2002 red tbird

[dtimms]

I'm new to the forum. If I'm not in the right forum please forgive. We bought the bird new in 2002 and my wife drives it daily, loves it. It has been an excellent car. Experienced problems as other have with the hard top leaking.
I'm hoping someone out there can help me with a new problem hazing headlight assembly. Been on the internet and found assemblies claiming to work on the 2002, 2003, and 2004. Ford has a different part number for the 2002. What is the difference and can the 2003 adapt to the 2002? Ford want 300 for one side and 350 for the other side. After market is 100 each.

[Ski]

Welcome, Douglas (or is it Doug). I'll leave it up to the wrench-turners in the group to answer your question. For sure, someone will. I just take mine to the dealer.

[5bird7]

The only difference between the 2002 and the 2003-2005 is the mounting bracket shape which is prone to cracking on the 2002. Ford redesigned the shape of the bracket but nothing else so the later years directly fit and are a better choice for you in the long run. Know nothing about the aftermarket headlights.

You can do searches here on hardtop leaks, there are adjustments that can be made at the header and other possibilities to stop leakage. It's very rare to find one that can't be fixed.

btw, welcome to TBN.

[dtimms]

The leaking top, I found the Ford tech service bullentin on line. I hope when I get ready to put the top on this winter it takes care of the problem.

[Vintage Merlot]

From day of delivery Vintage Merlot had a few very small "silent" drips from the point where the top's corner meets the windshield and lays in the rubber molding. This leak started as a very small seeping drip and eventually got worse.

I did the top adjustment twice but still had the problem.

The design of the molding does not seem to extended enough to run the water down the channel along side the windshield. I decided to extend the rubber "U" channel in which the top rests where its corners meet the windshield.

I made the extension with a 1 1/2" to 2" circular tire patch. Cut a pie section out of the patch and lay the larger remaining piece (pictured below) sticky side down into the concave of the channel. See picture #2 below. (The green line outlines the shape of the original factory molding.) The pencil points to the new extension. Don't use adhesive. The weight of the top will slightly bond the patch to the channel. Without adhesive the patch can easily be removed. When you raise the window it puts slight pressure on the extension and pulls it tight to prevent this type of leak.

I will be doing a demo for this fix at Choo Choo in October.

In the meantime I have attached two pics below. I am sure they are confusing. It is hard to get oriented. but just remember: this fix is simply the act of extending the factory channel that supports the top where it meets the windshield.

Pictire #1 This is a typical tire patch kit showing two different shapes I have cut. I use the circular blue pie shape but the other shape will also work.

Picture #2 This is a close-up of the channel where the hard top lays into the factory molding. The greenish line identifies the outline of the factory molding. The pencil points to the blue area that defines the pie shape patch as it lays in the molding and lengthens the channel.

[Brad]

Dot, as painful as it is for me to disagree with you, I have never found one that doesn't leak to some degree on the drivers side given the right circumstances.

I had my 2002 back to the factory right around the time the second TSB came out. I'll never forget the image of Larry pounding on my door pillar with a rubber mallet.:laugh:

My 2003 leaks pretty much identical to how my 2002 did and yes it doesn't matter which hardtop is used.

Roger, I've done something similar to what you suggested. Pushing up on that area with alot of force prior to installing the top will help a bit. Mercedes also does something similar with their weatherstripping where it ends there is an additional almost felt like material patch added. A reminder to anyone else trying this, do NOT completely fill the channel with anything since water needs to run through this area and drain down the side of the door.

[5bird7]

Brad, We've never had a leak in ours but then it isn't on that much. It has been in some heavy rains with the hardtop on though. We probably haven't experienced whatever it takes though to make yours leak. The only time we seem to get water in the car is when we open doors in the rain.

[MATBird]

Doug (dtimms) post #4

Not sure if this is the one you have, but thought I would post it, below, for you anyway.

[texasbird]

Doug,

This is in regard to the hazing headlight issue. Please understand that this is a last ditch effort to preserve what you have as long as possible, with the intention of replacing them later anyway. This problem has plagued every car on the market since the US DOT first approved European style headlights with bulbs rather than sealed beam headlamps. One of the first tricks suggested was to polish the lens with white toothpaste, similar to how you would use rubbing compound on a painted surface. I tried this and did amazing results on the lens portion, but couldn't clear up the UV damage on the "eyebrow" portion of the lens. You may want to try this as a temporary measure as well. There are commercial products (one made by Meguiars) that claim to do the same thing.