Roof mechanism plastic cover sticking

[MikeS100]

Hi all,

The little plastic cover for the roof mechanism shown in the photo is not dropping down enough when I lower the roof on my C70, the roof hits it and gets stuck. Everything else is working fine and if I gently push the cover down the roof moves over it correctly and locks it down rather than getting jammed. I've tried normal wd40 and silicon wd40 around the workings which got it working normally again for a couple of cycles but the next time I tried to lower the roof a few days later it needed a hand again.

So it seems something needs lubricating, any thoughts on where specifically rather than me just spraying randomly in the general area? And any recommendations on what would be the best spray lubricant to use on It?

Or could it be something needs a small adjustment or a spring that should pull it down needs replacing?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

[tony209]

Originally Posted by MikeS100

Hi all,

The little plastic cover for the roof mechanism shown in the photo is not dropping down enough when I lower the roof on my C70, the roof hits it and gets stuck. Everything else is working fine and if I gently push the cover down the roof moves over it correctly and locks it down rather than getting jammed. I've tried normal wd40 and silicon wd40 around the workings which got it working normally again for a couple of cycles but the next time I tried to lower the roof a few days later it needed a hand again.

So it seems something needs lubricating, any thoughts on where specifically rather than me just spraying randomly in the general area? And any recommendations on what would be the best spray lubricant to use on It?

Or could it be something needs a small adjustment or a spring that should pull it down needs replacing?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

When you say "The roof hits it and gets stook", do you mean the tonneau cover? If your roof was catching it, that would mean that the plastic cover wasn't opening far enough.

I had a problem were the plastic cover wouldn't close all the way down, if I remember correctly, it's the tonneau cover that locks it down. I adjusted it's alignment at the point where it is fastened to the metal bracket.

[MikeS100]

Yes, the tonneau cover, not the roof.

I had a look there but I couldn't see any adjustment. I'm out today but I will have another look tomorrow. Was it just a case of tightening a bolt or is it more loosen a bolt, move it a bit, retighten the bolt and see if it's better?

Thanks

[ITSv40]

The little cover is attached to the hinge with screws and the hinge is attached to the inner trim panel. The hinge is spring loaded. The hinge is screwed to the inner panel and there is no adjustment there, but if the screws that attach the cover to the hinge are loosened slightly there is enough adjustment to line the cover up with the trim panel. this can all be done with the roof open and the cover standing in the 'up' position. It could be that the cover is not adjusted correctly and is catching on the rear edge and the trim panel by the hinge.

The front edge of the tonneau cover closes down on the back lip of the cover and all gently closes. There should not be any resistance in the closing procedure. Also there is a little peg on the underside of the cover that should line up with a hole in the trim panel when the cover closes. Is the metal rod connected to the cover in place correctly, as the cover should close slightly, by a pull down action of the rod to ensure the cover is in the correct position for the tonneau closing down on it.

I hope that all makes sense.

[MikeS100]

That's great, thank you for the detailed description. Based on that it sounds like the metal rod is not being pulled down enough to get the cover in the right position for the edge of the tonneau cover to catch the lip. I'll get out there tomorrow and have a good check of it all now I know what I'm looking for.

Thanks again

[tony209]

My issue was that the edge of the tonneau cover was catching the plastic part of the door as it closed, causing it to jam. You need to move the plastic door slightly forward enough for the edge of the tonneau trim to clear the plastic part of the door and allow it to catch the metal flange. I can't remember if I made the adjustment at the screws or applied a small amount of pressure to the hinge plate - I wouldn't be surprised if that's how they are adjusted in the factory but try the screws first!

Before you make any adjustment to the small door, you should check if it is the tonneau cover that has moved and requires the adjustment. In my case, the problem occurred after I had changed the trim pannel on the tonneau cover. There wasn't enough adjustment left in the tonneau to clear the door so I had to adjust the door itself. Get somebody to hold the switch down while you watch what is happening but stop when you get a snag.

[MikeS100]

I finally managed to get out there and have another look at this today. The alignment looks ok and the metal rod seems to be operating correctly. Having a closer look I think it's more that there is extra resistance when the tonneau cover is pushing down on the plastic panel rather than them jamming against each other. So I sprayed some wd40 silicon spray on the pivot points and that definitely seemed to help.

So assuming it is just a sticking pivot point, is the silicone spray good for that or would I be better off with normal wd40 or something else?

[Baxlin]

While Silicon WD40 claims to lubricate, and possibly does so very well, the original WD40 itself isn't a lubricant. Yes, it will free or ease tight parts brilliantly, but it won't lubricate, so it's very much a temporary 'fix'.

[MikeS100]

Thanks Baxlin. I have a big tub of grease that I would normally use for something like that but the access isn't great, however I see you can get white lithium grease in a spray so I'll probably get some of that and give it all a good coating.

[ITSv40]

There isn't any need to 'give it all a good coating'. The grease will just attract dust and eventually make a mess everywhere.

There is one hinge pin in the cover hinge that can become dry and dirty. The hinge also has a little coil spring wound round it to ensure the cover lifts up under spring pressure.

The best way to test for a sticking hinge is to open the roof so that the little rod can be detached from the cover. With the rod removed the cover should spring into the upright position. With very gentle one finger pressure it should be possible to close the cover against the spring pressure. If this is not the case the hinge is stiff and or the spring is broken.

To lubricate the hinge dab a spot of grease on your finger and smear along the hinge pin - the pin is up and under the trim panel and out of sight. If the spring is broken another hinge from a scrappy will be needed - to fit a new hinge the interior trim panel needs to be removed from the car.

Hope this helps.