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Convertible Top Hydraulic Motor reproduction


Thomba48

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My top motor is not working - or to be precise: It most likely has  not worked for years. When I opened the reservoir the original oil has muted itself into powder. Something I have not seen before.

An NOS part would be great - but probably not possible to find one. Hence one of those reproductions will be probably be on my purchase list. The certainly look different, have to be installed differently ( definitely not direct bolt in) etc.

 

Has anybody ever made any experience with that? Any good? thanks

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19 minutes ago, Thomba48 said:

My top motor is not working - or to be precise: It most likely has  not worked for years. When I opened the reservoir the original oil has muted itself into powder. Something I have not seen before.

An NOS part would be great - but probably not possible to find one. Hence one of those reproductions will be probably be on my purchase list. The certainly look different, have to be installed differently ( definitely not direct bolt in) etc.

 

Has anybody ever made any experience with that? Any good? thanks

I am just guessing here,but if all else fails you might consider getting in touch with places like White Post Restorations in Va,or Arthur Gould in NY and seeing about getting them rebuilt.

 

What I would do first though,is vacuum all the dust and trash out of it and then try pouring something thin like ATF or machine oil into the reservoirs and then let it sit for a few days before trying to see if they will pump, Ever if the seals don't swell again and seal good,if you can get it working properly it will be a lot cheaper to just buy new seals or  have new seals installed than having to buy it all.

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Hi - the fluid matter seems to be just the end result of the original problem.

 

The actual motor - I have directly attached it to the battery does not work, does not start doing anything. A fact the previous owner must have known: After all the ground connection was taken off and the hydraulic system deliberately and professionally disconnected from the actual pump. Why one would do that I do not understand. I tried to manually close and open the top myself. I must say it is more than just a light exercise :-)

 

So maybe the motor could be rebuild. Yes, but unfortunately being situated in Germany it is too unlikely that someone is going to be found who could do that for me.

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9 minutes ago, Thomba48 said:

Hi - the fluid matter seems to be just the end result of the original problem.

 

The actual motor - I have directly attached it to the battery does not work, does not start doing anything. A fact the previous owner must have known: After all the ground connection was taken off and the hydraulic system deliberately and professionally disconnected from the actual pump. Why one would do that I do not understand. I tried to manually close and open the top myself. I must say it is more than just a light exercise :-)

 

So maybe the motor could be rebuild. Yes, but unfortunately being situated in Germany it is too unlikely that someone is going to be found who could do that for me.

Why? There is nothing magical about hydraulic pumps. I know for a fact that Germans have tractors,as well as cars with power steering. Check with local industrial or agricultural supply companies and ask if they know anyone who will rebuild your pumps.

 

Or do what I do when faced with something that might be expensive,I go to local trade schools,talk  to the instructors,and ask them if they will have a student rebuild whatever it is I have as a class project. You will get a first class rebuild,and it will only cost you for the parts. If hard parts need to be made,that same school will have a machine shop course and they can build it as a student project. Students need projects,so you will be doing them a favor at the same time they are doing you a favor. Just make sure you tell them the pump is operated by 6 volts or 12 volts,whatever system you are running. Having it rebuild and coming back wired for 240 volts wouldn't be much help.

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2 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

Why? There is nothing magical about hydraulic pumps. I know for a fact that Germans have tractors,as well as cars with power steering. Check with local industrial or agricultural supply companies and ask if they know anyone who will rebuild your pumps.

 

Or do what I do when faced with something that might be expensive,I go to local trade schools,talk  to the instructors,and ask them if they will have a student rebuild whatever it is I have as a class project. You will get a first class rebuild,and it will only cost you for the parts. If hard parts need to be made,that same school will have a machine shop course and they can build it as a student project. Students need projects,so you will be doing them a favor at the same time they are doing you a favor. Just make sure you tell them the pump is operated by 6 volts or 12 volts,whatever system you are running. Having it rebuild and coming back wired for 240 volts wouldn't be much help.

 

Of course you are right. And yes it might be worth doing. 

