I’ve given up on replacing the cylinder & top. Does anyone know a reputable place around Knoxville that works on our tops? I’d like to order the parts & top and just pay for installation. With that in mind:

1) Replacement cylinders from Klaus are $1,500, less the discount for sending in the old ones.
2) The top is about $750 with our group discount.
3) What’s a reasonable price range for installation? What other questions should I ask? How long does the replacement usually take?

Is there anything else that I need to consider? We simply don’t have the time or expertise to do it in a timely manner. Thanks!

 

Great clip of Klaus with Top Hydraulics on this week’s episode of Wheeler Dealers. Vehicle under repair is a Saab 93 conv.

https://www.tophydraulics.com/?gclid...SAAEgI4HvD_BwE

 

Excellent! I’ll check it out!

- Brian

 

I want to thank Klaus & Top Hydraulics for getting me new cylinders, Eurospec in Tennessee did the installation and they work perfectly. I’m just curious what warranty comes with them.

To the rest of my XFire family, I haven’t replaced the top yet. I noticed that when they demonstrated how it worked that one piece of fabric seemed close bunching up and getting caught in the hydraulics. Do you think that is due to top degradation or installation of the new cylinders?

Thanks,
- Brian

 

Brian,
Did you get your top replaced yet? I just had my (first and hope the last for awhile left cylinder) go bad sent it off to top hydraulics. Looking forward to posting some lessons learned with pictures. We have used the 3M glue with clamps to repair the glass to top situation and has worked well for me but I know that the top will have to be replaced one day. I got quoted 3700 here in Norfolk for top and replacement.

 

Youi can buy a great new top for about $750.00 from BAS International. They also have colors.

 

I got the hydraulics fixed, but, I still have to replace the top. I’ll probably go with the group deal and find someone locally to install it (for warranty purposes). It does ship with the glass already attached, right?

 

Yes. It is one piece.

 

hello everyone,

ı live in Turkey, I have a 40k km convertible crossfire.. The hydraulic lifter of the right side broke. Where can I buy the part, please kindly send me a link and I want to order immidiately ..

 

Was going through a bunch of hard drives today to clean up and make some open space. I found this and felt somebody might need it. It is the complete set of text plus pictures for this tread from g3air from 2-3-14 to 7-26-18. It is a word document and is 18481KB in size. I hope it loads okay. I used it in 2019 and found it invaluable. I noticed the text still exist, but the pictures are gone. If you have trouble with it drop a note to ray48317@aol.com and we will go from there.

 

I too used Top Hydraulics and sent all 7 component to them for overhauling. They supplied tiny 0-rings with the rebuilt parts that really needed to be lubed before installation. As a result of me not doing this, I too cut one of the o-rings (twice) which nearly brought me to tears because I ended up dumping the entire reservoir of hydraulic oil into the wheel well cavity beneath the main pump assembly (twice!).

And... a huge heads up ... when you overhaul all components and introduce air into the system, this air needs to be evacuated (removed) through normal cylinder actuation. When using the pump to work the air out, my leak not only emptied the reservoir, but it locked the trunk (as a safety feature).

Picture this, an empty reservoir, and a locked trunk. Luckily I found a youTube vid of how you can release the truck lid lock by going in from the license plate lighting socket.

Anyway - long story short, my top now actuates wonderfully, and repeatedly. I learned so much, and probably saved 2-3000$ in labor..

 

The convertible top on our 2005 roadster stopped working a couple weeks ago. For the purpose of this inquiry; The vehicle has always been garaged. The top has always lowered and raised properly. There is no past evidence of hydraulic fluid leaking from anywhere. The top storage compartment and trunk are very clean and have no evidence of water leakage. I have researched all the reasons and checked all the failure possibilities. I have watched the videos on the forums and Top Hydraulics website. As a result, I checked the pump reservoir and it was definitely low. I filled it with the recommended fluid and tried to lower the top. It failed to lower again. This time I noticed fluid dripping from the drain behind the passenger side rear tire. I assume that this means the pump is running, but not sure. This leak was mentioned in the Top Hydraulics video. Top Hydraulics states that this indicates that one or more of the cylinders is leaking, it is a common problem, and all will eventually leak. They currently offer to rebuild all cylinders and the pump for $1650+, and say the fix should last 30 years. We aren't in a rush to fix this and spend all this money. We have gotten very good at manually operating it (laugh). I am confident I can remove and reinstall the cylinders and pump if required. I did notice that Klaus from TH had several inputs in this forum. I don't know if he is still with them.

My questions are: 1) Has anyone had this experience, worked with Top Hydraulics, and can recommend them? 2) Are there any other better alternatives you can recommend?

Thank you for any advice you offer, Don.

 

I highly recommend Top Hydraulics. They rebuilt all seven cylinders and the pump for me in November 2019. (Pre COVID) At that time I paid $750 for rebuilding the seven cylinders, $450 for rebuilding the pump and $15.00 for return shipping. Total $1,215. I then purchased one liter of the Pentosin CHF 11S Synthetic Hydraulic Fluid for $19.19 on Amazon. Disassembly and reassembly took time but following steps I found on the forum I didn't have any problems. I don't remember the turn around time but remember it being fast at the time. I put the top up and down quite often and have never had any problems with the rebuilt cylinders or pump.

 

Don/Lynn

I made the investment a few years back to send out all 7 hydraulic components to Top Hydraulics for a complete system rebuild. Upon receipt of the rebuilt components, I re-installed all of the rebuilt hardware and can say with confidence that although expensve, the results are that I can open close my ragtop with ease, and as originally designed. I'm happy with Top Hydraulics. I did have some re-installation pains, broken o-rings, leaks, etc, but this was due to installation technique that I was able to improve upon.
Now... no leaks, and consistent mechanical operations.
Hope this helps in some way.
Jim

 

I have used Top Hydraulics twice. I highly recommend them. I do not know if anyone else is rebuilding these hydraulics. I have also helped my friend who owns a Convertible Crossfire use them twice. I have never had a poor experience with them.

 

Thank you all for your feedback. Have a great day!

 

I noticed this on the floor in my garage below this rubber hose that drains water from inside the gas cap door.
It was hydraulic oil running down the outside of this hose.
It turns out my right main hydraulic cylinder for the top finally began to leak oil and it was running down on the tube and dripping on the floor.
Good news is I have 2 new main cylinders shipping from “Top Hydraulics” and will arrive in 2 days.
I’m bringing them to the Ozarks Event in a few weeks and I'm going to have them installed by an expert who is also attending the event.

I’ll send my 2 cylinders removed back to Top Hydraulics for a refund of the core deposit I paid.
I spoke with the owner himself today and we discussed this forum as well as the many Facebook groups for Crossfire owners
Top Hydraulics has been known to be the best source to replace our Roadster Hydraulic Cylinders for many years