rond

Does anyone know if having too much cargo in the trunk and raising/lowering the top can cause a temporary leak of hydraulic fluid? I was out of town and tried to close the top and the top stopped half way. I was able to partially close the top to drive a short distance to a mechanic in the area. While waiting for him to look at it I noticed a puddle of hydraulic fluid near the left rear tire. He found the unit was very low on hydraulic fluid and added fluid, bled the lines and got the top to close on it's own. He was in a remote area with no access to parts and as I was on vacation I couldn't leave the car for him to investigate further or order parts. He said he opened and closed the top a dozen times with no apparent further leaks but said it was wet in the area which he assumed was from the prior problem (the trunk was empty at that point). The fluid level is midway between the top and bottom line now. I'm thinking of adding a bit more fluid and watch it closely as I don't operate the top very often (usually leave the top down in my garage) but don't want to risk getting in a situation where I have to close it and have it stop midway again. I'm wondering if with the amount of cargo in the trunk that perhaps some of the moving parts may have been partially restricted in movement resulting in the pump purging itself via some sort of relief valve but don't know if that was a possibility. Any ideas? Thanks.

Rudeney

As long as the partition closed and all of the trunk paneling was properly in place, then cargo would have no effect. It sounds like your main lift cylinder is leaking. It will puddle fluid down int he recesses of the rear fender panels and it takes a bit for it to visibly leak on the floor. My advice is to replace the leaking strut it with a rebuilt unit. Klaus at Top Hydraulics sells good ones.