Cleaning the Soft-Top Drain Holes - By Andrew Carter

[markiii]

My car has been outside for a total of nine months since I bought it, and I spent quite some time yesterday dealing with a drain that had been blocked by small twigs, maple tree seeds, and the like. When the drains get clogged, water is retained on the inside of the car, and eventually backs up into the storage compartment.

There are two drains, one on each side. They are located deep down inside the soft top folding mechanism. To find them, reach into the space between one side of the top and the package shelf (the part that is held up by the black strings). The drains are toward the front of this cavity. When water enters from the outside, through the gap in the weather stripping closest to the door, it flows down the inside of the soft top, and into the drain.

Start inside the car. Move the seat all the way forward on its tracks, and also flip the back part forward.



Get yourself a flashlight, and look down into the cavity described above. The drain has a grille on it, kind of like the drain in a bathtub.



Clear out any visible debris in the cavity, and in the drain itself. If you need to remove the drain grille, you can do it by pulling with a pair of pliers (it could probably break if you pull too hard, so be careful.)

Repeat this for the other side of the car.



Now, move to the outside. For this part, you have to remove the D-shaped, plastic air intake cover, near the door. Do this using a small, flathead screwdriver that has been covered with electrical tape. The tape keeps the car's finish from being scratched. Start prying up the plastic intake cover along the edge that is closest to the front of the car.



Once you have pried enough, you can grab the edge of the cover with your fingers and pull -- hard. The cover will come off with a series of "pops". Be careful not to let any of the three white clips fall down into the body of the car. If you do, you won't get them back.



With the cover removed, you can now see the drain's outlet. It's a box, about 2 inches square, with a rubber flap in the middle. Pull the square outlet cover off, and clean it thoroughly, Clean the end of the drain.



Use a hose or watering can to pour water into the gap where water normally enters the soft top. As you do this, more debris will probably flow out through the drain. Replace the outlet cover.

Before you can replace the air intake cover, you probably need to get the white clips off the car. I did this using a pair of needle-nose pliers to compress the clips' sides from inside the intake opening. You can't just pull them off, because the body panel flexes too much.

Replace the three clips (or, if you lost one like I did, one on the top and one on the bottom) of the intake cover. They slide into place.

Replace the intake cover, by first sliding the rearward edge all the way into place. Then, push the white clips onto the body panel. Repeat annually.