Hydraulic Actuator O-ring Upgrade Kit for 1999-2012 Porsche 911 Cabriolet (996 & 997) Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 1 Section 1: Before we get started Background The Porsche 911 Cabriolet has two hydraulic actuators that raise and lower the convertible top. The internal rod seals of these actuators are composed of polyurethane, which has a s-year shelf life-at best. Put polyurethane seals into a vehicle that's exposed to all sorts of environmental conditions-and it's a wonder the seals last as long as they do. As these seals deteriorate, the actuators begin to leak. This problem will reveal itself in one oftwo ways: The top will be slow to raise and lower, as the system can't develop adequate pressure. Or, the top won't raise or lower at all, once the hydraulic pump fluid level falls below a certain point. The purpose oftbis kit The Shockwave Technologies kit is designed to upgrade the hydraulic actuators that power your Porsche 911's convertible top. Once installed, the special o-rings in this kit won't deteriorate like the factory seals or those installed by third parties. This is a once-and-done fix. Cbeck tllat you have the correct ltit 1. Verify you have the correct hydraulic actuator rebuild kit. This kit is for the following vehicles built on the 996 and 997 chasses: 996 chasses: • 1999 - 2004 911 Carrera Cabriolet • 1999 - 2004 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet • 1999 - 2004 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet • 1999 - 2004 911 Turbo cabriolet • • 1999 - 2004 911 Turbo XSO Cabriolet 1999 - 2004 911 Turbo S Cabriolet 997 chasses: • • • 2005 - 2012911 Carrera Cabriolet • 2005 - 2012 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet • • 2005 - 2012 911 Turbo Cabriolet 200S - 2012 911 Carrera 5 Cabriolet 200S - 2012 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet 2005 - 2012 911 Turbo 5 Cabriolet Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work Is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 2. Check the contents of your hydraulic actuator upgrade kit: I'f'lra~ll< .,., ......... O,,'n~ 1J ....... ,lr I(ll j~r 1iffl.:.~OI'1n.;.mI"" t Cll>lI~I~,'')'J(.ll')')n l;(oh;' •• J). ~~ .. ~" ~,.,«! ..n,. .."".,,,- lJ~r"UjJj$ "lIb".t~lIrll'IOf &IIl't'IJ,!<60 Figure 1: Contents of the kit • This highly detailed multipage manual • Four (4) large Nitrile (BUNA-N) o-rings that replace your faulty polyurethane u-cup seals • Two (2) medium-size zip ties • Set offour (4) picks (optional, depending on which kit you purchased) Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. 2 Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 Assemble your tools Gather together the tools you'll need: • Safety glasses • Prying tool • 10mm combination wrench • 12mm combination wrench or 12mm socket and ratchet • 13mm combination wrench • Medium-size flat-blade screwdriver • Small flat-blade screwdriver, pick set, or drill and 1/8" drill bit plus 1/8" drift punch • Shop towels • Rubber bands • Electrical tape • Razor blade or pair of sidecutters • WD40 Disclaimer Gut check: These instructions are intended only as a guide. Shockwave Technologies is not liable for any damages or injury. Use these parts and instructions at your own discretion, risk, and peril. If after reading through these instructions, you are unsure about your ability to safely perform this repair, please stop and seek qualified help. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. 3 Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 4 Section 2: Remove the actuators Plan on approximately 30 minutes to remove each actuator from your vehicle: 1. Start with the top in the raised and locked position. 2. Press the open button until the rear deck fully opens and the front latch releases. 3. Remove the key from the ignition and put the key in your pocket. You don't want the top inadvertently moving while you are removing the actuators. 4. Don your safety glasses and keep them on until noted that it is safe for you to remove them. 5. Reaching under the retracted rear deck, remove the two anchoring cables from their anchoring posts. There is a cable on each side (left and right). You can use a prying tool to remove them. Or, you can simply grasp them at the bottom and they should pop off readily. 6. Fold the rear of the top forward and up past the 90-degree point. This way, it will stay out of the way. Note: For 2002 and later cars with a glass rear window, you will need to prop up the back edge ofthe top. 4 fasteners 7. Using your prying tool, remove the 6mm plastic retainers that secure the molded carpeting in place. B. Remove the molded carpeting piece from your vehicle. Foto 9. Remove the black electrical connector from the rear deck actuator. Simply squeeze the side tabs and pull the connector down. Foto 10. Remove the top of the white electrical connector. It's the connector right next to the light blue connector. Just squeeze the tabs on the sides and pull the top of the white connector up. Push Foto 11. Remove the bottom of the white connector from the blue connector. Pull the small tab toward the rear of your vehicle while pushing the bottom of the white connector down. It will come free ofthe blue connector. Foto 12. Remove the black plastic cone from the rear deck actuator. Just pull it forward. 