Piston removal

elund126 · May 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM

03 GT convertible. My passenger side would lift up very slow, and now I see fluid all over the piston and it's actually leaking right down by my rear pass side tire.

I've searched forever trying to find directions on how to replace, no luck. Can anyone point me in the right direction or have any tips?

90 degrees today here in Seattle, which doesn't happen too often. Need that damn top to work.

elund126 · May 29th, 2009, 01:47 PM

ok, piston is the wrong word. Hydraulic cylinder is the official term. And, boy did I get heat for posting in the Tech forum. Geeze

Lefty · May 29th, 2009, 02:27 PM

Take out the back seats. It should be behind there right in front of you then.

Lefty · May 29th, 2009, 02:27 PM

It's in the center, right behind where the seats would be.

elund126 · May 31st, 2009, 07:11 PM

Got it fixed. It wasn't too hard. Just some basic hand tools, a lot of rags, and your wife's tupperware and turkey baster.

Here's what I did....

1. Remove back seat cushion and back rest. Cushion is easy, there are some push button releases. Seat back requires socket (sorry, didn't write down what size)

2. Removed plastic panel that covers the rear speakers. Just need to pull the plastic push pins. (I think there are 4).

3. Unscrew speaker box. 3 screws. Unplug both speakers.

4. Hydraulic cylinder is now right in front of you. It is held on by one bolt near the middle of the cylinder, and there is another bolt holding the top of the rod. (Need a big star drive bit).

5. Removed both hydraulic lines, this is where the rags and tupperware come in handy.

6. Went to Ford, bought new cylinder ($150 freaking dollars).

7. Installed cylinder.

8. Used turkey baster to add Dexron III ATF fluid into the reservoir.

9. Enjoying my top down once again.

By the way, make sure you periodically check your cylinders to see if the seals are leaking. I find that it's easiest to have the top half way open and you can see right down to the cylinders. The one that leaked looked like it had grease all over it. Mine leaked fluid and it soaked into the sound deadening material, and the bottom of my seat cushion. Made a huge mess.

I wish I would have taken pictures. It took me about an hour, tops, and I'm not a mechanic.

Lefty · June 2nd, 2009, 09:29 AM

Glad to see you got it figured out!

~C~ · July 27th, 2009, 09:29 AM

nice. my top is working fine knock on wood, but i need to check them out regardless.

May 29th, 2009, 01:38 PM	#1
elund126 Newbie 2003 Mustang GT vert Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bonney Lake, WA Posts: 37	Piston removal 03 GT convertible. My passenger side would lift up very slow, and now I see fluid all over the piston and it's actually leaking right down by my rear pass side tire. I've searched forever trying to find directions on how to replace, no luck. Can anyone point me in the right direction or have any tips? 90 degrees today here in Seattle, which doesn't happen too often. Need that damn top to work. __________________ 2003 GT Convertible K&N Flowmaster 40 series Little by little......

May 29th, 2009, 01:47 PM	#2
elund126 Newbie 2003 Mustang GT vert Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bonney Lake, WA Posts: 37	ok, piston is the wrong word. Hydraulic cylinder is the official term. And, boy did I get heat for posting in the Tech forum. Geeze __________________ 2003 GT Convertible K&N Flowmaster 40 series Little by little......

May 29th, 2009, 02:27 PM	#3
Lefty MM's Most Laid Back '01 Cobra Vert. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mechanicsburg, PA Posts: 13,943	Take out the back seats. It should be behind there right in front of you then. __________________ MM Cobra Club Co-Founder

May 29th, 2009, 02:27 PM	#4
Lefty MM's Most Laid Back '01 Cobra Vert. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mechanicsburg, PA Posts: 13,943	It's in the center, right behind where the seats would be. __________________ MM Cobra Club Co-Founder

May 31st, 2009, 07:11 PM	#5
elund126 Newbie 2003 Mustang GT vert Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Bonney Lake, WA Posts: 37	Got it fixed. It wasn't too hard. Just some basic hand tools, a lot of rags, and your wife's tupperware and turkey baster. Here's what I did.... 1. Remove back seat cushion and back rest. Cushion is easy, there are some push button releases. Seat back requires socket (sorry, didn't write down what size) 2. Removed plastic panel that covers the rear speakers. Just need to pull the plastic push pins. (I think there are 4). 3. Unscrew speaker box. 3 screws. Unplug both speakers. 4. Hydraulic cylinder is now right in front of you. It is held on by one bolt near the middle of the cylinder, and there is another bolt holding the top of the rod. (Need a big star drive bit). 5. Removed both hydraulic lines, this is where the rags and tupperware come in handy. 6. Went to Ford, bought new cylinder ($150 freaking dollars). 7. Installed cylinder. 8. Used turkey baster to add Dexron III ATF fluid into the reservoir. 9. Enjoying my top down once again. By the way, make sure you periodically check your cylinders to see if the seals are leaking. I find that it's easiest to have the top half way open and you can see right down to the cylinders. The one that leaked looked like it had grease all over it. Mine leaked fluid and it soaked into the sound deadening material, and the bottom of my seat cushion. Made a huge mess. I wish I would have taken pictures. It took me about an hour, tops, and I'm not a mechanic. __________________ 2003 GT Convertible K&N Flowmaster 40 series Little by little......

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June 2nd, 2009, 09:29 AM	#6
Lefty MM's Most Laid Back '01 Cobra Vert. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mechanicsburg, PA Posts: 13,943	Glad to see you got it figured out! __________________ MM Cobra Club Co-Founder

July 27th, 2009, 09:29 AM	#7
~C~ ~C~, The Other White Meat! Y2K YellowJacket GT ~TBD~ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: West side B-More Posts: 1,601	nice. my top is working fine knock on wood, but i need to check them out regardless. __________________ BLOWN Bumblebeast! 370 rwhp / 381 ft lbs ~Tuned by JJ at WMS "Like the blind man says......We shall see...."

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