MGF roof

[ehyouwhat]

Hi,

The roof on my girlfriends MGF seems to stick half way through opening it. I've had a look and there doesn't seem to be anything obvious stopping it from going all the way down. Oddly the roof opens perfectly sometimes, but sometimes it needs five or ten mins of fiddling before it will go right down. Using more force doesn't seem to do the trick.

Any thoughts of the problem? Should I (i.e. would I be safe to) try spraying a little WD40 on the hinges to see if that helps?

[Mark leonard]

ehyouwhat said:

Hi,

The roof on my girlfriends MGF seems to stick half way through opening it. I've had a look and there doesn't seem to be anything obvious stopping it from going all the way down. Oddly the roof opens perfectly sometimes, but sometimes it needs five or ten mins of fiddling before it will go right down. Using more force doesn't seem to do the trick.

Any thoughts of the problem? Should I (i.e. would I be safe to) try spraying a little WD40 on the hinges to see if that helps?

Quite a common problem known as `hood lock`..

The first roof bar (the one closest to the screen) sticks and jams against the 2nd bar stopping the hood from folding fully.

When you lower the hood just pull the first bar forward as you lower, the hood should then fold all the way no problem!..

Use a 3 in 1 type oil or a greese on the hinges, DONT use WD......

Elastic straps are available which link the first two roof bars thus pulling the bar forward automaticaly as the hood is lowered....... try your local (ex) MG-R dealer or X-Part centre

[ehyouwhat]

Thanks for the reply mark.

Mark leonard said:

The first roof bar (the one closest to the screen) sticks and jams against the 2nd bar stopping the hood from folding fully.

When you lower the hood just pull the first bar forward as you lower, the hood should then fold all the way no problem!..

Do you mean the bar closest to the front screen (the windscreen) or the rear screen?

I shall indeed give this a try when I next get a chance.

[Yugguy]

Aye, this happened occasionally on our TF.

[MG_MAD_AMI]

Happens to me everytime I put the roof down on both my MGF and TF! I think the velco gives up on the second bar so you have to move it manually Easily sorted!

[John Mac]

That's right - after you have unclipped the front hinges and start to pull the roof back, catch hold of the first roof bar (not the one with the catches on), pull that one back and continue to fold the whole roof down.
Don't forget to make certain you have no creases or kinks in the rear plastic screen especially on a cold day when the plastic is more brittle. I slip a towel between the layer of plastic when its folded just to help.

[envymgf]

I know this is an old thread, but for future reference here are a couple of pics to illustrate Mark's point.

http://image56.webshots.com/156/3/2/6 <--- Hood lock

http://image63.webshots.com/163/3/1/6 <--- The bar that needs to be pushed towards the back of the car is the one my left hand is on.

Hope this helps!