How do you remove the t-top on a 97 camaro if the release lever is broken?

 

Do you mean the plastic lever on the inside? If that is broken, you can use a pair of pliers to turn the stud under it to retract the rods that hold them on.

Just make sure that the T-Tops are unlocked first. If they seem frozen, they are probably rusted and completely stuck.

This is what I did on my '94. Get yourself some PB Blaster and pry the plastic trim down a bit and spray everything in there liberally. Let it soak for a few hours and then use your pliers to work the mechanism back and forth. You will likely need to repeat the proceedure a few times.

 

no the lever is still there so i think its broken on the inside because the lever moves if its locked or unlocked but the pins that hold the t-top in dont move

 

Sounds like you may just have to pull the plastic trim off. You will break it, but if lucky, it will only break around the screw on each end that holds it in place. That is a pretty easy fix with some superglue.

Once the trim is off, you can see what is stuck and go from there.

 

that sucks well thanks for the help

 

got the ttop off i had to remove the release handle and turn the **** with a visegrips and the pins moved. So im thinking that the inside of the handle must be stripped

 

That's good news. Now that you have it off, spend some time and take it apart and clean and lubricate the mechanism really well.

You should be able to find a new handle for just a couple of bucks too.

 

yep did all that it works really well not very hard to turn at all.