Steve-O

all of a sudden, my 2004 c5 coupe targa top, which has not been off in a year, starts rattling like crazy.

how or where are the adjustments made to hold it snug ?

rpm462

Here see if these articles will help you...

You can adjust the top to where it fits tighter against the body - you can also adjust the window to where it tips in tighter against the weatherstripping. Here are some articles that were posted a while back by forum members on adjusting the top:

Article 1:

This is for a minor adjustment and assumes a course adjustment has already been made. This may be different for a 2000 or later.

You'll need a 2mm Allen wrench and a T30 Torx driver. If you have an old roof which is properly adjusted take a look at the gap between the housing around the front latch handle pivot point and the striker assembly. You will need to unlatch each front latch to see this.

On mine, the passenger side was almost touching and the driver side was less than 1 mm. GM's instructions say that this should be at least 2 mm - apparently the factory people disagree. My money is on the factory. Unlatch and latch the rear handle several times to get a good feel for how tight this should be.

Remove the old roof.

Place the new roof on a blanket on the ground with the bottom facing up.

Loosen the set screw perpendicular to the hook on the rear latch with the 2 mm Allen wrench so that the hook can be rotated a full turn. On the front handles above the pivot point is a cover. To each side of the wide end of the cover is a small hole. Take a dull 10-penny nail or equivalent (sorry, I don't have the GM tool number for this ;-) and put it in the hole on one side - that side of the cover then pops out a little.

Hold that side of the cover out and put the nail in the opposite hole. This should pop the cover off. Do not try to remove the cover by any other means or you will likely damage it. Slightly loosen the 4 Torx screws just enough so the bases of the handles can slide around. You will need to point the handles toward the rear to get to two of the screws. There is a hole in the handle (under where the cover used to be) to get to two of the screws.

Notice that in front of each handle is a pin pointing up. This pin slides into a hole on the striker assembly on the windshield and this is how the roof is aligned. Put the roof in the car and make sure the pin of the handle slides into the hole of the striker.

You will need to close the front latches for the pin to go all of the way through.

Since the latch handles are loose they will move around so the pin can go through the hole. Carefully close both latch handles completely while checking to make sure each pin goes through its alignment hole.

Do not force the handles closed - they should be no tighter than your old roof. If they are too tight, make sure the pin is going through the alignment hole. Slightly open one latch just far enough so you can push it as far forward as it can go. Continue to open it just enough so you can tighten the Torx screw closest to the pin and tighten it. Make sure the handle does not slide back.

Continue to open the handle until the hole that was under the small cover plate is aligned with the other Torx screw and now tighten this Torx screw. Follow the same procedure for the other front latch.

The gap between the housing around the pivot point of the handle and the striker assembly should be about the same as the old roof. Now close the rear latch, but do not close it all of the way if it is tighter than your old latch. If it is tighter that your old latch, loosen the hook one turn. If after tightening the rear latch it is looser than your old roof, tighten the hook one turn at a time until it is tighter than your old roof and then loosen it one turn. Tighten the set-screw using the 2 mm Allen wrench.

Raise the windows and look for water leaks as a friend hoses down your roof. If it's water tight, pat yourself on the back. If there are leaks, you're on your own! Replace the small cover plates.

Sorry for the vagueness of the instructions - it's not really practical to be more precise. The shop manual doesn't come anywhere close to this level of detail. For squeaks only, check the gap I've mentioned above, if it is really tight, remove the little cover plate, move the handle toward the back until the hole in the handle under the cover plate allows you to loosen the Torx screw, loosen the other Torx screw just enough so you can widen the gap just a slight amount, and then retighten the Torx screws.

Article 2:

Was playing around with my car trying to get it completely water tight, etc. We all know the window tilt in/out is adjusted via the nut on the bottom edge of the door behind that rubber plug. Well, there is also another rubber plug back towards the back, kind of lined up with the red reflector, that pops out. There is a small screw type piece in there. I used a small socket on it with an extension so that when you screw it counter clockwise it will adjust the window travel. In other words, when you 'loosen" this screw, it makes the window travel up farther so it presses against the weatherstrip tighter at the top. This screw can be accessed without removing the door panel or anything. Just pop the plug out - but the window does have to be in the down position as this is part of the whole mechanism that travels with the window. You can’t reach it unless the window is down. Mine is nice and tight there.

Also, concerning the top. If you have leaks near where the A-pillar trim meets the side targa strips (that meet the top edge of the window) like I did, try this fix. Pop out the small plastic clips on the black panel trim on the inside behind the targa top. The little clips are near each seatbelt mounting point. This is to remove the whole trim piece that goes across the car behind your head on the roof. (The top has to be off to remove this). The round things that accept the alignment pins on the top bolt on with bolts to this piece. You can loosen these and force them towards the front a bit to make the front edge of the targa top fit tighter along both the windshield and the A-pillar strips. Tighten these back. You can also use an open-ended wrench to adjust the pins out some on the actual top along the back so they force the top forward as well. Then you can just adjust the top latches as usual if needed. Mine does not leak any more.

Also, when I removed the plastic trip panel over the "halo bar" (or whatever people call it - some call it halo bar, some rainbow bar, I think of it as a B-pillar and roof thing), there is another C5 logo molded into the roof material there.

Article 3:

Both the front and rear latches can be made to clamp down the top tighter. In the front, you need to loosen the two bolts on each latch plate. These are 10 mm bolts located at the top of the windshield, behind the plastic trim. Once the bolts are loosened, tap the whole plate down as far as you like, then tighten the bolts back up. The farther you tap the plate down, the tighter the top will be pressed down when latched. To tighten the rear latch, locate the set screw that holds the hook in place. Loosen it with an allen wrench (can’t remember the size, but it was a small metric one). Once the set screw is loose, simply turn the hook (it is threaded) clockwise as many turns as you like. This makes the effective length of the hook smaller and therefore increases clamping force when engaged. By the way, the combination of these two adjustments solved the loud tapping noise that my top was making when going over bumps.

SoDiezl350

I tried everything with no success until I installed shrink tubing over the posts of the top.

Vetteman Jack

Some good info posted here. You also might want to check for any parts that may have broken in the latching mechanisms.

colderbythelake

I had a problem with mine making noise. It drove me nuts! I almost brought it to the dealer. I ended up taking a little wd-40 and wiping it on the pins on the roof up front where it locks in and it got rid of the noise. Not sure if this will work for you but it may be worth a try. Good luck!

0PaulaH

Yes, WD40 or get some rubber dressing and apply to all of the rubber seals around the top. Worth a try... Good luck!

PUMP03

I can send you a pdf file with "Lift Off Roof Adjustments" from the GM Service Manual(can't attach it to this post). Send me your Email address in a PM.

dcandel

I've got the same problem. Sending my email address in a PM, can you email me the pdf file too. I certainly would appreciate it. Thanks

PUMP03

Several members have requested the adjustment instructions, so I have attached the pdf file here. This was generated from the eSI for a 2003 model, but I believe it applys to all C5 Coupes

andynpz

You need some stronger glue for your hairpiece!!