NB/NA soft top clip compatibility

Curly · Postby **Curly** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:55 pm

Quick question.

A friend of mine has an NB8 (C I think) and one of her soft top latches isn't working properly - apparently it takes a few goes before it actually latches.

Is this a common problem?

She's been quoted $400 from a Mazda dealer for a new latch, which ... seems a little over the top.

Are the NA and NB ones compatible? I assume Mania would have a pile of them laying around?

kitkat · Postby **kitkat** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:02 pm

when you say it doesnt latch, is it because its not catching?

with our NA, on cold days it will take some effort to get the latch to grab, normally i have to give a good pull on the top so it allows the latches to get close enough to eachother.

I think the latches can be adjusted.

Juffa · Postby **Juffa** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:20 pm

I'm pretty sure that they are basically the same. Having said that I know that many NBs were suffering from clips that were worn out and the latch could actually release, usually with the car in motion. Not heard of this being a problem on the NAs for some reason.

If you do a search on the big forum you should find heaps of examples.

J

Curly · Postby **Curly** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 8:19 pm

kitkat wrote:when you say it doesnt latch, is it because its not catching?

I haven't had a look at it yet, but the impression I got was the it was latching fine, but not staying latched.

I was also under the impression that the adjustment only adjusted the tension on the roof, not the latching tension. I'll have a look when I get home.

Garry · Postby **Garry** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:37 am

It's possible to file a few mm off a stopper on the latch mechanism so that the latch doesn't come unlocked by itself. Do a search through the forum for instructions. Much cheaper than buying a new one and not much more work than replacing it with an NA one.

I thought the latches were changed slightly in the last of the NB's so they are not quite compatable with the earlier ones

irwin83r · Postby **irwin83r** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:53 am

i'd play with the adjusters a bit first. you never know it might just need a tighten. pretty simple to do.

Postby **Okibi** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 8:05 pm

They're piss easy to adjust.

If you can't work it out then bring her along to a club meeting and i'll do it for her.

The only issue is if they don't \"lock\" shut.