cabriolet roof, poorly fitted?

hi,
the roof on my cabby doesn't seem to be far enough forward, and i think thats a reason it leaks at the windows both sides, having seen 1 or 2 i believe this might be the problem, as clipping the hood back in the holes with the handles is also a struggle,

can anyone advise me on the best remedy?
or is anyone suffering similiar fate to me??

help would be appreciated,

many thanx

i got this problem on my other cabriolet i havent had time to look at it yet,me thinking somthings bent in the frame its self but not sure yet.

okay
Power or manual frame?
When was the hood fitted i.e. is it a new one?
Old hoods can shrink and become porous allowing water to seep through them.
Did you have new cables fitted to the sides at the same time?
What year is the car?
Is the frame origional to the car as some people swap them over from other cars rather than replace the hood,Headliner and centre section it's self?
With doors open check that the front seals meets at the A pillar.
These can be tight with the fastening, when a new hood is fitted.
Leaking from the latching handle area can be down to the foam gasket seals, these need to be changed at the same time as the hood.
Have you checked the that the window channel seal is pulled up and that the windows are adjusted, they should just depress the seal slightly when wound up.

Pictures would be great too.

Its a common problem that they leak at the front, some kind of design fault but yes it often happens !
I found that tightening the location hooks helpes, and make sure the window is wound up tight too

its 1982 and as far as i know its the original roof, its manual not electric, its as i bought it, i was thinking have a new hood fitted but if the frame is knackered thats another problem to overcome.
the hooks are wound out only 2 turns so are pretty tight, but to my knowledge everything is original and nothing has been replaced, hope this photoos help

Okay,

couple of issues your missing the A pillar trims that take the water away from the roof.



And I cannot see the Header seal that shoul overlap the front bit of the windscreen either.





My Hooks are only wound out a bit too, usually 3-4 threads showing is the norm.



You can adjust the eccentrics to push the hood forward, but this will need asjusting and checking as you go along.



Also try adjusting the J hooks by winding them out a bit so it pulls in more.
don't over do this these handles have a habit of snapping, mine went on Sunday.. Lucky I had a Spare..
more pics from different angles would help. Similar to the ones I have put up.
You can compare off mine, these things are never straight forward.

can you advise me where to purchase these a pillar trims please

Mischief said

can you advise me where to purchase these a pillar trims please

Ask on here in the parts wanted section or E bay, not cheap either.
Any chance of some more pics, to help further?

brb gonna take some more pics

Also the roof looks in good condition in the second piccy.
Can you not find out from the previous owner if it has had a new roof?

A common mistake is that the side cables are different lengths for certain years.
have a look at the last frame arm section where the cable goes through, it should locate onto a tab or a spring which may be in a sleeve.

If only on a tab there should be springs in the front  section.

ok heres some more pics with roof away

as far as i know, or what ive been told by the last owner could be bullshit, it was barn stored with the roof down for nearly 10 yrs hence why it had mk2 seats and smelt of ferrets i think to be honest ive bought a wrong un but i will make it sweet again if it bankrupts me

Sorry just been out taking some pics.

Right then the seals at the front are not correct at all and the Header looks worn. It looks like the seals are fouling the closure of the hood properly.

It looks like the hood is good condition overall.

There are screws that hold the metal retainers in place, these are notorious for letting in water and after these are fitted they put a bead of sillicone around the screw and about 40mm backwards.

If it was me I would look at the seals to see why they are not fitted properly, it may mean getting a set of seals and stripping the old ones off, renewing the foam gaskets, making sure all the holders and seals are in the correct position. An hours work or so.




Again compare yours to mine lol.

FRONT SEALS ON SIDE NOTE THE SCREW?





MIDDLE SEAL HAS CUT OUT THAT GOES OVER THE B PILLAR SEAL



THERE ARE 2 PLASTIC COVERS MISSING FROM THE HOOK LOCATING PLATES
THEY ARE HELD IN WITH PUSH PIN CLIPS.





Hope this helps you now.

The metal holders that hold the seals in place are probably wrong. So renewing these sections could be the way forward for a start.

Right just done some research and they might be correct at the front for your year car as it's early.

GRRRR! VW for keep changing things.

Had a look on E bay and found these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-CABRIO-FRONT-SIDE-WINDOWS-ROOF-SEALS-/260806929480?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb94dec48

I am going to send you a link via pm that should help a bit, I think that have to be pulled forward to meet the header seal and then a self tapping screw fitted.
I wonder if the later ones would fit straight on as a swap over?

IT GOES TO SHOW YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY!!!!!!!!!
WELL I HAVE TODAY LOL.

strange how and why they have changed seals and other parts on different years of the same car, keeping me on my toes,  nothiin is ever straight forward god dam :? , its raining now so work as ground to a holt,
many thanx for all your help            

yeah was going to say, the seals, header rail etc are all correct for the age of your car, but they're probably well past it by now. on my 83 cabrio i gradually replaced all the pictured parts with the later stuff which really helped with the weather proofing

the only issue you'll have is the 2 front side seals need an extra screw hole as you can see, i carefully lined them up and drilled the hole and secured with a self tapping screw. eventually i ended up having to replace the whole frame for a later one anyway as mine was all rusted away along the leading edge

excellent, good to know you can fit later model gear, thats the way forward i think :mrgreen:

even the door and b pillar seals changed! the later ones are much nicer to look at and a better design. the late door seals have a better end trim at the back of the door which finishes off the look better, no more gap at the end of the door slot seal. the b pillar has a metal plate where it kinks out, stops the seal splitting there at the top edge of the door. im sure you know what i mean anyway!

i actually have a brand new vag outer door seal somewhere, driver side. ive sold my cab now so if you wanted it…