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Swiss-army knife T-bird

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Banjo

Banjo

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I went and worked on the 60 T-bird convertable today.The one with the non-working convertable top. I got over there, was able to get the decklid unlocked and pried up enough to unhook the hydraulics and lift the deck. Then started checking switches and wires... Everything seemed right, but the electro hydraulic pump was not turning on. A check of the wires varified that the pump was getting power, but not working. I cheched the reservoir (uses brake fluid) DRY!... removed the pump and decided I might as well take it apart and look at it.
Inside it looked like a miniature ring type oil pump, and the outer ring was stuck fast. I gently pried it free, cleaned everything up and reassembled it. NOw it was spinning when it should be. We filled it up (with DOT5 for paint safety) and tried the top. IT WORKED!! this guy's been 2 years without the top working. he was thrilled.
And I coulden't help but notice with the rear deck open, hinged at the taillights, the hood open, hinged at the grille, and the top half folded in mid air, the whole thing looked like a big Swiss-army Knife.
I never get tired of watching that setup work. it's soooo cool. But I never want one.
 
Great!! But, do you think the DOT 5 will do any damage?
 
Highly doubt it. the system calls for heavy duty brake fluid. (dot 3) the last time I worked on it that's what we topped it off with. The hydraulic hoses, that look like really long brake hoses, were replaced recently, and all the pistons are seeping anyway.
I had the pump and reservoir apart sunday, and the only rubber in the whole thing are the "O" rings that seal up the reservoir.
What we did get out of the reservoir looked like grey pudding. So my bet is any damage has already been done. I don't see where filling the system with DOT 5 will cause any further problems, and when the fluid leaks out (like I said 3 out of 4 pistons are seeping) it won't cause any further damage to the paint.
HIs comment when I told him about the seepage is "this thing only gets operated a few times a year. I'll just keep an eye on the level."
OK, fine with me.
 
Dot5 turns Dot3 into pudding, try it in a
a small jar...

SteveL
 
If he has issues, I'll flush the system for him. It was fairly dry when we filled it. All the pistons are pretty easy to access, It really woulden't be a big problem.
I don't think there was much, if any DOT 3 left. and what was there was already pudding.
 
I kinda like the ~New MX5~ with a similar setup (but I'm pretty sure it's all electric)
 
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