HELP: Pin Ejected From Vert Framing???

[Rick]

Well, Battlefield 3 was released tonight so I went with my bestfriend and brother to go pick it up at midnight, decided to go for a bit of a top down tonight since it was an okay temperature and really clear skies. Then we went to put it up at an intersection but it kept failing to latch, so we went very very slowly through the intersection, pulled onto a street and tried figuring it out. Put it down, realized it wouldnt close all the way. Then saw a cop go by so decided to be a little more careful and drive into a neighborhood since we all didnt need curfew violations. All in all, after 30 minutes at 1am I checked the framework numerous times and finally noticed a "popping" noise when trying to put the top up, found that the pin connecting one of the joints had flown out, found it in the leather pouch below the rear window. Then knowing the problem we tried to muscle it up, well, me atleast. Trying to press metal back together doesnt work I realized and leaves you with some nasty cuts. Eventually got the top latched and got home nearly at 2am, had my dad look at it and he thinks that it slides into the joint and then a c ..(clamp? cant remember what he thought) held it in place. All in all, im clueless as to what happened and why, and was curious if anyone knew how to fix this, thankfully its winter so the top wont be used but it needs to be fixed none the less. Heres a few pictures, sorry about the quality. Thanks for anyone's help!


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[Rick]

Anybody have any ideas? :S

[oldmangrimes]

Sorry I don't have any experience with this problem. I'm assuming that you haven't found any other pieces that came off. Can you see enough of the joint on the other, presumably good side of the top to know what parts should be there? Can you post a farther-away picture or description that shows exactly which joint it is? If you simply need a "c clip" (or retaining ring, or snap ring) because it broke off then you should be able to easily buy one (or order, if it's a non-standard size) from a hardware store once you've measured the dimensions. But I'm guessing, and assembly might be tricky. I've got a '95 as well, so I'll take a look at the joints tonight and see if I can see anything.

[95cutlass]

I had this happen to my convertible when I first bought it. The owner told us there was a problem and that the top could not be taken down untill the pin was replaced. So while it was at my mom work they had somebody make a whole new pin to go inside of it. Works perfectly now, and next time I get a chance to go over to my grandmas where its stored, ill take a pic so you can see what we did. Ill also try to find out more info on what was done to fix it!!

[Crazy K]

steping back, I can't see where the pin is in the top... can you get some better pics for the location and such???

[Rick]

Thanks for all the answers! I will try to get some better pictures tomorrow, my digital camera seems to be broken so ill see if my Dad left his DSLR at home while they're on vacation. If not, might not be able to get them until Monday or if my cell phone can take decent in daylight. Ill see what I can do though.

@95Cutlass Alright! Glad someone has had a similar issue before, ill be awaiting a reply from you! Out of curiosity, how much did it cost to make a new pin?

-Rick

[95cutlass]

For my cutlass my moms work (D&A) New somebody that worked in a metal place and he made it for us for free.

[Rick]

Since I still have the pin, we bought a clip and are going to give it a go sometime when it warms up a little and stops raining. Ill post back with results, I assume this is not a very common problem to say the least.