13. Remove the two 10mm nuts securing the rear deck actuator to the car bracket with your 10mm combination wrench. Foto Foto Mark the ZT location using red marker. 14. Cut the zip ties that secure the hydraulic actuators' lines to the rear deck actuator's flexible shafts. There will be a zip tie on each side (left and right). 15. Using your prying tool, pop out the black plastic straps that secure the rear deck actuator's flexible shafts to the car body. There is one on each side (left and right). Just pry under the cylindrical part of the black plastic straps. 16. Move the rear deck actuator to the rearto get it out of the way. You can secure it to the rear latch with a short length of string or wire. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years In federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 5 Figure 2: Arm and clips to be removed Foto 17. Next, you will be removing the arm that connects the actuatorto the roof. Start with the left side. There are two clips: one where the arm meets the top and one where the arm meets the actuator. Remove both of these clips. Just lift up the tab ofthe clip and push the clip off. You can use your medium-size flat-blade screwdriver here. Be careful not to drop or otherwise lose the clips. Pull the arm off of the pins. You may have to wiggle the top a bit to relieve tension on the arm. Repeat the procedure for the right side. 18. Free the left actuator's hydraulic lines from the clips that secure them to the vehicle body. Do this gently, as you don't want to bend of kink the lines. Repeat for the right side. Figure S: Pump with blue and red lines attached. 19. Put your shop towels under the hydraulic pump where the lines enter the pump. Using your 12mm combination wrench or socket (whichever works best for you), loosen and then remove the banjo bolts that secure the lines to the pump. Be sure to keep track of the copper crush washers. There are three per banjo bolt: one thick one that goes between the pump and the first line, one thin one that goes between the first line and second line, and one thin one that goes between the second line and the banjo bolt head. Note which color of lines goes to which port on the pump. Feel free to make yourself a diagram in the space on the next page. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Mark position of washers left-right with colored tape in magnetic tray to return to same position. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 6 20. Wrap the end of the hydraulic lines in shop towels and secure them in place with rubber bands. Foto Place colored tape and marker 21. Mark each actuator body with regard to side and orientation. For example, an "L" and an arrow pointing toward the front of the car will save you lots of head-scratching later. Same forthe right side. Re-install the cylinder in the same orientation it was removed. Figure 4: lower actuator mount. Figure 5: Upper actuator mount. 22. Finally, you will remove the hydraulic actuators from your vehicle. Two 13mm nuts secure each actuator in place-one on each end. Use your 13mm combination wrench here. Be extremely careful when working around the exposed section of the actuator rod (the polished-looking portion). Removing the 13mm can try your patience. Just take your time, be careful, and be sure not to drop the nuts. Note: A potentiometer arm is connected to the pin on the left actuator. Be careful when disconnecting this from the pin. 23. Remove both actuators and take them to your workbench. Take a short break at this point. You've earned it. Perhaps a nice cold beverage is in order. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. Ali rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 7 Section 3: Rebuild the actuators Disassembly Plan on approximately 15 minutes to disassemble each actuator: Figure 6: Actuator removed from vehicle. There is a strong snap ring that keeps a white delrin plug in place where the actuator rod exits each end of the cylinder. The faulty seals you are replacing are behind those white plugs. Be sure to work on one end of each actuator at a time. Start with the left actuator on the end where the red-marked line exits. 1. Make sure you still have your safety glasses on. Figure 7: Snap ring pried out of position. 2. Use a small screwdriver to pry the snap ring out of position and out of the cylinder. Sometimes a dental pick works here. In fact, Harbor Freight sells a small set of picks for $4 that works wonders here. As a final resort, you may need to drill a small (1/8" dia.) hole in the body of the actuator, outside of the snap ring, so you can get a punch or small screwdriver behind the snap ring and push it out of place. If you choose this route, be sure to measure twice and drill once. Copyrighted ID 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 8 Figure 8: Using air compressor to blow Internals out. Figure 9: Bad seal exposed. 