Better Check em! Cracked Convertible Top hydraulic lines

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DA69RT GT

DA69RT GT

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If you have an old convertible and have never checked your hydraulic hoses that are attached to the pump... now might be a good time! The convertible top hoses on your car get brittle with age, don't wait till they start to leak and ruin the trunk or interior of your car!

I have a 69 Dart GT vert and didnt even know mine were bad...
I went to move them to clean the floorboard under back seat and one of them just snapped! I grabbed another one and pulled on it and it snapped too! Appears they were original and I guess they had done their job with 40+ yrs of service.
Looks like I was "lucky". Could have gotten whole car back together (carpet in, new seat skins, etc) not knowing they were bad, and then had nasty mess...
Ordered a set from Convertible Specialists who offers free shipping on orders over $100 on their Ebay site. They also sent great instructions, and when I called with a couple questions... they answered everything- no problems! I would highly recmmnd these guys.
Anyway- it was fairly easy install: bled system, replaced hoses, added fluid, and refilled pump and re-bled system. Heres a link to the help page:
http://topsdown.com/pages.php?pageid=6

Heres Ebay link to convertible specialists: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


Heres a few pics of the original cracked hoses and the installation of the new hoses:

broke line2.jpg


broke line 2.jpg


vert pump before1.jpg


vert pump before2.jpg


vert pump fin1.jpg


vert pump fin2.jpg


vert pump fin3.jpg


vert pump fin4.jpg


vert pump fin 4a.jpg
 
Thanks 66340SEDAN...
It wasnt as bad as I expected... and the vendor really walked me thru the whole process.
I guess the only thing he could have stressed more would have been to bleed the old cylinders SLOWLY. I lost my balance pushing downon a rod and shot fluid everywhere!!!
Thank God it was totally stripped. I had to throw my shirt and shorts out though...
my wife refused to put them in our washer because of the smell (a previous owner mixture of brake fluid and tranny fluid). :tongue3:
 
lol... thats what my wife said, "aww- you put in pink lines for me!"
No- I used tranny fluid. The top of the pump/motor says to use it and the convertible top company said to completely drain and then run some thru to flush out the brake fluid somebody had added.
The top works great (fingers crossed) and it it much more quiet now.
 
Amazing how after all these years things haven't really changed.
This is the pump for my 04 Sebring vert. Other than the plug it doesn't really look like anything has changed.
IMG00089-20100428-1213.jpg
 
toplscuda said:
Amazing how after all these years things haven't really changed.
This is the pump for my 04 Sebring vert. Other than the plug it doesn't really look like anything has changed.
IMG00089-20100428-1213.jpg
Click to expand...


The more things change...

Was just looking at the pics of the lines. In the 50s rubber lines were used. Plastic hadn't gained a huge foot hold yet.
 
DA69RT GT said:
lol... thats what my wife said, "aww- you put in pink lines for me!"
No- I used tranny fluid. The top of the pump/motor says to use it and the convertible top company said to completely drain and then run some thru to flush out the brake fluid somebody had added.
The top works great (fingers crossed) and it it much more quiet now.
Click to expand...

Brake fluid?...thats probably what made the plastic lines brittle. My lines are still orig, and they're still very flexible. (only trans fluid in there)

Good tip though.
 
Thanks for the many photos. I recently got a 1964 A-body vert, but with manual top. My wife would love a power top, so your photos may help. But, I read that the top frames differ, so a power conversion may not be an option.
 
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