11. Remove horizontal frame/cross bar, 2 bolts at either side of it and it’s out.
12. Remove ‘room partition board’. This is the acrylic wool covered plastic ‘floor’ for the back of the interior. It is fastened with three plastic clips which pop out. Left right & centre.
Notice however that to access this you need to lift up the ‘parcel shelf’. This wasn’t mentioned in my guide but it pushes on to the clip that you can see in the hole of the board. It also attaches via two lengths of chord to the frame of the soft top here:
These just unclip and fold out to release the chord at either side.
13. Unscrew the soft-top from its fittings.
There are a bunch of nuts (circled in red) which keep the top bolted. Undo all of the ones at the back, now look at the miniature steel frame that runs along the side of the roof.
There are 4 or 5 nuts of varying kinds to undo here, then there is the one which I have pointed an arrow to. It’s pretty hard to get to so use an extension for your socket wrench. Little did I know at this point that it is 20 times harder to get back on afterwards!
14. Pull aside the remaining interior tarpaulin material from around the main pillar fixing. I don’t have a picture for this, but there also 3 more screws from memory that hold the main pillar onto the body. One is a large brass coloured bolt, the other two are just regular screws.
15. Now take a visual note of any extra tarpaulin material and move it out of place if required. You should pick up some double sided tape to stick it back into position once the new top is on. Start to move the soft top’s rubber lining outward from the car body like so:
There is a sort of steel gasket which runs along the back length of the window – remember to put this back on first before screwing the nuts back on when you come to fit the new top.
Once it’s been pulled off the bolts that are attached to the body, remove the whole thing with the aid of a helper, lifting upwards from the main pillar.
Et Voila!
This image has been automatically resized. Click to view original at 800×600
Re-installation is the same procedure in reverse.
I have been running with my new roof on for 2 weeks now, no problems so far. It feels great to be able to get the top down again
This documentation in no way replaces the Toyota MR2 Repair Manuals. The purpose of this content is only to provide supplementary information to fellow MR2 enthusiasts. Midship Runabout and its contributing authors will not be held responsible for any injury or damages that may occur as the result of practicing any of the methods or procedures described within this website. Article and photo submissions are property of the contributing author.
help my mr2 spyder top is seperating from the side behind the window. what’s going on?
Hi guys, I just found your website this morning as I’m looking to replace the soft top on my girlfriends mk3 mr2. It’s great to find such a detailed guide on how to replace the soft top.
You mention at the start of the article that you found “a new Toyota soft-top at a fraction of the standard new price”. would you be kind enough to let me know where you got this soft top
as I’m having alot of difficulty finding one.
Thanks alot for your help.
Michael.
Planning to install a new soft top on my ’01 MR2 next month.. what a great service you’ve provided by posting these pictures & narrative from your experience!! Thanks so much!!
James
Hey,
I was wondering where you found the soft-top. My dad just bought me a MR2 and the top is in pretty bad shape. And we would really like to know whre you foound the top. Thanks!
I replaced mine about a year ago, didn’t need to remove the scuff plates though. What was the reasoning behind that?