How to diagnose & replace convertible top motor 1995-2000 Cavalier-Sunfire - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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How to diagnose & replace convertible top motor 1995-2000 Cavalier-Sunfire
Monday, July 02, 2007 6:48 PM
RazzMaTazz
Symptoms of a failing convertible top motor:
There are two convertible top motors per vehicle—one on each side. Typically one of the motors will start to weaken or fail before the other motor fails. Consequently, when you raise the convertible top, it may raise unevenly, and jerkily, with one side lagging the other side. When you lower the top, it may lower unevenly, and it may not retract fully on one side. When the top fully retracts to the base, you may also hear the motor spinning without effect. Eventually both sides may stop working. It’s probably not good to use the convertible top when it’s raising and lowering unevenly, since it puts stress and wear on the joints.

Replacing the motors:
If one convertible top motor fails, you should replace both since the other one will be weakend and fail shortly.

1) Inside the trunk near the left trunk hinge, flip the convertible motor switch to “emergency override”.

2) From the front seat, unlatch the convertible top (to release pressure on the motor & gear) but don’t retract the top.

3) From the rear seat, remove the four black Philips-head screws (two on each side) that attach the sideliner straps to the body. The two side straps are at about ear level if you’re seated in the back seat. The two rear straps are just below the rear window. You may want to hold onto the straps with one hand as you unscrew them so that they don’t twist around the screwdriver.

4) Remove the rear seatback by folding it forward about 45 degrees. Then wiggle it back and forth while pushing the entire seatback toward the passenger side of the car while pulling the driver side until you can unhinge it from the passenger side. Then wiggle it back and forth while pulling toward the driver side to unhinge it from the passenger side. Remove the seatback from the car.

5) Remove the rear seat base by pushing the seatbelts out of the way and then firmly pulling it straight up. (There are clips under either side in the front. Be careful not to break them. Also be careful to note the orientation and placement of the clips since it can be difficult to figure out how to reattach them.) Remove the seat base from the car.

6) Remove the inside rear side panels as follows. You’ll need to remove three black Philips-head screws from each side. (Top rear. Bottom middle. Front middle. All the same size.) You’ll also need to remove the rear-most screw from each side floorboard and carefully slide the side panel tongue out from under the side floorboard. It will be difficult to pull the panels from their clips without breaking the plastic clip posts so gently pull straight toward the opposite panel, until the clips detach. Then lift and wiggle the side panel to remove it. Once removed, you’ll also need to disconnect the speaker and light. You may want to use a screwdriver to depress the tab on speaker connector. You may want to use two screwdrivers to hold out the light clips when you pull the plug out from the clear plastic light housing (which can be surprisingly challenging). If you pull the seatbelt out, you can carefully remove the panel and set it on the outside of the car (though the seatbelt will still be running through the panel).

7) Unplug the motor. The plug is near the bottom of the seat, hidden behind the gray padding. It has a red/black wire pair. You may want to push in on the plug’s tab with a screwdriver since it can be difficult to depress completely with your finger.

8) Carefully remove the tape that holds the motor wire to the body.

9) The two convertible top motors are located below each side-rear windows, just below the sector gear. Remove them as follows. Use a 10mm wrench (preferably a ratcheting box wrench) to remove the 3 bolts holding the motor to the side of the car. (You’ll only be able to fully remove the top rear bolt completely before removing the motor. The other two bolts will come out with the motor when you pull the motor out.) It’s best to remove the front bolt first otherwise when the motor detaches, it can trap the box wrench. Then remove the top rear bolt completely. Then remove the bottom rear bolt. (It is possible to use a 10mm crescent/box wrench, but it will be much more difficult and time consuming than a ratcheting box wrench because you can only swing the wrench a few degrees. It is much better to use a ratcheting box wrench. If you don’t own one, consider borrowing or buying one. It is close quarters work so there is not enough room for a ratchet wrench.

10) Remove each motor, untangling its wires as necessary.

11) To install the new motors, reverse the above instructions. But first you should put some lock-tight (thread glue) on the threaded tips of the bolts and thread the bottom two bolts through the motor before inserting the motor.

If you use a ratcheting box wrench and follow these instructions it should about one hour to remove the motors and one hour to reinstall them. If you use a crescent wrench or box wrench, it'll probably take twice as long.

Note: Note that you can re-latch the roof and drive the car until you receive replacement motors.

Buying convertible top motors:
You can buy convertible top motors from a variety of vendors, but they're a bit expensive. Fortunately, there is a guy that rebuilds convertible top motors and does his business on Ebay (as "topmotorrepair"). His website is www.topmotorrepair.com You mail him a pair of motors and he mails you a pair of rebuit ones (for $110/pair as of 7/3/07). It's much cheaper than buying new motors. He provides a lifetime guarantee on the rebuild. He has a perfect Ebay feedback rating and did right by me, twice. (My wife and I have two 1996 Cavalier convertibles with top motors that failed after 10 or 11 years. We live in northern California and probably put the tops up and down 250 times per year, so we're a bit tough on convertible top motors.)

Re: How to diagnose & replace convertible top motor 1995-2000 Cavalier-Sunfire
Friday, September 07, 2007 7:54 PM
RazzMaTazz
Author's addendum: In step 5, when removing the seat base, lift the seat base slightly on either side (from the front), and look under the seat base. On either side you will see a square metal post with a hole in it. If you push a flat head screwdriver into the hole of that metal post, it will release the clip that holds the seat down.
Re: How to diagnose & replace convertible top motor 1995-2000 Cavalier-Sunfire
Monday, June 22, 2015 4:42 PM
M corbley
You saved me hundreds. Thanks!
Re: How to diagnose & replace convertible top motor 1995-2000 Cavalier-Sunfire
Monday, July 20, 2015 12:51 PM
RazzMaTazz
M corbley: Thanks for letting me know. It makes me happy to know that it was worth my time to post instructions.
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