I'm having problems with the soft top on my '03 430 Cab. and quite frankly, would rather just delete the system and just raise lower the top manually. Are there any online guides for this?

 

Here you go:



With a few tips, you can get to the point of raising and lowering about as fast as with the hydraulics if not just a wee bit quicker:

First remember to release the hydraulic pressure as indicated in the video. Simply turn that flat head screw inside the white cone. It's accessible through a little flap in front of the pump. You don't have to take everything apart as is the case in the video. You'll just do this once and leave the pressure released until some point that you may choose to fix your top. My pump has burned out and it's simply not worth the expense of replacing, so I raise and lower my top daily. It's not a big deal at all.

Lowering:

1) Unlatch top as normal (windows should still all lower on their own)

2) Open trunk and insert 6mm Hex key into socket and turn until you hear/feel click. This releases the lower edge of the rear window (The bow) from the hard cover. I've took some jb weld and semi permanently installed a T-Hex into the socket so that I can quickly release the window. Then close the trunk.

3) Lift on the leading front edge of the top quickly just so that the rear of the top beneath the rear window quickly taps against the latch on the hard cover (the one you just released via the trunk) What this quick tap does is returns the latch to the halfway position which allows the hard cover to be most easily released during the next step (This will make more sense after you find yourself going through the procedure. That quick tap makes everything extremely easy)

4) Next lift up the rear window to expose the hard cover. Look at the gap between the rear seatback and the softtop cover in the middle of the seatback. You'll see a small "bar" in that 1/2" opening. That is where you place the end of a 10mm Box Wrench. Pull the wrench towards the left (drivers side) of the car to release the cover. Lift the lid of the cover and lower the top. After lowering the top you must reposition the latch by using the 10mm box wrench again pulling towards the left side of the car. Then close the cover and use the 10mm box end wrench to secure it, this time pushing it to the right (passenger) side of the car. You'll see and feel the hard cover fully lower and latch as you do so.





That's it. Just reverse the process to raise the top. The hardest part is lifting the top itself when raising since it's heavy. I've gotten to the point where I can lower and secure the top in about 20 seconds, and raise it in about 30 seconds.

 

Be careful when operating the top manually a lot, as the two hydraulic latches p/n 124 770 04 26 (rear bow lock) and 124 750 06 84 or 208 750 09 84 (case cover lock) are not designed to be used manually all the time. The rear bow lock's hex head tends to strip after frequent manual actuation.

Klaus