Fluf97zj

New to the forum with a newly purchased 00 GT vert. I had a question that I was hoping ya'll may have had experience with. I purchased the car with a broken hydraulic line for the top. Will be installing the replacement line this afternoon and was wondering if there is a special procedure to prime the pump system.

Has anyone had to refill their pump system after all of the fluid leaked out and did you have any tips?

Thanks in advance and thisis a great board.

vt89gtvert

I had to help my stepdad with his and we simply filled it back up after we fixed the leak. Here is a descripition I wrote a while back on filling the top and the like.

To check the fluid level remove the filler plug located on the right side of the pump/motor assembly and check the fluid level. It should be level with the bottom of the filler plug hole. To fill it I always used transmission oil. But fill it with the top down. The leaking could easily be leaking. Imagine the following senario:

The top is up and you fill up the pump. Now you lower the top and the pressure increases and blows out the o-ring.

Fluf97zj

Thanks for the helpful reply VT89. Just a quick follow-up, was your system completely empty? If so, this should be a piece of cake.I found that the cylinder on the drivers side had actually come offthe mounting stud and the nut andretaining plate were laying in the floorpan behind the interior panel. Apparently, when the cylinder went to the floorpan, the plastic line broke at the fitting allowing all of the fluid to be pumped all over the floorpan.

It is supposed to get into the 50s here today so I am going to give it a shot. Thanks again.

Waterclown

Thanks for the incite on refilling the fluid.

My '88 LX (convertible) recently blew a seal in the passenger side piston (though I don't take responsibility for this; I just bought the 'Stang in Jan.). Trying to put the top down, I had hydraulic fluid squirting all over my back seat. That really sucked. After inspection of the while assembly I realized that my pump and line(s) are fine but that there is a small leak at the interface of the piston cylinder and the actuator arm.

I'm trying to fix this myself by replacing the piston but I can't find any good programs in the internet or even in a Chilton/Haynes manual etc that describe doing so. It looks like I am going to have to take a part some of the linkage and I don't want to screw it up...

If anyone has experience with this I could desparately use it. I guess what I'm looking for is a detailed, organized set of steps but really I'll take any suggestions and incites at this point.

vt89gtvert

It was my step-dads stang but it was mostly empty, but he had almost the same situation, except the hose fell pointing so the fluid was just filling his trunk with the fluid.

Fluf97zj

ThanksVT89, your advicewas dead on! Myson and I have repalced the line and had to refill the resevoir 2 times after cycling it and top it off for a final time but we have the top working like new - leak free to boot. We are all set for the better weather this week.

I assume from your sig you are in VA? Where abouts? We are in Richmond and are interested in finding a club to look into. Anyway thanks again.

vt89gtvert

I am in blacksburg right now, but graduating in may, will most likely be in the Northern VA region in July or so. But I did a google search for mustang clubs in VA and found the following:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...bs+in+Virginia

Might be of some help. Good luck to you

jmk3

I don't know if its the same procedure for the older verts but it makes sense, I have an 06 and a factory service manual. It says to remove the back seat bottom then the seat back and quarter trim next to rear seats. then you remove both pistons & pump from car as a unit & service them on a bench so you don't make a mess in the car. Make your repairs then refill with pump higher than cylinders. Connect to 12 volt power source & run pistons in & out 4 to six times. Check fluid level & add as needed (check fluid while retracted). Reinstall cylinders & pump as a unit. I abrieviated some steps but you get the idea. Hope it helps.

Waterclown

Me and my buddy tried to revmove the pistons from my '89 LX. O my god it was a nightmare! We actually were not able to do it without a major removal of structural members... I am posting some pics of the experience in my album. If you are interested I highly recommend you take a look at it to see what you getting into (sorry to direct you to the gallery but I'm having trouble posting pics in-text)!

It seems that there are two unthreaded bolts that fix each piston in place which are perpendicular to the extending shaft and are on the driver's and passenger's side of the piston long axis. The problem with my convertible linkage is that one of the bolts on the passenger side piston has come off and it seems that when I engage the top, the load is unevenly distributed on that piston which caused the seal to break. Now I've got hyraulic fluid all over (and under) my back seat... Having found the bolt that came undone on the flooring under the back seat, we found small solder spots (about 5 of them - pics to come) on the contact side of the bolt-flange interface. It looks like Ford has them soldererd and pressed (at least for the Foxes) so that the bolt is actually secured at the head-flange contact rather than inside the piston at the female-male connection. This makes removing the bolts extremely difficult - we tried to pop out the piston with a screwdriver resulting in little joy. Is this a problem others are experiencing or is my 'Stang just bad luck? This is all in the process of trying to repair the convertible linkage and ultimately refill the hydraulic fluid to get the top working again.

I could really use some help on this!!!