When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello there! I'm the proud new owner of a 2007 soft top 2 door JK, which I have (for the most part - more on that later...) been LOVING. It's been a dream since childhood to own a Jeep, so I feel genuinely very chuffed every time I hop into it. Last week I went on a little off road course and "Green Lane" tour (roads in the UK that are public byways but not suitable for most cars) and it was a blast, I finally felt like I understood what the car is meant to do, and I was so impressed with her! What a champ.
Unfortunately, she's not only a champ but a bit of a drama queen... When I test drove the car pre-purchase (from a UK dealer who specialises in Japanese import Wranglers - mostly TJs), it was quite noisy from the front, so the dealer said he'd put in a seal in there to help it close a bit tighter. Which worked well and reduced the noise... until one day when I was driving along at 50ish mph and the top suddenly started coming out of the front and flapping about all over the place. Had to pull over, take the roof down, get home (with the skies threatening to open...) and unscrew the whole headboard to try and get it back in. I managed to get the roof in, but couldn't work out how to get the seal back in. Took it back to the guy, he gave it a go (without taking the whole roof off - just trying to unscrew and slip it in from the inside with the roof up), and of course the same thing happens. This time, driving back from a wedding at 1am on a really cold night. The wife was not impressed.
Any tips on getting the roof sealed up to reduce noise but also not fly open at non-ideal times? It's an aftermarket Rough Country top, seems to be in pretty good condition but no idea when it was put on. Understand that a bit of noise is par for the course, but the roof tearing off is not what I had in mind! Thanks in advance for any advice.
I'm based in the UK so sourcing parts can be a little tricky and take a bit of time.
Photos from the mega fun off roading and of the less fun roof issues below.
Not super fun for this to suddenly whip open when cruising along at 50ish mph... The seal that the dealer put in.
This might be one that is hard to get help on. I'd bet 95% of soft top owners here in are using a factory top, or a Bestop which is pretty much factory. Not sure I've seen anyone with a Rough Country top over the years. That is obviously not something that should be happening. Have you consulted the actual installation instructions on RC's website? I see there are some diagrams for how that front channel is working - https://www.roughcountry.com/product...soft-top-85240
If you feel like that is being installed correctly, I think the next corse of action would be to contact RC and see if they have a though why that's happening.
Thanks, appreciate the reply! Looking at the instructions I think the install of the top itself is correct - I think the issue is the seal not installed correctly and pushing the top out... So, probably back to the drawing board with the seal!!