Front hardtop latch not locking

[santo]

I have a 2001 hardtop. The drivers side front latch is fine. It "locks" into place but I cannot "lock" my passenger side and the squeaking/rattling is unnerving at times. Is there an adjustment that can be made?

Thanks,
Santo

 

[Randy]

Is this a new development? If not (I.e., it used to latch all the way), have you tried removing the top and re-seating it to verify its not slightly misaligned? - if the top isn't seated properly, you'll have trouble with any of the four latches, although the front latches are mostly self-seating (they pull the top down when you rotate the lever) and less likely to encounter this problem, its probably still possible to get it misaligned enough to prevent it from closing all the way.

 

[santo]

Thanks for the response. It's not a new development. I just haven't had the hardtop on all summer and I recently put the hardtop back on and remembered the squeaking and the fact that this particular latch did not lock before. All of the other three latches are fine.

To describe it a little more, the drivers side front latch locks when I push down on the front corner of the hardtop and attempt to lock it. It will not lock without a little bit of downward force. If I do the same to the passenger side, it just doesn't lock into place. The pin is definitely in the right place though.

Maybe I'll try a little more forcefully but I'm just afraid of breaking the latch after hearing what the replacement cost is. It's almost time to store the car anyway at which point it won't matter, I guess, but then the cycle will return.

Thanks again,
Santo

 

[Randy]

Thanks for the response. It's not a new development. [...]
To describe it a little more, the drivers side front latch locks when I push down on the front corner of the hardtop and attempt to lock it. It will not lock without a little bit of downward force. If I do the same to the passenger side, it just doesn't lock into place. The pin is definitely in the right place though.

I would not use more force to turn the latch, I agree it could break something. So, since its not a new development, it sounds like the passenger latch pin is interfering with the edge of the latch socket - which means perhaps its not protruding out far enough - i.e., you might have to press down VERY ******* the top while *not* using too much force to turn the latch, to get it to latch - in order to get the pin seated deep enough in the socket to make sure the flanges are interacting with the sloped/tapered part of the latch correctly. That, or perhaps the latch socket has a problem or something stuck in it.