​How to Close Holden Astra Convertible Emergency

How to close Holden Astra (Soft Top ) Convertible Roof Manually (This is a free resource)

Manufactured between 2001 and 2006, the Holden Astra Convertible is one of the most popular soft-top cars in Australia.

There are still a lot of them on the road in Australia which is a testament not just to their popularity but also their mechanical reliability.

Unfortunately, the synthetic hydraulic hoses used in the roof retract mechanism are now a minimum of 15 years old and are becoming a weak point and have started to fail.

The main failures seem to be from the single-cylinder used to raise and lower the rear lid in front of the boot. this is because this function needs the most amount of pressure.

The black plastic outer cover has deteriorated over time and flakes off which eventually causes the crimped hose end to 'blow-out' from the hose fittings in the cylinder of the pump manifold.

When this happens the roof will not be able to extend or retract beyond its current point and will result in oil being pumped out of the hydraulic system's tank if the roof open-close switch continues to be operated.

Closing the roof manually until the hose can be repaired is the best outcome in the event of failure and is very straightforward if not a little frustrating process which we have detailed below.

Manually closing the Soft-Top roof (from Fully Open & Stowed position)

1. Fully Lower front and rear windows. This is an important step and makes the job much easier.

If the windows are not lowered you can damage roof mechanical linkages and in some cases, window breakage has been reported.

2. If the rear lid (Tonneau cover is fully closed) open the boot (trunk) find and push the release lever (lever is located inside a cut out on the left side of the boot wall, 2/3 of the way inside the boot and high up) inside this cut out is a lever push fully forward and backwards and try and wedge it there with a small piece of wood or stiff cardboard.

3. Close the boot and then with the aid of an assistant one on each side of the vehicle slowly raise the rear lid.

4. Once the rear lid is open, prop it fully open with a piece of wood 70 cm long, you must now open the latch hooks – (only do this if the left and right latch hooks are closed and pointed in on each other)

5. Opening the latch hooks, Remove plastic or rubber plug in the centre of the front edge of the roof, Using the supplied hex tool or a 4 mm Allen key. Wind Allen key in an anticlockwise direction, It takes a lot of turns (up to 55 to 58 full turns) so take it easy and count carefully, the latches will not seem to move for quite a few turns but eventually they will start to slowly move. Stop when the latch hooks are both pointing straight up in the air.

Insert Allen key in here (see Yellow arrow above) and turn anti-clockwise to open up latches

(If one latch moves and the other doesn't, you have another problem

please see the video below)

6. With the aid of a helper (standing on the opposite side of the car to you), slowly lift the front edge of the roof up and forward until the roof folds out of the rear storage compartment.

7. When the front of the roof reaches 1/2 way between front a back of car stop and hold and with the other arm reach back and raise the rear-facing window (back windscreen) up and over the rear seat roll bars.

8. Once the rear window is raised out of the boot cavity lower the boot lid (tonneau cover) and push it down to close.

9. Once the rear lid is closed fold the rear window back down onto the roof lid.

10. Continue to move the front section of the roof towards the front windscreen.

(Do not force the roof onto the top of the windscreen it will stop a few centimetres short of the top of the windscreen).

11. With the front of the roof close to the top of the windscreen and making sure the roof latch hooks are still open,

use the supplied hex tool or Allen key to rotate it in a clockwise direction.

12. As you turn the Allen key clockwise gently support the front of the roof, after a few turns you will feel the roof start to fall towards the top of the windscreen, allow it to do so but do not pull it or force it down onto the top of the windscreen.

13.Once it has fallen onto the windscreen, keep turning and you will feel the roof latch locks pull the roof down onto the top of the windscreen.

14. Read Carefully, This is a very important step, Do not overtighten the Allen key, once the front of the roof is firmly on the top of the windscreen without any movement, STOP WINDING.

You will need to be patient as this can be a very tedious process especially if the failure has occurred when the roof is fully down. Take deep breaths and be persistent; it will eventually close and the locking mechanism will engage.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE A SHORTCUT AND USE AN ELECTRIC DRILL; the mechanism can be fragile and fast operation/too much torque WILL result in failure or damage to the locking mechanism.

Hydraulic.Online takes no responsibility for any damage or losses resulting from following this guide.

Please call 07 5563 1982 or email sales@mhfgc.com.au to book your Astra in for hydraulic roof repairs.

Please be aware that we are located on the Gold Coast.

As we run a 24/7 breakdown service you may need to leave your car with us for 24 hours as we will fit it in around callouts and breakdowns.