3. With the snap ring removed, you can extend the actuator rod out of the cylinder body-and expose the bad seal. It may take a bit of muscle to do so. But it will come out. Some people have successfully used an air compressor hooked up to the line coming out of that end of the actuator body to "blow" the internals out. Others have used the vehicle's hydraulic system to accomplish the same-though we don't recommend this; it's messy and potentially dangerous. Rebuild Plan on approximately 10 minutes to rebuild each actuator: 4. Make sure you still have your safety glasses on. Note: DO NOT nick the actuator rod in any way. It must remain absolutely pristine-or you will have a leak that this set of spiffy new a-rings can't fix. 5. With the faulty seal exposed, you can see just exactly how deteriorated it is. The bad seals will range from one with a small, almost-imperceptible crack in it to a seal that literally crumbles right in your hand. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and Is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 9 .- .•... ~~~~ Figure 10: Cutting the bad seal off. 6. Stick a small length of electrical tape to the actuator rod and slide the bad seal over it. Use a razor blade to very carefully slit the bad seal and remove it. Alternatively, you can use a pair of sidecutters here. Figure 11: Smoothing the edges of the clevis. 7. Secure the actuator body in a vice and file the sharp edges off of the aluminum clevis. (You'll be rolling the new o-ring overthe clevis. So the smoother, the better.) 8. Clean everything spotless with WD40. Figure 12: Rolling o-ring ol/er white delrln plug. 9. Thread the o-ring over the hydraulic line and over the now-smooth clevis and over the white delrin plug. 10. The o-ring is now in place ofthe bad seal. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright Infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, Is investigated by the FBI and Is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 10 Reassembly Plan on approximately 15 minutes to reassemble each actuator: 11. Ensure you still have your safety glasses on. Figure 13; O-ring in position. Figure 14: O-ring tucked into actuator body. 12. Push the a-ring inside ofthe actuator body. If you chose to drill your actuator body behind the snap ring, please be sure to take extra care not to snag the a-ring on any rough edges created In the drilling process. 13. Push the white delrin plug into the actuator body. The plug should be slightly below the groove for the snap ring. 14. Insert the snap ring back into the actuator body. Rinse and repeat 15. Repeat Disassembly, Rebuild, and Reassembly sections (steps 1 to 14) for the other end of the actuator-where the blue-marked line exits. 16. Repeat steps 1 through 15 for the right actuator. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright Infringement, Including infringement without monetary gain, Is investigated by the FBI and Is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 11 Section 4: Reinstall the actuators With the two actuators rebuilt-and better than ever-it's time to reinstall them in your vehicle. Plan on approximately 30 minutes to reinstall each actuator into your vehicle. 1. First things first. Make sure you have those safety glasses on. 2. Place the left hydraulic actuator in place in the correct orientation. Insert the two mounting bolts and thread on the two 13mm nuts by hand. Tighten the nuts snug with your 13mm combination wrench. Again, be extremely careful when working around the exposed section of the actuator rod. You've come this far. You don't want to ding anything up at this point. Just take some time. Note: Remember to connect the potentiometer arm to the pin on the left actuator. 3. Repeat step 2 for the right actuator. 4. Run the hydraulic lines from the left actuator to the pump, securing them in place in the hold-down clips. Repeat for the right side. 5. Reattach the blue lines to the pump. Remember the order: thick copper washer, blue line, thin copper washer, blue line, thin copper washer, banjo bolt. Thread in the banjo bolt finger tight. Repeatforthe red lines. 6. Tighten the two banjo bolts with your 12mm combination wrench or socket. 7. On the left side, replace the arm that connects the actuator to the roof. You may have to wiggle the top a bit to line up the pins with the holes in the arm. Secure the arm on the pins with two of the clips you removed earlier. They just snap on the pins. Repeat for the right side. 8. Put the rear deck actuator back in place. 9. Secure the rear deck actuator in place with the two 10mm nuts you removed earlier. Tighten the nuts with your 10mm combination wrench. 10. Push the black plastic cone back on the rear deck actuator. 11. Pop back in the black plastic straps that secure the rear deck actuators flexible shafts to the vehicle body. There is one on each side (left and right). Just push on the cylindrical part of the black plastic straps to snap them in place. 