1987 Saab..top won't go up or down without help. Can hear the motor running but no movement. Can manually pull or push.

thats normal, you should have a little movement the noise is the axle hitting the lock pin in the diff. hope this helps

Sounds like there is either air in the system, or most likely a bad pump...either way will require service.

The most common reason for this is low hydraulic fluid. The noise is probably the pump running while empty. When fluid id present it dampens that noise. Behind the rear seat is the combination motor/pump/reservoir. With the top in the DOWN position, fill the reservoir with ATF and cycle the system a few times as far as it will go. Repeat until the reservoir will take no more fluid. If that works, it is only a patch fix. You must now inspect the lines, motor and cylinders for leaks. The fluid does not evaporate. If it is low, you have a leak. Karl at topgunwon.com

There's a red lever behind the rear passenger seat, fold down the rear seats to the trunk and you'll see it. Pull the lever down, and this should disengage the convertible motor. You should now be able to move the top up or down with some resistance against the hydraulic fluid left in the lines.

This happenrd to me the first few times after filling the tank. When the roof stops push the switch to up then back until movement stops then go back to down, eventually it will get rid of all the air in the system and the roof should start to work.

Many electric motors use a nylon gear strip for movement. As the nylon wears it slips and requires help to begin movement. Replacement of the actuator as a unit is probably going to be needed

There is a manual release behind the rear seat on the passenger side. Pulling it releases the tonneau motor plate away from the gears, allowing top to be raised and lowered manually.Once this release is used, the back bottom edge of the top will never seat against the tonneau again until the top is repaired.

The 94-98 Saab 900 cars have numerous top issues that are known. The primary issue is the design of the convertible top Tonneau motor that is located in the right rear quarter panel behind the light. The problem with the original motors was that there was not enough strength in the housing that held the motor to support the top movement because the teeth on the gear drive would get chewed up when the motor moved out of position. The failure of the Tonneau motor causes the top to chatter about half way up or down because the teeth of the motor gears would get chipped off. Replacement of the gears or replacement of the motor is the only repair and the convertible top Control module must be programmed after the repair by someone with a Saab Tech 2 computer tool which is used to program the top potentiometer settings. If you catch this problem early enough it can be repaired by using the bracket reinforcement kit.
Check latches is also a common failure which displays on the Saab Information Display (SID) Generally, this failure is due to problems with the micro-switch located in the latches that secure the convertible top when up.
Another issue with the convertible tops has been the control module that controls the top electronically. The major problem with this is device is that it looses the ability to communicate with the Saab tech 2 tools. This problem appears to have been solved in the newest versions of the ECM.
This TSB covers the known issues with NG 900 vert tops. There are numerous others for the 9-3 tops.

its a 1996 saab. the red handle only releases the back motor which controls the front of the top. the trick seems to be to get the back window released.

Hello, Can you hear the motor run in the seat back? If you can hear it run, you could have a broken track. They are made out of nylon so they do break. If you can't hear a motor run, you probably have a bad seat switch. Can you pull the headrest up with your hands? If so, try pushing it down because it may have come out of it's lock.
If you want to inspect the mechanism, take the two screws out of the bottom of the seat back, and pull down. You should be able to see if the track is broken.
I hope this helps.
CYA Gator241