So far I’ve cycled the top up and down about 10 times without any sign of leakage. Obviously, only time will tell if my hardware store replacement o-rings will hold up as well as the originals. I could have (should have) ordered high-tech, military NASA NSA Obamacare spec super-duper ones online, but the weather is finally nice here and I was in a hurry to get the top down.
I should note that this process probably only allows one rebuild per cylinder because cutting the crimp off the tubing shortens its stroke slightly (albeit, less than 3/16 of an inch overall). With the slop present in my top frame, that’s far too little to matter, but maybe on a well maintained or rebuilt top frame, the shorter stroke could cause one side to not sit down as far.
well, you have answered a question that has been on my mind for ever.
I have always wondered what was inside and if it was worth taking apart.
good work.
I should have explained that better. The stroke is actually the same when extended (top up) but a wee bit less when retracted (top down) due to the shaft bottoming out sooner. In other words, the missing material at the top of the cylinder brings the bottom up that same amount.
As for the seal, I looked at the original again and it’s just a plain ol o-ring. But I suppose it’s possible that different manufacturers used different style seals.
Ah, I see (regarding cylinder geometry). Okay on the seal, I guess I never took any of the bad ones apart, probably thinking of the PS ram seal that I did change.
If the subtle is the gre n background, then we’ll done. Most people would miss that touch unless you’re a diehard Cougar guy or gal. What process did you use to change the color?
Steven
Steven: All of the spring clips came loose and/or broke when I pried the caps from the wheels so I figured that since they were falling apart, I might as well experiment. The black background is just paint on the back of the plastic disk. To change the color, I simply sanded/polished off the black paint and replaced it with a thick coat of dark green rustoleum. I then used epoxy to reattach the clips to the chrome housings.
Here’s the plastic after sanding and polishing. The chrome ring and Mercury head are recessed into the back so if you just slide it around on a piece of sandpaper on a flat surface, the background is removed without touching the chrome.
Hmmm… I guess my cheeky comment was misguided. The second photo looked like Mercury man’s check was re-shaped to make a more prominent cheek bone. Must be an optical illusion from the camera angle.
While cleaning out the garage I unearthed an old front sway bar and out of curiosity, I got the idea to see how it fit as a rear bar. Surprisingly, it’s nearly a perfect fit. $6 for a couple of 2 3/4 inch exhaust clamps, some misc hardware and about an hour later, it’s done. (The bar looks like it’s hanging low in the first pic because the end links weren’t installed yet).
I took the twisty back roads to and from court today to try out the rear sway bar and am happy to report that it has greatly reduced the amount of body roll in curves and corners at normal speeds. It’s even more noticeable in town where the car used to lean hard on sharp turns at intersections. I didn’t expect the results to be anywhere near so dramatic. This particular bar is 3/4 thick, so I’m sure it will introduce some tendency toward oversteer, but I find that preferable to the mushy, ship-like feeling of factory under steer.
