My wifey tried to close the roof of her 02 XK8 the other day, after hearing a loud snap, she realized that she still had a large roller fabric sticking out of the back seat. One of the roof frame members snapped. Is it possible to remove and replace a frame member or are they assembled in away that they can not be taken apart?

Thank you in advance.

Jamie

 

No direct experance with this however I suppect you would be better off finding someone that is parting out a car and replacing the complete assembly fabric and all.

 

That is quite a feat to break a frame. Was she raising it manually or normal hydraulic? Are you sure it was the black frame?

I have seen cases where the tension rod that extends across/above the rear window will pop out of its plastic bushings and make a lot of noise.

Can you shoot some pics so we can see where it failed?

I am pretty sure the frame was not intended to be serviceable.

However that hasn't stopped us from doing so in other places.

 

Thank you for your responses. We have located a frame, but her dark blue top is not that common , plus it is in really good shape. I was hoping to get that frame and just swap out the broken member. Either way, it looks like I need to pick up the frame while I can. Does anyone know what material they frame is made of? The break is easily accessible and was thinking it could be carefully tack welded?

See the attached photo of the snapped frame member.

Thanks gain for your help.

Jamie

 

Now that's just plain strange, what ya got to lose, find a good welder and give it a try.

 

Yeah I feel like there is a story behind how this happened that I am still waiting for.

This doesn't look like a failure within normal operation.

Just a guess, maybe an attempt to close while the cover was over it?

 

Wifey and broken part seems to imply a story.

 

This one is a real head-scratcher.

Trying to raise the top with the cover in place won't cause this; the system just stalls. (Please don't ask how I know this.)

 

I just saw that I had "roller fabric" in the original post. It should have been "roll of fabric"See the attached photo of a smaller version of what she was hauling around. The weird thing is that when the top hit the resistance of the fabric roll, it did not stop. Maybe, it does not have that feature. Nevertheless, that is the "story". There was definitely a cause for the breakage.

Our local upholstery guru says he can make the repair if we find a replacement frame member. Working to source the part now.

Jamie

 

Hey Jamie
Please give me the contact of your local upholstery guy. I have a similar issue with the top of my 03 xk8. I tried to open it manually but got the right side member bent.
Thanks.
Da-Tary 56

 

contact Jim Shaub: shop@soughtout1.net
(480) 382-8211
He deals in salvage parts for the x100 and has an 02 convertible where some roof parts have been removed. Perhaps he would be willing to part out the frame. Sounds like a bad casting that caused the breakage.