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Thomba.............there are plenty of BMW, Mercedes & Audi convertibles, have you thought of checking your German wrecking yards to see if any might be able to be used or modified to fit?.............andyd  

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Hi Andy. You are most definitely right. But 6 Volt they are not, a three wire set-up they also are not. Not to mention my technical lack of understanding of defining which one to choose (I suppose they need to be in line with the cylinder set-up and the existing switch) etc. So I doubt this will be the road for me to be taken. 

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Thomba.........I'd be checking to see if there were any that apart from the voltage would work, ie, the voltage is something that can be changed with minimal physical differences so if there is a motor or pump that will actually physically fit or work then that is the main issue...........then of course you have to decide whether its worthwhile changing to 12 volts...........as for your lack of understanding...lol............theres only one way to overcome that and that is to look, measure, compare, see, and imagine what can be done.........I have every confidence in your ability to learn..............lol.............regards, andyd  

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3 minutes ago, Thomba48 said:

Well you are the only one that believes in my decreasing lack of understanding. But thanks anyway :-)

 

 

You must be married.

 

Don't ask me how I know.

Edited by knuckleharley
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Knuckle...............whats marriage got to do with it.........lol..........I tell "She who must be obeyed" that I've been playing with cars longer than I've been playing with girls........she thinks I'm joking..............lol............oops...........WACK!!!.........yes dear, no dear, three bags full dear...............lol............andyd

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 23.1.2018 at 10:07 AM, Andydodge said:

Thomba.............there are plenty of BMW, Mercedes & Audi convertibles, have you thought of checking your German wrecking yards to see if any might be able to be used or modified to fit?.............andyd  

Hi just to update you.

 

I decided not to go for the obvious and easy option (as often) of purchasing a replacement motor. Instead I hunted down a shop that is looking into the matter and claims to be able to solve the issue. The place itself is totally fallen out of this time, run by the father and his sun (not sure who is who :-), cramped with tools and items to repair, with no service orientation "We shall let you know when it is ready", the response to "When that could be?" was "Certainly this year, but we shall not promise anything" but  a real interest in these "Old things" as the person very warm-heartedly said. So in a way cool :-)

Edited by Thomba48
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i had the motor for my 54 Chrysler rebuilt 3 times.nobody really knew what they were doing even though they claimed to know. it ended up worse than when i started. finally broke down and bought a new one from hydro-e-lectric in florida. bought the wiring to go with it too.i have not yet installed, but i expect to in the next few weeks, weather permitting. your pump should clean up, as mine had that same powdery stuff in it when i first took everything apart. cleaning that fixed the pump. main issue with the motor was the brushes.they had gotten brake fluid on them and never were right again. they would leave residue on the commutator so it would only work a short time. they are spot welde to the motor and nobody would replace them. good luck. by the way, i hope you disconnected the pistons when manually operating the top. still not easy for one person, very easy for two.    capt den

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Capt den. Now I feel bad. You have shattered my hopes :-)  Well most likely you are right and everything was for nothing. Fact is, so I checked today, they haven't even looked at it since I handed it over. So they may not even be able to something about it. Lol

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There is a place in Florida that sells convertible top motors and such........ http://www.hydroe.com/     is their

website address.     

Hydro-E-Lectric: Convertible Tops and Power Window Parts from 1946

www.hydroe.com/
  1.  
  2.  
Hydro-E-Lectric has been providing quality American made products since 1976. We carry a full line of convertible tops and power window parts for foreign and U.S. cars from 1946 through present day.

Browse by Make and Models

CONVERTIBLE TOPS AND POWER WINDOW PARTS ...

Repair and Installation

Glass adjustment and installation; Carpet and interior installation ...

Contact

(800) 343-4261; info@Hydro-E-Lectric.com. HOME · CONTACT ...

Convertible Top Sample Chart

CONVERTIBLE TOPS AND POWER WINDOW PARTS ...
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I used the top motor from a mid sixties convertible in my 51 Plymouth.  It is a 12 volt motor but runs just fine on 6 volts.

 

I figure that because of the larger diameter top cylinders, the motor does not have to work as hard.  The top rises and falls just as it was intended to  and I have had no trouble in

30 plus years.

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wish i had thought of using a later year motor, even if 12 volt. live and learn. the shop you are using should have no problem to do the work in 2 weeks or less. these motors are very easy to take apart, clean and put back together.   capt den

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