richardmai92

I have an 04 and is looking to replace the soft top with robbin. Has anyone done this already manually and can shine some light? Or if you took it to a mechanic, how much did it cost?

Thank you!

LagunaPearlAP2

I just ordered a Robbins top myself! I haven't installed it yet, but will let you know when I get to it!

Sabre

I need to do it but haven't even bothered to order one yet.
Ken and James both have done it. They could probably provide some insight.

Ken1997tl

It takes roughly 5 to 8 hours. Depending on your patience, skill level and how sore your back gets. Do you have specific questions? I think the Robbins top is the best out there. It was a straightforward install, it's just a hassle getting all the plastic trim pieces etc to snap back together.

LagunaPearlAP2

I just finished mine up this weekend... and it took forever it felt like. Almost 3 full days! I spent almost a half day just getting the rear of the top bolted in. So many awkward angles and tiny spaces to work... too many places for bolts, clips and old rivet ends to get dropped into to never be found again... But hey, its all worth it when you see that beautiful new top

One this I really Fed up on... I fed the tension cable through the top from the back end forward... meaning I fed the clip that needs to be riveted onto the frame, through the top from the bottom, rather than feeding the spring through the top down to the bottom. If you haven't done this yet this might not make sense yet, but the clip is very large and sharp and getting it to pass through the top is what I imagine passing a kidney stone would feel like haha. This caused some damage to the bottom of the top, nothing major on the visible side. But took me several hours to get this step done, and could've been a 10 minute thing had I followed DIY steps more closely. I'm more than happy to provide more advice, or some in person advising if you happen to be in the Vancouver area.

Worth noting, Ken is right about the timeframe if you're good at reading directions and are limber (or small enough) to get back there easily. Doing this in 8 hours is definitely possible! It just wasn't for me.

LagunaPearlAP2

Alright another thing to note... I just noticed how many scratches are now in my rear fenders! Nothing too bad... just some deep clearcoat cuts... but please remember to cover the rear fenders and trunk throughout the whole process! I only did this during the part noted in the DIY by Cylon, where you lay the top onto the trunk before bolting it in. For much of the job, you are leaning over the rear fenders to remove trim pieces, etc. Make sure you keep sheets, towels, yoga mats, whatever over the rear the whole time!