gerardog

Hi guys,
I had the terrible idea to replace the hardtop latches since they were rattling quite too much... however two of the screws (one on each latch) is just IMPOSSIBLE to get off! I finally managed to get one loose but the damn thing just keeps spinning free but won't come off. I don't think I have stripped anything... according to a friend of mine it might be a self locking screw with loctite that is not supposed to be screwed off. Has anyone encountered one of these and has successfully managed to get them off?? Please help.

zeroptzero

yup, what has happened is that the threaded insert welded to the hardtop has broken off, the bolt now sprins and takes the threaded metal with it as it is loctited in place with red sealant which is almost permanent.

On my hardtop I had to drill out the heads of the bolts, then the bolt and threaded insert drops into the hardtop, have a friend stand the hardtop upright on the glass and fish out the loose parts with a magnet or other device to get the parts out under the liner where it meets the glass section.

Once you get everything removed you need to install new threaded inserts, you can see them in the hardtop parts menu if you go to majestic Honda on line catalogue, I think they are called pop nuts or pop inserts. I used aftermarket inserts as I tried to helicoil new threads in place before I knew the Honda inserts existed and the holes I drilled were too big for the Honda parts. You might want to get a Honda tech to do the repair for you if you aren't handy with this stuff. This is one big bullshit job, I messed with it for months before I finally fixed it properly, I did the work myself but I don't recommend it to everyone.

gerardog

thanks for the info.. but i'm still confused on one thing.. you say that the threaded insert is welded to the HT inside.. does that mean that I was able to break off a welded piece by brute force (my arm still hurts.. lol)??! and if that's the case, I will need to have the new insert WELDED to the HT removing all the inside parts (weather stripping, moulding ect) ??! that's just INSANE.. what a nightmare.. please advice!



PS
TG I stopped only at the first latch!

zeroptzero

It is hard to explain unless you see it up close, trust me I deal with this nightmare for 8 months before I found a way to fix it properly.

There are 4 threaded inserts welded to the first layer of the hardtop (2 per latch), the first layer being the one closest to your head, the outer layer is above that , in between is an air space. Honda uses red loctite on the latch bolts, for some reason the threaded inserts break away, the welds are aluminum and aren't overly strong. With the loctite sealant the broken inserts remain on the bolt and are two wide to pull out of the hole they were welded to, so the bolt just spins. Once you drill out the head of the bolt it drops into the air space between the layers, you tilt the hardtop and fish out the bolts where the glass portion meets the liner using any tool you can including magnetic pick ups.

You do not need to remove any parts just drill out the broken bolt heads until you can get the latch removed. Once the latch is removed you need to buy threaded inserts. You drill out wider holes to match the width of the threaded inserts. The inserts drop into the new hole and a special tool is used to compress them tight so you have new threads to bolt the latches to. Honda sells a pop nut, go to majestic honda online catalogue and find the pop nut in the hardtop menu, I think they are 6mm size.

I used aftermarket inserts because I messed around trying to helicoil the holes for a few months and I drilled the holes out larger than needed, so I have SAE sized thread inserts, mine are steel rather than aluminum, as they are a bit stronger and hopefully last longer.

If you are uncomfortable doing this kind of work just have a Honda technician do it for you, I would have gladly paid any cost to have it done right from the start. My Honda parts guy says they use the threaded inserts (pop nuts) all the time to install roof racks and they are very strong. I had two broken inserts on the driver side latch, the passenger side was fine. It doesn't have to do with you breaking them the welds are just weaker than the red loctite used on the bolts. Sometimes running with a loose latch can cause the threaded inserts to crack at the welds as the welds are weak. I would try to remove the other bolts so you will know which ones are broken and get them all fixed at the same time, do it all at once if possible.

Go here and look up your year of s2000, http://www.providencehondaservice.com/order-parts.aspx
then go to the roof panel hardtop tab in the drop down parts menu, then find part #25 which is the pop nut 6mm , those are the threaded inserts you need to get, one for each broken bolt.