[Whoomba]

I’m just getting to a gen6 convertible and I’ve read a bit about these two pieces breaking. Has anyone tried LPS or silicone spray to make them slide smoothly?

[mrwonderful]

I've tried lithium grease, it's just a design flaw. Not strong enough.

[Whoomba]

First time I’ve put mine down, got it in Jan. Both sides hung a little when the top cover came back down. Sand the under side of that edge or something to make it slicker.

[Karl Carson]

I've been using spray on bicycle chain lube for 7 years now. Seems to work well.

[He11bent]

So, my first one made some crackling noises so i bought the top quarter panel to replace it. After pulling it apart, it turns out the slide rail link breaks first, that in turn breaks the sliding trim cover. Here is the p/n for the slide rail link. cheap piece of shit...$50. I'd pay a $100 if someone made an aluminum version.



GM part number 84237014


Heres the video

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by Whoomba

I’m just getting to a gen6 convertible and I’ve read a bit about these two pieces breaking. Has anyone tried LPS or silicone spray to make them slide smoothly?

They come already lubed, but that's typically applied by humans at the tier 1 supplier so it can be variable. Probably can't hurt to add some where appropriate to mitigate potential for binding due to the offset design of the part.

There are two failure mechanisms that I've seen. One with the plastic sliding door, and the other with the top metal linkage. Since both of these parts interact with each other, the effects can be confounded.

First - Design issues with the sliding door part and steel window regulator support prior to 2Q2017: Most of the sliding door failures on early 6th gens was due to a) the offset design of the pusher on the sliding door, which results in torque applied in the plane of the door, which could cause binding and then deflection of the assembly, and b) insufficient mechanical strength in the plastic structure of the door itself where it connects to the coil spring, resulting in fatigue failures. When this happens, the door will no longer close by itself. Furthermore in March 2017 or thereabouts the steel window regulator support was modified to included a 4th anchor for the sliding door top cover, which reduces deflection in the assembly, improving link-to-door contact. This is why some 2016s and 2017s must also replace the regulator when replacing the sliding top cover. My car was built in May 2017 and has the updated regulator but did not have the update sliding door part from the factory and failed in this manner. The plastic molded parts were updated in late MY2017 and this has greatly reduced the fatigue issue if not eliminated it completely, so newer cars 2018+ should not commonly see this failure mechanism.

Second - Bending of the metal linkage (He11bent's experience): The sliding door is pushed by the side rail metal linkage. The link must contact the pusher arm on the door for the door to open. If the link or the things it's connected to get bent -- if a fastener gets loose or fails on one side or the other (twisting the top), the pusher can miss the door and the door doesn't open. Then when the top rises, the main structural arm for the top will hit the closed door and we hear the hair curling crunch when the closed door gets broken by the top structural arm. This failure mechanism can happen in any car, regardless of year. So if you ever notice your top starting to rise uneven or awkwardly, stop and address it before it gets to the point where it breaks the sliding top covers.

For more on this see: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=531151