DocJ,
Two things to consider.
Convertible top mechanisms require lubricating from time to time, and if yours is 18 years old ...? See YouTube videos for "convertible top lubrication" or similar. There are two or three to see. Just be careful, because too much lubrication can be squeezed out of a joint and cause top stains.
There are a couple of Nissan Parts suppliers online that show the 5th bow bungee cords and pricing out of the USA., Findlay Nissan Parts (Indiana) and Nissan USA eSTORE Parts. Both ask for the year, model, trim level, and then have you go through exploded diagrams of the car.
It can be tricky, but with patience, I came up with the bungee cord part numbers as 971F8 and 971F9 (rt and lt) and a price of $9.08 at the one and $121.91 on the other site just today. Go figure, but still cheaper than a new pump assembly by a long shot.
Myself, if I find the bungee problem gets to the point where it drives me crazy, I'll search for suppliers/manufacturers of bungee cord products, and see if I can come up with something similar, that can be retrofitted to the existing hardware. With the top partially opened, since you can slide the bungee cord forward and back, one should be able to fasten a made up bungee of similar design to its existing metal ends without having to take the top apart.
I'll cross that bridge when it becomes necessary.
Gene
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