never put the car on a lift with the top up (stretches it) and always use Ragg topp product, mine is in great shape.
 

Revvv

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This why I never own a convertible
It takes a lot of flex to mess with the top. However, when I jack my car up I unlatch the top and roll down the windows.

There are a few quirks with a convertible, but it's worth it when you take a nighttime drive with the top down.

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Huachipato

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Met with the person that will be doing the work, gave him a down payment so he can go ahead and buy all the parts. It will probably be another week before he has all the parts needed and can get started on the work.

Spent some time talking with him. I have a leak that comes from the top of the drivers side A-pillar and well as another one a little further back from where the A-Pillar and top join together. He mention that is is probably due to the old weather stripping. He recommended getting some new weather stripping from Ford directly. I mention this cause I know others have mentioned having a similar leak. He pointed out how the roof stripping tends to get out of place and he was able to show me a line that was fine toward the back but clearly moving away and separating from the cloth top the further forward it went. To me it all looked fine, and rubber material seems okay and all - but he mentioned it probably needs to be replaced.

On a side note he said he could replace the leather on the bolster of my driver's seat for less than $300. This sounded like a deal to me so I'll be getting this repaired as well.

I'm so looking forward to getting all this work done!
 

rccg94

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I'd like to see a before/after of the bolster if not too much trouble.

I ordered a DVD and replaced the top myself on my old GT. I think it came out pretty good but man, it was a lot of labor. Guys who really know what they're doing make it look easy.
 

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