i dont know if this is the place for this but here it is. i just got the wife a 68 cutlass cov. when i push the triger for the top to go up or down i can hear the motor working but no top movement. i can manually pull it up and down. this is all new to me. first convertable. any ideas?

 

I would check the oil in the moter first. You might have blown a line or its just low. I am not sure on the 68 the moter is behind the rear seat in the truck on my 71. If you are going to do this manually I would disconnect all the lines and cylinders.
Larry

 

Check that the cylinders are connected to the top frame and car body. If you can easily raise and lower it by hand, they're either disconnected, worn out, or the system is low on hydraulic fluid.

 

ok. the motor is behind the back set, and the cylinders are still connected. the lines are clear white. how and were do i check and put fluid. also what kind do i use?

 

I am fairly certain there is a fill cap somewhere on the motor, and I seem to remember that my 66 Bird convt used trans fluid but I will allow others with knowledge to answer. I would also think, just like a brake system, it will need to be bled to build pressure

 

Actually, if you look at the hydraulic pump for the top, there's a motor with a cylindrical reservoir bolted to it. The reservoir has a rubber push-in plug, which is the fill port. Pry the plug out. Fill the reservoir with brake fluid, being especially careful not to spill any, since brake fluid is the world's best paint remover. Reinstall the plug and cycle the switch. You may need to do this several times to fully bleed the air out of the system.

 

hey Joe why did they use trans fluid in my old bird or was that just wrong? I remember distinctly it was red

 

I have no idea, but so long as the system was initially clean, ATF probably works fine. Both are hydraulic fluids. If I were installing new or rebuilt pump and cylinders, I'd probably use DOT 5 silicone brake fluid.

 

A '68 should use Dexron III type ATF.

Check out Convertible top Specialists, lots of info.

http://topsdown.com/Convertible+Top+...tions-sp6.html

Here's it is straight from the horse's mouth on fluid.

Most cars 1967 and newer use automatic transmission fluid, from 1962-67 they may have used either automatic transmission fluid or brake fluid. Brake fluid can be detected by its pungent odor and transmission fluid smells more like oil. Pre 1962 cars almost always came with brake fluid but should be checked because the type of fluid in the system may have been changed, mixing the types of fluid may result in parts failure. If you are replacing the complete system, the use of automatic transmission fluid is recommended, never use silicone brake fluid as this will void any guarantee.

 

Use ATF.
The bleeding procedure (and much more) is in this post:
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...not-go-up.html

 

thanks guys. i'll see what happens this weekend when i can work on it.

 

OK, that explains it. My experience is from the 1965 442 convert that I used to own.

 

maybe I'm mentioning something too obvious, but if you're seeing lines that are "clear and white" then they are empty. Sorry for this possibly useless comment.

IIRC I use the same exact fluid as for my 71 TH400, but don't quote me on that.