12. Secure the hydraulic actuator lines to the rear deck actuator's flexible shafts with the zip ties included in the kit. There's a zip tie for each side (left and right). 13. Push the bottom of the white electrical connector back on the blue connector. That small tab will click in place when the white connector is fully in position. 14. Push the top of the white electrical connector back onto the bottom of the white connector. It's keyed and will fit in only one direction. Copyrighted ©2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work Is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including Infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and Is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24,2014 12 15. Reconnect the black electrical connector to the rear deck actuator. It's keyed and will fit in only one direction. 16. Reinstall the molded carpeting piece in your vehicle. 17. Push the 6mm plastic retainers through the carpet and into the body to secure the molded carpeting in place. 18. lower the rear of the convertible top. Note: For 2002 and later cars with a glass rear window, you just need to remove the prop you used to keep the back edge of the top up. 19. Reaching under the retracted rear deck, snap the two anchoring cables back onto their anchoring posts. There is a cable on each side (left and right). They should just snap right on. 20. You can now safely remove your safety glasses. 21. Insert your key into the ignition and close the top. Don't be worried if it takes a few cycles (even as many as 20) for the top to start responding as expected. There will be air bubbles that will need to work their way out of the system. 22. If you need to top off your hydraulic pump, see Section 5. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work Is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, Is investigated by the FBi and is punishable by up to 5 years In federai prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 13 Section 5: Refill your hydraulic pump (if needed) If your pump reservoir is low due to fluid leaking out of the bad actuators, you can purchase hydraulic fluid from your local Porsche dealer. It should cost about $25/liter. One liter should last you a lifetime. Check your fluid level. It should be between the two horizontal marks on the reservoir. If it is, you're golden. If it's low, continue to step 1 1. Find the filling port on the top of pump. 2. Carefully remove the filling port plug and copper crush washer. Be careful to not drop these parts. 3. Use a transmission-filling funnel or fashion yourself one like above. You need about 10 inches or so of reach with this. 4. Fill little by little. Just a small amount of the hydraulic fluid fills up the reservoir a good ways. 5. Once you're between the marks, you're good. Feel free to reuse the copper crush washer. It doesn' t ever have any active hydraulic pressure on it. Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Revision 1.0 November 24, 2014 14 Section 6: FAQs Q: Only one of the two actuators is leaking. Should I rebuild them both now? A: As the life expectancy of the seals in each actuator is roughly the same, it makes sense to rebuild both actuators at the same time. Q: The o-rings in the kit look nothing like the faulty seals I am replacing. What should I do? A: Calm down and carry on, as they say. The o-rings look different than the faulty polyurethane u-cup seals for one very good reason: They are different. As you've unfortunately seen for yourself now, polyurethane u-cup seals simply aren't up to the task set before them. Polyurethane has a very short shelf life (about five years). And . an even shorter life once placed into a motor vehicle, subjected to hydraulic fluid additives, and exposed to all sorts of environment conditions. Honestly, I'm surprised the u-cup seals last as long as they do. The o-rings in the kit are composed of Nitrile. This material is both impervious to the hydraulic fluid used in Porsche Cabriolets as well as much better suited to the environmental extremes that cars often experience. Q: The o-rings are slightly thicker than the factory seals they are replacing. What gives? A: This is on purpose, of course. The o-rings are slightly thicker, so that they will compress when installed in the actuator body and provide a leakproof seal. Thank you Thank you again for your purchase. We really appreciate your business. And we hope you find this kit as invaluable as others. If you have a spare moment, we would really appreciate your positive feedback and 5-star rating on ebay. If you have any helpful tips for improving the quality of this kit or these instructions, we always welcome suggestions. Thank you, Shockwave Technologies LLC Copyrighted © 2014 by Martin Ewer. All rights reserved. Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. - Hydraulic Pump Fill Plug 4, or 5 mm Allen / HEX Wrench (Tightening Torque 7.5 +/- 0.5 ft-lb.) - Banjo lines Right blue and Right red inside / or first ( foto ). ,.
