I noticed that my top isnt going down or up as fast as it used to so I checked it out and noticed that theres fluid on the bottom of the rear quarter. I tightened up all the screws that hold the plastic together, dont know if that helped any. Where else should I be looking? Thanks.

 

This seems to be a very common problem, even w/ replacement pumps. The cheapest solution is probably to keep an eye on the fluid level to keep the pump from running dry and live w/ the leak. I wish someone would post a "magic bullet" fix for this, but in the 9+ years I've been searching, none have been found.

 

where does one check the fluid level? I've never done that! Duh..

 

On the driver side trunk, there's a little flap of carpet, that's where the pump is at. Need to remove that piece of carpet, then the clear pump resevoir is visible. Two lines about midway up show the min/max fluid level. A hex plug in the top comes off to fill w/ mineral oil or 10W SAE oil.

 

WOW, nearly 11 years later.......... I've FINALLY removed my top pump assembly from the car and located, and hopefully fixed the leak. It appeared that some dirt had accumulated at the bottom of the plastic reservoir and worked its way into the o-ring seal and was causing a leak. I took everything apart, verified that the o-ring was still in good shape, cleaned everything up, re-assembled and put it back together. Now I'm crossing my fingers that I don't see any more leaks. Took about an hour. If this does fix it, I'll be perpetually kicking myself in the rear for not doing this a LONG time ago.

 

Thanks for reviving this thread. It's something easy to overlook.

 

I had to search for it to find it, LOL. In any case, my symptoms were that it would leak only when I put the top up or down (used the motor). Just sitting, like over the winter, it didn't seem to leak at all. This makes me think that the pressure inside the reservoir increases under use (probably when the top reaches the up or down position and the motor is kept running a bit under higher load) pushing more fluid out. I'm very tempted to leave the hex fill plug loose so that it's o-ring doesn't seal tight to allow some of that pressure to escape from the reservoir. If my leak returns, I'm going to try that.

 

I need to look into this, because when lowering my top, once it come up and off the frame of the windshield, it will stop for a moment, as if it's having trouble getting past that point, but once it pushes it way through, it seems good, but somewhat slow. Lately, I've been assisting it, through that pausing point. I also keep the car running any time I drop or raise the top.

 

Definitely check the fluid level. There is a point where there is some tension that the mechanism has to overcome, but the motor should be capable of pushing through that on its own.

FWIW, I'm not out of the "leaky pump" woods yet. I've been getting puddles without even using the top. I was so confident it was fixed that I re-installed the piece of molded carpet that covers the pump, now I have to pull it back out to see where this leak is.

 

Yeah it will pull it through, but I help it along so not to stress anything.The weird thing is, some times it will do it and other times it will drop nice a smooth, with no "binding".

Is there any way to increase the speed, once properly working?

 

I think temperature has a lot to do with how "tight" the cloth material is and in turn how hard the motor has to work to get it up/down.

About the only way to increase the speed is to swap the pump with one that moves a higher volume of fluid.

 

Ill have to check mine. I have had no issues so far.

 

my valve was in the wrong position causing my top to go up & down slowly (needed tug help) , i got a great deal when i bought my car because of this issue!

 

Well, my pump continued to leak, so I removed it again this past weekend. I'm wondering if there is an internal seal around the motor shaft where it goes into the pump mechanism, I have a hard time believing that the o-ring seal on the reservoir continued to leak, although it is hard to tell since the entire bottom of the motor was wet. At least my cylinders seem to be OK, no wetness coming out from in front of the rear wheels (where the cylinders are). The investigation continues..........

 

UPDATE: I think I've finally fixed the leak in my pump. My "fix" this time involves a thin coat of silicone RTV around the o-ring used between the reservoir and the pump. While I did buy a replacement o-ring (from Loews, part of a jumbo o-ring assortment), I couldn't find anything wrong with my original o-ring. I did feel a scratch on the inside of the reservoir that I smoothed-out with 800 grit sandpaper before re-assembly, that may have helped too (although the scratch was located above the fluid line, so I doubt that this had anything to do w/ my leak). So far after a few weeks and a couple of up/down cycles, I can't see any fluid leaking onto the plate that the pump is mounted to. Fingers and toes crossed!