Convertible Top Hydraulic Motor 1994-2004

As we mentioned before, obviously there's a lot of perks to owning a Mustang convertible. There's also some additional maintenance required as well.

On our 2001 GT here we've shown you how to replace the convertible top assembly. We'll also show you how to replace the hydraulic cylinders. If you watched the hydraulic cylinder video, we did mention the convertible top motor was getting a little bit tired. Today we're going to show you how to replace a convertible top motor using our 2001 Mustang GT.

This replacement convertible top motor is specific to the 1994 through 2004 Mustang, but basically the installation process and the top motor itself is going to be the same from all 1965 all the way up to the 2004. It's a hydraulic motor. Simply, you're going to plug it in, connect the lines, fill it with fluid, and it should fix our problem.

For this installation, you're going to need a 3/8 ratchet, 10 mm socket, a short extension, 1/2 inch wrench, small flat blade screwdriver, and a plastic syringe.

The convertible top motor is in the same place on every Mustang. It's going to be in the very front part of the trunk, basically right behind the seat.

To install it, we have to remove the seat first so we can access it. We'll start by removing the lower seat cushion. What you want to do is pull up on the cushion. Right in the middle, you'll see there's a little clip. You might be able to get it with your finger. If not, you'll need a small screwdriver. You push that clip in then the seat will come up. Once you release both clips, pull up and remove our seat bottom.

Now to remove the seat back, there's two 10mm screws down here. Remove both sides then we can remove the seat back. Once the bolts are removed, pull out and lift up. We can remove our seat back.

Now that we have access to our motor itself, we'll start by disconnecting the electrical plug on the bottom. A little tap with a screwdriver will remove that. The motor itself is held to the bracket just by these rubber clips. If you give it a good pull, it'll pop right off.

Now the motor will have some ATF fluid in it. The reason I take it off the bracket first is to put a drain underneath it. That way as soon as we crack the fittings, we don't get fluid all over the trunk.

At this point, we can install our new motor. What you want to do is remove both of the shipping nuts on both sides that protect the fittings. Also, remove the rubber plug from the end to make it easier to fill it.

Put it into place and thread the lines in. You don't want to crank on these too tight, but make sure they're definitely nice and snug. Move that out of the way and we can plug it in.

I'm going to grab some ATF and a little turkey baster here. We're going to fill the system up. You want to fill it until it starts dripping out of the side there and then you're good.

I want to make sure our motor is seated properly in the frame. Now we're going to run the motor to bleed the system.

Now we're going to run the top up and down a couple times to make sure there's no air in the system and double check and re-fill the motor.

Now that you ran it a couple times to get the air out of the system, double check the fluid is topped off, install the plug, re-assemble the back seat.

Once the system is tested, all the air is out of it, we can re-install the rear seat and your installation is finished.

Now that the convertible top is working like it should, our Mustang convertible's ready to go down the road. The installations' a little time consuming, a little bit messy, but figure no more that about 2 to 3 hours and be back on the road in no time.