93 Cutlass Supreme convertible top issue

[gr_elvis]

Why won't my top go all the way down on one side?

[Human]

You could have a broken piston on the side that isn't working. I encountered this on my '95 vert last fall. I took the car out for some exercise on a warm afternoon in October, and when I put the top down, there was a loud 'POP', which I found out later was the piston actually snapping off. When I later tried to put it back up, only one side came up. I finally got the top completely up by having a friend operate the switch, while I assisted the broken side to keep it even with the side that was working. I took it to a trim shop a few weeks later, and the guy replaced both pistons, and stapled and screwed the top back into place where it had come loose between the rear seat and trunk lid, and it's been working fine ever since, actually better than it had before. He said he always replaced those pistons in pairs because when one breaks, the other is usually not far behind, and doing them both at once saves significantly on labor.

Edited 5 hours ago by Human