Hard Top questions

[Campbell]

I seem to have revits where the side pieces bolt down. Do these get drilled out and what goes in there place. Thanks

[scot]

They get drilled out...and Rivnuts (sic) get put in their place. Essentially these are nuts that are riveted into the bed capping. '94 trucks didn't get them unless they cam from the factory with a hard top, but from '95 on...all trucks had them.

[Campbell]

Where can I get some? And are they easy to istall?

[evilfij]

The rivnuts themselves are fairly easy to get, however you need a rivnut gun to install them.

Wurth is the manufacturer of choice in my book.

You could buy the whole set up or just wuss out and take it and pay the dealer, probably be cheaper to pay the dealer but then you would not have a rivnut gun.

Rivnuts can be installed without a gun but it is a challenge.

Ron

[Campbell]

Hi, I'm going to have the rivnuts installed on the capping in place of the revits. My question is I need to know where the rivnuts go to line up with the top. I don't have the top yet. I'm going to go pick it up and install it at the same time. The location of each nut is very important. CAN ANYONE help me with this. Thanks,Rich

[mgrgpg]

Take a look at the Tech Articles section of this site. There is a heading for fiberglass hard top. Page 10 shows the locations. I just put a top on my 94. All the holes line up with the rivets except for the one directly behind the door openings. This was the only hole that had to be drilled out. If possible wait to do the holes until you get the pieces, makes it easier in my opinion. Once the holes are drilled and the rivnuts installed, the top goes on fast.

Good Luck,
Mark

[Campbell]

Thanks Mark, Where did you get the rivnuts and how did you install them. I'm more concerned with the placement. I have to put the nuts in before I get the top. I have to go pick it up and put it on then. Is there anyway you could advise on the placement of the rivnuts?
Thanks

[Mike Hippert]

Rich, I can measure mine and tell you.:grin

[Campbell]

Thanks Mike. Where should I get the rivnuts and what size are they?

[mgrgpg]

I already had them from other work I have done. You can get them from a few places. You should just buy the set which has the setting tool and an assortment of sizes. I can guarantee you that you will use them again on another project. The ones that come with the top are 6mm, but I used 1/4-20 and stainless steel bolts that I bought at the hardware store. You just need to keep the metric hardware seperate when you take the top off in the spring. You can get the nutserts (rivnuts) from MSC (www.mscdirect.com) or McMaster Carr (www.mcmaster.com), search for threaded inserts.

Mark

[Campbell]

Thanks Mark, I'm going to get the plier style gun. They have two size M6 rivnets. What is the difference?

[Mike Hippert]

The thread pitch. I am not sure what it is. I can check tonight.

[Mike Hippert]

OK. Not sure if all tops are the same after measuring mine and seeing that they are kind of rendomly placed.

Drivers side:

1 measured from the front of the rear most rollbar.
hole
1. is 5/8"
2. 7 1/8"
3. 22 9/16"

2 measured from roll bar behind driver
measuring going backwards 5 3/4"
measuring going forward 1 1/2"

3 measuring from rear most roll bar going towards rear door
1. 4 5/8"
2. 5 7/8"

Pasenger side:

1 measured from the front of the rear most rollbar.
hole
1. is 5/8"
2. 7 1/8"
3. 21 3/8"

2 measured from roll bar behind driver
measuring going backwards 2 3/8"
measuring going forward 1 1/4"

3 measuring from rear most roll bar going towards rear door
1. 4 13/16"
2. 6 1/16"


I think it would be better to wait until you have the top before you drill any holes as minelook like the were drilled with the top on, and not by some type of template.

If you have to drive with it I would put the sides in the back and strap the top down on the roof.

[Campbell]

THANKS A lot Mike. I really appreciate it.

[Campbell]

Ok, I'm going to order the rivnuts today and was wondering what you guy's think of which ones I should get. I'm going to get the Plier style gun(cheap) but I'm unsure about which rivnuts to get. I'm going to use 6mm but they come in different sizes & styles. Any ideas....this is where I'm getting them.
Thanks http://www.mcmaster.com/

[Mike Hippert]

Sorry for the slow reply on the size. I looked on page 3040 of Cat 109. the frist 6 mm rivet nut is what you want. It is good for materials that are from.7- 4.2 mm thick and the rail cap is about 2 mm thick. The part # is 95105A183. You want to use the steel ones as the rail top is steel and you don't want closed-end Rivet nuts as they will hold water in them.

