Help needed!

[Elanlover]

This is painful. The Elan I just picked up, with a pefectly good (and practically new) roof (hood for those UK'ers) has now..............sob..............developed a 2 inch tear in it. I know the tear was not there when I pick up the car. I'm hoping someone can help me here but let me give you all the details first.

First, the tear is on the drivers side (left side) and is on the top - back "corner" area if you will. Yes, this is EXACTLY where the well documented wear point is for this roof. Now, I had read about this but never seen the problem first hand. I had thought this happened due to extensive use/retraction of the roof. In other words, as the roof went up/down, the metal framing brushed by the trouble area slowly wearing it out.

This does not appear to be the case in my situation.

The passengers side shows only an indicaiotn that the framing has brushed up against the roof. The driver's side is very different. I placed my fingers on the inside of the tear and slowly lowered the roof. It seems that, when the roof is almost down, the framing pushes EXTREMELY hard against the fabric. When I lowered the roof, the framing (the exact piece looks to be a hinge perhaps) stuck completely through the slit it had made.

To me, this is far more than repeated rubbing.

Now, I',m not sure if this is standard for this car but I noticed something else. The floor of the tonneau where the roof gets stored is not level. The driver's (left) side has a bump or raised area that doesn't seem to let the roof on that side to lower completely flat as on the passenger's side. Its only a couple of inches higher there but I'm wondering if that's causing the frame on the driver's side to push out more since it dopesn't set down like the other side.

Before I received the car the gas tank recall had to be done so the dealership in California replaced it. I wonder if this work included a modification to the tonneau floor adding this bump?

So, as my face is contorted with angst, I'm hoping there are people who can shead some light on the following:

1) Is the tonneau supposed to be evenly flat on its floor (is that bump I described supposed to be there)?

2) Is that bump due to the gas tank recall?

3) Could that bump be my problem?

4) How can I resolve this issue? Can the roof be adjusted in some way to compensate?

5) Suggestions on repairing the roof?

6) Somwhere I can get a deal on replacement teeth as I've gnashed mine down to the gums.

HELP!!!

[Monty]

Sorry to hear about the damage.

The bump is part of the way the Tub was formed to allow for the petrol tank. There will be no adjustment made when the new tank was fitted and the bump shouldn`t effect the hood.

The roof can be adjusted b ut u`ll have to look in the manual for that.

Try and find a place that fit the roofs and see if they can repair it, might be able to stitch it and glue a patch on the inside. other wise it`s a new roof.

better bloody check mine as my roof is only a couple of years old

[theelanman]

when I had my new hood fitted at trim tech they gave me a 'manual'...
what it states about half way through the taking the roof down procedure is that you should never drop the hood straight down due to this pressure point and the original hood frames being quite sharp.....
what it also say is that you should drop it down say 75% then pull the corners of the hood inboard of the frame to take the material off the frame where this tension would be applied.....do this on the drivers side first then run round and do the passenger side...once this is done then you can drop it the last bit and fix the rear deck down.......

I hope that makes sense....I'll try to find the manual (actually a couple of sheets of A4 photocopied!!!)

if not I'll take some pics of mine and try to demonstrate!!!!!

cheers
G

[Elanlover]

Monty and theelanman, thanks heaps for your replies. I suspected that hump would have to be there Too bad really. I also notice that the underside of the tonneau is getting two small "dents" (wear on the fibreglass) where it touches the metal frame of the roof when its inside the tonneau. Is this common as well? I'm planning to glue a couple of pieces of foam to help there when I can.

theelanman, I'd REALLY appreciate a copy of that manual if its at all possible. Pis would be fantastic as well. What you've suggested when lowering the roof is sound advice. I must admit that I was letting the roof drop on its own into the tonneau which is probably how this happened. If I can get it repaired I doubt I'll do that again.

[nitroman]

Agree with all the statements above. The fact that your roof is the age it is no doubt contributed to the tear. My 1st car had patches on the inside of the roof and they lasted the whole 5-years I owned the car. My current car came with a brand-new roof!

I will have to check into the suggestion about moving the top away from the contact points on lowering but I always lower it very slowly to make sure there are no "sharp bends" in the rear plastic window. This "slow as she goes" technique probably helps the corners survive as well.

Good luck. Patches will work, seal out the weather & survive through time. After a while you won't notice them much at all. If you go this route get a patch fitted to the good-side as well as that will serve as a preventative measure.

