Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

Lookup · 04-18-2016, 11:29 AM

I was able to open the top manually, thanks entirely Klaus and Top Hydraulics. Unfortunately, I didn't find the problem. More on that below.

Here's what I learned:

Before you can remove the deflector between the roll bars, you have to take the plastic trim pieces off the rolls bars. The front piece is just snapped on with annoying plastic clips most of which, if you're anything like me, you will probably break. Here's me pulling recklessly on the front piece:

The back half is held on by three screws that you can see in this picture, and a plastic clip in the bottom:

After you get the plastic trim pieces off, there is one nut and one bolt on the back of each side of the deflector. They are 10mm.

The inner cover that Klaus referred to is held by a bunch of plastic clips around the edge on the underside. You can see the clips in this photo taken from underneath the cover on top of the storage compartment lid:

After pulling several of the clips from the center, you can pull the cover back to get to the striker. I determined that it wasn't necessary to completely remove the cover, and after looking at it I'm not certain that you even can. But in hindsight, I wish I would have pulled more of the clips to get the liner further out of the way. In this photo you can see me pulling the liner back to reveal the two bolts on the striker:

At first it looks like you will have to use an open end wrench on those bolts (10mm again). But there are holes over the bolts covered by adhesive tabs. Remove the tabs and you can wedge a small ratchet under the rear window and get the socket on these bolts. It's worth it because they turn hard all the way out.

So now I've removed the striker:

And I'm ready to pull the release cables in the trunk:

I do that, and then turn the bolt in the front top to release the top:

Now I am able to move the top, but the storage compartment lid will not open. I pulled on the cables again, but they wouldn't pull any further. When I was about ready to throw in the towel, I figured I might as well start the car and push the open button. Sure enough, the top and storage compartment proceeded to open. I still have no idea why pulling the cables didn't release the storage cover.

The bad news is, I couldn't find the source of what I had previously assumed was leaking hydraulic fluid. I didn't see any chafed wires or other visible problems. Here is the area where the oil was as best as I could get photos:

I couldn't find oil anywhere in the area.

Strangely enough, after all of this the top actually functioned perfectly several times. I continued to play around with it and it occasionally would stop in the process of closing, but would always open (unlike before I started this process). Now it at least closed properly, the alarm is off, and I can use my trunk. The fact that the top started working at least intermittently after I moved it around makes me lean back in the direction of an electrical problem. I still don't know what to make of the mystery oil. I suspected that operating the top would cause more oil to appear, but it didn't.

I hope this is helpful to others. And if anyone has any tips on what else I can do to start narrowing down the problem, I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks again to Klaus and Top Hydraulics for getting me this far!

04-18-2016, 11:29 AM	#47 (permalink)
Lookup Base Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4 Drives: 2010 370Z Rep Power: 10	Update I was able to open the top manually, thanks entirely Klaus and Top Hydraulics. Unfortunately, I didn't find the problem. More on that below. Here's what I learned: Before you can remove the deflector between the roll bars, you have to take the plastic trim pieces off the rolls bars. The front piece is just snapped on with annoying plastic clips most of which, if you're anything like me, you will probably break. Here's me pulling recklessly on the front piece: The back half is held on by three screws that you can see in this picture, and a plastic clip in the bottom: After you get the plastic trim pieces off, there is one nut and one bolt on the back of each side of the deflector. They are 10mm. The inner cover that Klaus referred to is held by a bunch of plastic clips around the edge on the underside. You can see the clips in this photo taken from underneath the cover on top of the storage compartment lid: After pulling several of the clips from the center, you can pull the cover back to get to the striker. I determined that it wasn't necessary to completely remove the cover, and after looking at it I'm not certain that you even can. But in hindsight, I wish I would have pulled more of the clips to get the liner further out of the way. In this photo you can see me pulling the liner back to reveal the two bolts on the striker: At first it looks like you will have to use an open end wrench on those bolts (10mm again). But there are holes over the bolts covered by adhesive tabs. Remove the tabs and you can wedge a small ratchet under the rear window and get the socket on these bolts. It's worth it because they turn hard all the way out. So now I've removed the striker: And I'm ready to pull the release cables in the trunk: I do that, and then turn the bolt in the front top to release the top: Now I am able to move the top, but the storage compartment lid will not open. I pulled on the cables again, but they wouldn't pull any further. When I was about ready to throw in the towel, I figured I might as well start the car and push the open button. Sure enough, the top and storage compartment proceeded to open. I still have no idea why pulling the cables didn't release the storage cover. The bad news is, I couldn't find the source of what I had previously assumed was leaking hydraulic fluid. I didn't see any chafed wires or other visible problems. Here is the area where the oil was as best as I could get photos: I couldn't find oil anywhere in the area. Strangely enough, after all of this the top actually functioned perfectly several times. I continued to play around with it and it occasionally would stop in the process of closing, but would always open (unlike before I started this process). Now it at least closed properly, the alarm is off, and I can use my trunk. The fact that the top started working at least intermittently after I moved it around makes me lean back in the direction of an electrical problem. I still don't know what to make of the mystery oil. I suspected that operating the top would cause more oil to appear, but it didn't. I hope this is helpful to others. And if anyone has any tips on what else I can do to start narrowing down the problem, I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks again to Klaus and Top Hydraulics for getting me this far!