[Campbell]

Thanks Mike

[SFD90]

I have a SW that has been been converted to a ST. I'm about to install a fiberglass hard top, but I am curious if my side rails already have the rivnuts installed? Unfortunately, the rails have been covered in Rhino-line so I can't tell if they exist underneath there without cutting it up.

Does anyone know if the bolt pattern/rivnuts are the same for a SW and a ST with a hardtop? Any help would be appreciated.

(I know there is a similar thread already and it has been very helpful.)

[SFD90]

I am going to check on this tonight.

[SFD90]

Richard, Mark, and Mike,

I am undertaking the exact same project Richard completed and your last thread has been a tremendous help. I have a SW that was converted to a ST and now I am installing a fiberglass hard top. I have a few questions if you don't mind me asking.

First, I only need one package of 25ct, M6 rivnuts, right? I also need the plier-style rivnut tool, but do I need any additional mandrels, nosepieces, or anything else? I don't even know what these are for!

Secondly, I have a layer of Rhino-liner sprayed onto my rails. Is this going to cause a problem in clearance anywhere?

Finally, underneath the rail I can feel the bottom of the existing rivets even though I can't see them underneath the Rhino-liner. Do you just drill a whole on top of the existing rivets if they happen to line up?

Any other help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated and thanks for your time.

[Mike Hippert]

1: 25 should be good. And you need the mandrel for M6 rivitnuts. If you are ordering from McMaster-Carr the #s are 95585A100 for the Plier-Style Rivet Nut Tool, and 95585A280 for the Mandrel no nosepiece is necessary for the 6M. Rivit nuts are like installing rivets, You drill a hole, put the rivit nut on the tool then push it threw the hole and pull the plier together. I would experament a little before doing it on the 90 if it is your frist time.

2: I think it would be agood idea to try and remove the Rhino liner fro where you will be installing the new rivitnuts.

3: I would try cutting threw the Rhino before drilling. If you drill you may mess up the threads of the rivitnuts. A dremal may help also.

[SFD90]

Thanks Mike.

Also, I forgot to double check that I want to drill a 6mm hole or do you want to drill a smaller hole?

I am going to look into peeling off the Rhino lining and see if it has damaged the paint underneath. If not, I'll go ahead and take it off.

If it looks pretty bad underneath I am probably going to leave the Rhino lining on, but what was your concern with drilling and messing up the threads of the rivitnuts? Are you talking about if the rivitnuts are already present underneath the Rhino lining? I don't think they are so I was just going to go ahead and drill them out. 6mm holes, right?

Just to double-check, I'm assuming you drill a hole, then use the plier tool to install the rivetnut in the rail. Is this right? Supposedly after that the install should be pretty straightforward.

[Mike Hippert]

The tool will list what drill bit size to use.

If there are no inserts there allready then I would just drill a hole for the new ones. I am not sure the rivnuts will work with the rhino liner you may need to remove the rhino around where the rivnut goes.

If there are rivitnuts installed already then I would try and peel back the rhino just over the rivnut and I would not try to drill it clean as then the threads may become damaged from the drill.

Oh and yes on the instalation.:grin

[mgrgpg]

Make sure you have a tube of silicone caulk handy and some extra weather stripping. I sealed up every nut head and made sure the weather stripping on the windhield area was good. After that no leaks.

[SFD90]

Thanks guys!

[Campbell]

I just finished this over the weekend and everything was fine thanks to the help of Mike and a few others on this board. I used 6m rivnuts and was instructed to drill 10mm holes. This worked fine but I would check with the instructions that come with the nuts. Make sure the plier stlye gun comes with a 6m mandrel. I had to buy one with seperate which was no big deal.

[chrisvonc]

**These threads have been merged**

[chrisvonc]

Hi Payton,

Check this thread if you didnt find it yet:
http://www.d-90.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=288

CVC

[jperakis]

i was just looking at some old d90 pictures and was wondering if there were in fact two different hardtop colors that were available both a light and dark grey? or am i just seeing things and only one came out.

[rover4x4]

I think there was only one color black? at least all the HT's I have seen were black

[jperakis]

never mind you're right... im goin crazy

[Glider]

Is there a thread already about soft to hard-top conversions?

[Campbell]

I just put a hard top on my 94 st. Let me know if I can help.

[Glider]

Is there a gasketed, clamp-down hard top? I have only seen posts about permanent installations.