[Elanlover]

Thanks nitroman. Its quite possible that, a 15 year old roof, regardless of the fact that its probably been taken down a grand total of 3 times, could simply suffer from weakened material. I do feel that the roof is somewhat "misaligned" in some way. The passenger side has no problems at all. I can't help but think that the framing needs to be adjusted in some way to aleviate the pressure. Or, it will poke through the patch in the future.

Does anyone have any information on adjusting the framing at all? Seems that there are some areas that can be adjusted.......in some way at least. A roof adjustment manual would be priceless right about now.

[chris.t]

i have just read the owners manual on roof lowering and raising and the other thing it says is to lower the windows before lowering or raising the roof. i have never done this but i wonder if this has anything to do with how water proof the seals around the windows are????

[Doug]

Blair,

agree with the suggestions above!

The plastic deck in the tonneau floor is not level and IS different left to right. It may be worth examining this carefully to be sure it was put back in proper place because you want to be sure it is not sticking up too much. With the top folded back and lower the fibreglass cover it should close or almost close by itself--you should not have to put more than a few pounds of pressure with your hand to close the lid. If so then the floor piece may be sticking up too much.

This is not a usual problem, just something I am pointing out.

Your top is new and tight working, but agreed that the fabric is 15 years old! I recall being impressed how tight (and like NEW) the top was on the car -- hadn't seen that for 15 years! So likely the fact that the top is still mechanically new may be placing too much tension on the fabric, and you just found the weak spot.

Agree with Matt's sugestions above about getting it patched/reinforced on both sides. It's too bad and you have my condolences, but for the $$$ I'd recommend you get used to patches and order up a hardtop for those Canadian winters!

Call all the auto upholstry places near you and tell them the short story that you need some good patches and go with the one that gives you the best vibe . . .

[GeoffSmith]

i have just read the owners manual on roof lowering and raising and the other thing it says is to lower the windows before lowering or raising the roof. i have never done this but i wonder if this has anything to do with how water proof the seals around the windows are????

I think you're right Chris - I read this too, but keep forgetting to do it. On one occasion in torrential rain, I had a few dribbles down the window which was cured by lowering and raising the window. I think you tend to get slight undulations in the seal as you open out the roof with the windows up.

[John_W]

it says is to lower the windows before lowering or raising the roof. i have never done this but i wonder if this has anything to do with how water proof the seals around the windows are????

Aaarrrggghhh!!! (Sorry Chris)

I hold it to be very important to lower the window an inch or so before raising or lowering the hood, and I'm sure that's one reason my car has no leaks.

Modern cars like the frameless Audi TT (even the hard-top coupe) do this automatically to protect the seals and ensure a good watertight fit when the window is raised.

Next time (and that's the last time I'll let you do it) you lower the hood with the windows fully up, look how the seals hold the glass like a vice at the rear of the windows by the pivot points, and how the seals have to move in several directions as you fold, twisting against the glass. And notice how much easier it is to fold the hood once the seals are free of the glass.

Just lower the window an inch or so before putting the hood up or down. Try it; you'll like it.

John

[Dovey]

Agreed John. Always lower your windows, it's not like it's hard work is it? Roof raising/lowering while they are up puts pressure on windows, which then wobble and we say the windows are rubbish. Coincidence? I think not...

[Monty]

I can understand putting the windows down when putting the roof up but can`t see it making any difference when putting the hood down!

Once i put the roof up i just open and close the doors to make the glass sit in the correct position.

[ailwyn]

I can understand putting the windows down when putting the roof up but can't see it making any difference when putting the hood down!

My roof actually pushes the window outwards as the seals try to push past when putting the roof down. I do the same as John W, drop the window a little or open the doors before moving the roof in either direction.

This may well be a paranoid hangover from having a door window on a hyundai coupe shatter without warning, the guy who replaced it said that it can happen on cars with rimless windows because extra strain is put on the glass.... don't know how true that is, but I play it safe

Ailwyn

[muley]

I can understand putting the windows down when putting the roof up but can't see it making any difference when putting the hood down!

Once i put the roof up i just open and close the doors to make the glass sit in the correct position.

I have a slightly different method for my erections, I open the doors, erect the hood, then shut the doors. Not always possible if I am having an erection in a traffic jam, but then I would always let the windows down first.

I have glued some suede leather patches (the palms from cheap 'riggers' gloves !) at the wear points using some Wilko fabric and leather adhesive to stop the hood being eroded.

Jim