I was looking at the convertible top well briefly this morning to figure out how to remove it so I can Dynamat the bottom of it and add weather strip around the sides to reduce the rattles from the bass. Seems like its going to be a tough little project to remove the well. Anyone have any suggestions or tips on removing it. Right off the back I can see seven visible clips holding the well in place, anything else holding it down?

 

I'm not sure which 7 clips you see.

There are really two pieces to remove: a rearward trim piece and then the tray itself.

The rear trim piece is secured by 3 clips. The tray is secured by:

- 2 so-called stoppers that you can unscrew
- 4 clips just behind the roll bars
- 2 tabs that are accessible from the trunk and
- 4 more rearward clips whose bottoms are visible from the trunk

These last 4 clips will not be accessible until you have removed the rear trim piece.

The procedure is roughly:

1. Remove the 3 clips that secure the rear trim piece

2. Using a pry tool, start at a lower corner of the rear trim piece and gently lift upward until this piece begins to pop out from behind the tray. After the lower edge is completely clear of the tray, pull out to remove.

3. Remove stoppers, forward clips and tabs

4. Gently tap upward from the trunk to pop the rearward clips out of their mounting locations

5. Go back to cabin and rotate the tray until you can bring it into the cabin from between the rollbars.

Good luck and let us know how it goes. You might ask your local Honda dealer for a photocopy of page 20-71 of the S2000 2000-2003 Service Manual. It has a helpful illustration of everything I tried to describe.

 

It is so damm tight in there with the top up!! What a pain.

After checking closely, I see exactly what you describe in your post.

I think I am going to remove the driver seat to get this done, other wise its going to be a big pain in the ***.

Those three clips on the rearward trim piece, how do you get them off. I tried prying one off but it would not budge. Do i need a tiny flat head to pry the center first, then i can take the whole clip off?

 

Its very difficult. I've tried and I couldn't contort my hand into where it needed to be and gave up.

 

You're on the right track. You need a tiny flat head but you don't pry the center shafts. Instead, contrary to logic, you push them in as far as they will go. Surprisingly, pushing the center in collapses the part that keeps the clip in the hole. You should then be able to pry the clip out.

I can't explain how this style of clip is constructed but I know from experience that pushing the center part in is what prepares the clip for removal.