Repairing convertible top pump for Pontiac Firebird project LeBronze. Tear down and inspection to find the failure and repair it for less then $35. Score! This pump design is used on a wide variety of vehicles and relatively simple to repair yourself at home. even your Camaro, Chevelle, GTO, Buick, Regal, Lemans, Cutlass, Oldsmobile use this style pump.
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Any tips for getting the rubber plug back in the fill hole?
Another excellent video, you the man! I had a broken hose to one of my cylinders and have ordered new hoses and a gasket kit for the pump as you suggested. I was trying to figure out how to fill the pump repeatedly since my system was empty, setting the pump up on end like you did should do the trick. Thanks again, you will definitely be a big help in getting my '69 TA the way I want it!
Hello, thanks for publishing your video. You don't happen to have some times on how long it takes for your pwr top to go up or down do you? The reason I ask is that I have a '68 Convertible FB which I restored a couple years ago and I keep having issues with the top; originally popping fuses and then the switch (both original and replacement from Ames) went bad. Additionally my top seems excessively slow going up and down and when I timed it, it took ~23 secs to go up or down. That seems about half the speed of what is expected. I know that time (or the speed of the motor) directly influences current flow… The faster the motor turns (true for any motor), the less time the current flow has to build and therefore the less amperage observed. That is why I am taking note about how my top up and down speed seem to be slower than expected and wondering if the motor is wrong for the given application or the motor bushings are dry and dragging.
Note that I know that if I had a bad connection (decreased voltage supply at the motor itself or ground), then current flow would be proportionately lower, but speed would still be affected.
I captured the current ramp waveform from the motor and seeing ~40+ amps when the motor just starts turning and then it tapers down to about 25-30 amps, but the top up and down speed are slower than I expect. Note that I disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated all of the convertible frame pivot points when I restored the car, including replacing the bushings. Other than moving the high amp circuit off of the switch and onto a multi-direction relay, I really want to get to the bottom of the issue. Like you, I just hate to go purchase another motor/pump without trying to determine the real cause.
Another excellent video. My '69 convertible top worked a few times when I bought it last year, then it didn't and I found a pool of fluid under the car where the pump was. I just removed the pump and am thinking it's probably a seal failure there? I'll use your procedure and replace the pump seals once I confirm that it still actually runs. Thanks for all your help, I'm completing a frame-off restoration and hoping to have this baby on the road soon!
Hey boss good video i have the same car and simlar issues my lines were busted and replaced those , it goes up but doesnt go down , no fluid at all come out the top part of the pump , no sound from switch either , , checked the switch , dont have anything to chekc voltage but it looks connect and ground and top part work so figured that was ok , so noticed its two wires from switch to pump , and a connect like yours in the vudeo but my connector piece has gunk all over it , so might have killed the connection to top down part , so was thinking cut that out and connect wires directly, but nervous dont want to mess anything up already in the red on this car , so with your proffesional opinion should i just direct connect the wires , or would be in the pump or switch from the information provided , thanks in advance
Thanks, can you say where you bought the pump rebuild kit. Also do you have a video on the well liner?
Put y rams in a milk jug of trans fluid n pull up th ram piston saves a lota time messy but works betr thn bleedin in th car
Same pump and rams frm any of th sebrings n lines r th same use th rams too they r th same height iv been doing this for 20 years u cn evn use thm frm mustang's line fittings exact same as my 67 chevelle and I'm using th rams frm a 2004 mustang n lines too I'm using a motor frm a late model firebird only thing is th mountings u nd to improvise that iv used all th sebrings pumps n lines on my 66 electra but th rams weren't high enuf th late model firebird rams are not serviceable to change th o_ rings so I'm using th mustang rams in my 67 chevellefor th cylinders th boring gets stretchd over th oval head of th ram a/c orings r best
Where did you get the rebuild kit
Hey man I need sum help
Thanks for the info, my 66 GTO had nothing, I bought everything new and in the process of installing everything. Only time the top is up is in the garage.
great video and very helpful. What type of fluid did you use? oil? tranny fluid? it's red so I wasn't sure. Thanks
Great video. I really need to see this step by step
bad ass man…I have a chevrolet impala pump I am gonna mess with
how much oil do u put in the pump
Thanks for the video. How did you bleed the line/pumps on the conv top?
Why replace the cylinders? They are simpler than motor to repair. A #10 o ring that you have to dig out the cap and packing to get at around the chrome shaft. Last time I did it it was 10 cents each.
Love the hands on work, whats the price of the bird now ?
That’s actually a very simple thing to rebuild. I wonder if it would be possible to replace the system with electric linear actuators and get rid of all the fluid stuff.
Another great how to video!