Gotten deep into this problem. Now there is 2 Fix METHOD 1 - Minor Adjustment at the Catch Mechanism. The turning of the extension rod method is for Fine tuning only as contributed by one of the members. METHOD 2 - Major Adjustment at the Rear Wind screen Arm. 1) The roof is made of of 2 pieces, top and back (Windscreen) 2) open your roof half way so that it look like number "7" from the side. 3) Remove the plastic inner panel from the rear windscreen, Top, Left & Right. they snap off easily. 4) IMPT - look closely to the metal arm that connect the top and bottom roof, you will see a Black notch, it is actually a Cap Screw with a black screw cap. the entire screw is bolt into the Roof Mechanical Arm on a side bracket with another Nut in its screw to acting as a lock nut. IF YOU FOUND IT follow these instruction. a) remove the black cap, use a Allen Key to turn the screw, 1 to 1.5 round counter-clock wise (This is to make the Screw toward you so that it become longer. Do the same for both left and right. b) Close the roof and you will realise now that the roof will not close completely, leaving maybe 10mm gap. Hook the latch and you will see that the roof snap toward your front windscreen and the Latch now should be tight and good. if you cannot latch on because its too far, adjust the screw inwards and the roof should close closer to the windscreen now. c) Repeat method 2 until you get the sweet tightness you required. turn the Screw in or out half round by half round, test drive a few times to get this the tuning right (Observe the noise when passing harm or bumpy road. Make sure the gap from left to right is consistent. d) Lastly use METHOD 1 to do your final finish on how stiff you like your latch to be. Cover back the Screw Cap Cover, tighten the Lock Nut and cover back the plastic inner panel. e) Go for a bumpy ride to feel your brand new roof noise free.
This technique works beautifully . Thanks for the clear and well written instructions. The only think I did differently was to use a micrometer to measure precisely how far out I had moved the bolts. These parts are probably set at the factory and there will doubtless have been some movement in the last 8 years.
Turned my bolts 1 1/2 turns each, less rattles now. Thanks Jefferson. Only other point to note, you will need a 10mm spanner, as the bolt is locked into position with a nut. Make sure you tighten it back up after after adjusting to stop the bolt turning. Rex.
Many many thanks dear, because I am suffering this problem these days..because I'm not much experienced in all this work, I was thinking to contact some mechanic because that rattling noise is annoying. But this method worked for me.. now I have no noise in my roof.
dwayner A tried out this product called "no more rattle" which you spray on, comes out like a foam almost like shaving cream, but with ore texture. You spray it in the joint areas. and you dont need a lot- but 20 minutes later, there isnt any noise in it at all- better than when i first bought the car. Its an australian made product
Just carried out this method on my car. Very good solution. Less rattles, but I did notice more squeaks from the roof seals as it settled as we went along. Which soon went quiet. Think I'm going lubricate all the seals with some silicone lubricant now too.
I spent an hour a couple months back putting silicone lube on all my rubbers. Roof, boot, door, bonnet. It did make a difference with the squeaks, as nearly all the roof movement noise is from the seals moving against each other. But after a while they returned, if to a less degree (maybe) as the silicone lube eventually absorbs into the rubber so you left with rubber on rubber Saying that its not a waste of time as it keeps the rubber seals looking young and flexible (go and look at DaG's skin, he swears by the stuff) and therefore should extend their life before they need replacing.
Thanks Jefferson, I did this to my car last weekend and it worked fabulously. So good in fact that I think it is a different car. As others have mentioned, I needed a 10mm spanner to loosen/tighten the lock nut behind the adjustment bolt and I also used a vernier depth gauge to get consistent adjustment bolt protrusion (I think I settled on 15mm without the end cap) on both sides. Fantastic solution, highly recommended. Bit fiddly to get access, but what part of a Copen is not.
There's an another (3rd) adjustment which you can easily make. I loosened the anchor point above the windscreen (the part the roof clips into) and settled it further away before tightening up again. This minor adjustment increases (or decreases as applicable) the tightness of the roof clip as well. It also solved an intermittent microswitch problem that showed the clip was open when it wasnt.
Also have a look in the Service Manual To back up this fix, see p I1-11 in the service manual (in the directory section on this website). The manual is the bible I guess but it can often be a bit meaningless until some kind and helpful person has uploaded some real world photos, thanks Jefferson
Method 3 Another way to fix the rattle, and possibly the easiest is to slightly adjust the hook things above the windscreen that the roof latches onto. Two screws to loosen and the hook can be moved slightly to give a better contact and lessen the rattles. A combination of the 3 methods in this thread (with a fair bit of trial and error) will get your roof in a good state, but... Something to bear in mind, and this applies to most convertibles is that it isn't really possible to get a completely rattle-free roof. Things like temperature seem to affect it - my roof has been really good over the winter driving home on cold nights but driving in the recent warm days, it is noticeably noisier. So make adjustments to improve the rattles but don't worry too much if it's not quite perfect
I'm worried ... I'd like to do that, but I'm not sure I'd be able enough without messing up my beloved Cop
