Problem with removing hardtop

[clenet]

Yesterday I was helping a friend to take off his hardtop on his 2002. Well the top will not come off. The problem is that the locking stud on the drivers rear will not come out of its hole. When you unlock it the top will raise up a little but that is it... you can not pull it all the way out to remove the top. This is the only thing holding the top from being removed. The passanger side stud is free and the windshield hold downs are all free. This top has never been off the car since it left the dealership. Has anyone had this problem?

[007Cruiser]

You're absolutely certain that the release lever is fully open in the second position?

[Blkhwk]

Wow, that's pretty impressive that the top has never been off the car. That means the soft top is "brand new".

Anyway, it sounds like the locking mechanism on that one side is lose from the locking pin and has "no purchase" to move it to the release position. Since it is allowing the top to move up slightly, you might be able to get some long pliers in there and turn it the rest of the way by hand. It shouldn't take much?

[EllisonCal]

And be very careful not to get your finger tips under the top while you're trying to remove it. If the lever is bumped back by mistake and your finger is in the way, owweeee! Yeah, I learned the hard way.

[Howlandd]

Think I would pull the top all the down and secure it then release it all the way around and start over on the side having problems. It could be it is caught due to pressure from the other three corners being free and causing it to be pulled off center.

[BirdsAndBugs]

Wow, that's pretty impressive that the top has never been off the car. That means the soft top is "brand new".

Actually, I've never used the soft top on my 2003 Thunderbird either. I never really liked the way it looked. I've either run the car with the hardtop on or had it completely off.

[Rosebud]

-Mine did that a couple years ago. Clamped and released several times and still sucked. Finally just jerked it off. Found the little sleeve had been pushed out of place and was holding the pin. I straitened the sleeve and put it back in the hole. Didn't have any problem the next year.