Roof strut issue

[Jam03]

I’ve recently noticed a new rattle coming from inside the car, then sometimes the roof would not go down as it was getting snagged on something I couldn’t see. Turns out the two parts of the roof strut had come apart. The bottom parts with the shaft got wedged against a fixed metal part and just stayed like that. The top part that is attached to the roof frame is now dangling and catches on the shaft as you try to lower the roof, but it took a while to figure out what was happening because the strut is on the passenger side and it wasn’t catching every time. Presumably it’s an easy fix to unscrew the top section and attach it to the shaft again, but it’s not clear how it came off in the first place. Is there a lot of trim to remove to get to the fixing at the bottom of the shaft?

 

[AntStark]

Can't really visualise the issue although the symptoms sound the same same as my 3.0. Got pics ?

 

[Jam03]

Okay, so there is a strut, the top of which is connected to the roof structure and the bottom somewhere low down in front of the passenger side rear wheel arch. The top and bottom sections of the strut have come apart. Fortunately, the shaft attached to the bottom part has got snagged on a piece of metal plate. With the roof down, I freed the shaft and it extended upwards, but then it became impossible to raise the roof because the shaft interfered with the top section of the strut. See photos.

 

[IainP]

That’s the joint at the top of the hydraulic ram. Should have a locknut to prevent it unscrewing ( at least mine does). You need to take the rear carpet out, or the side panel, to gain access.
The locknut should give an idea how far to rethread.
Unless the rod has snapped, then you need a good welder, or a s/h ram. I would suspect that’s most likely, the rod in mine doesn’t have enough free play that it would unscrew from vibration alone. Though mine is bent.