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How To: Replace convertible top lift cylinder

29K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  orl1mjf 
#1 · (Edited)
I was quoted $300 to fix this... one side!

I spent $55+ shipping at John's Mustang and an hour or so of my time doing this.

First thing, take off the rear seat and the quarter trim:



This is a close up of one of the two fasteners that hold this lift cylinder in place. My lift cylinder broke on the plastic part that this piece attaches to. I left it alone for now because my lift cylinder is just hanging there.



This part is kind of a PITA. You need to lift the top to a point where you can get to the top bolt. My top was to the point where the forward-most part of the top was pointing pretty much straight up. This bolt takes a T40 TORX bit.



Since I was working by myself I had to rig up something to hold the top up. Some boxes did the trick.



A view from the top as the bolt is all the way loose.:



Since the plastic part broke my lift cylinder just fell out:



Go ahead and take off that nut I showed you earlier to let your lift strut come out with a 1/2" wrench / socket:

 
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#2 · (Edited)
Now you've caught up with me :). Now let the top back down manually.



When the top goes down, the fluid back-flushing through the system is going to push the rod on your old cylinder out:



I operated the convertible top switch to retract the cylinder fully:



Time to make a mess... I put a garbage bag under the old cylinder to catch any leakage and I set the new cylinder next to the old one so transfering the lines would be easy:



The fittings take an 11mm wrench. One line transfered:



Ready to go back on the car:



The old one, nice shot of what broke:

 
#3 · (Edited)
Rig the top back up again (a friend would be a BIG help here!) and then hang the lift cylinder back on the car via the bracket and 1/2" nut:



Here's a closer shot. I loosly assembled this until I got the top mount in place:



I used the convertible top switch to extend the rod slowly until it lined up with where it bolts to the frame:



After the top attach point is snug, tighten the nut at the lower bracket:



At this point you are good to go!

If you lost a lot of fluid due to a leak or whatever check the resovoir and fill it with Mercon ATF XT-2-QDX or equivalent. You fill it till the fluid is at the bottom of the filler hole.

Now replace the interior panels and rear seat.

All done.

Shawn
 
#4 ·
Nice write up Shawn. It's not to hard, just time consuming & a pain in the a$$ to get to. I had to replace my cylinder after it hosed the inside of the quarter panel 1 month after I installed my light bar (which makes it harder to get the panels off).
 
#7 ·
Thanks guys. The Ford CD manual basicly said 'replace it' for instructions. This wasn't much help! I figured I'd take some pics and do a quick write-up while I was at it.

I already had the back seat out and the quarter trim taken loose so add the time to take them apart to that hour or so. It really went much easier than I expected.

Shawn
 
#10 ·
For anyone who is wondering why I put the top down before swapping the cylinder, it's because the Ford manual said to have the cylinders in the fully retracted position before swapping them. The problem is that you can't get to the top Torx bolt with the top in the down position.

I'm guessing they reccomend this so that the weight of the top isn't causing fluid pressure when you swap the lines over to the new part.

I checked 50resto and they were up to $56 now. $55 or so seems to be the going price so their price is still a 'good' price - especially with their good reputation.

Shawn
 
#11 ·
Great post, only wish it was around for when I replaced mine. I bought my car with one broken just like this, so my dad and I did the whole job the with te top up... big mess but still not too much of a job.

I recall the cylinder being $40 from the ford dealership with my father's small discount.
 
#21 ·
This job is not hard at all, you will see what you need to do as you remove parts. Pull the interior trim out of the back, and you will reveal the lift cylinders, remove a couple bolts and fittings and replace them on your new cylinder. Afterwards, fill the pump up with trans fluid and cycle the top up and down a few times. Word of caution, if your using Junkyard parts, make the part you get shows no sign of leakage. Most times, the cylinders will only leak in certain positions, spraying the fluid out and collecting under the rear seat foam.
 
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