Convertible top leak

I have a 05 Sebring Last Jan 2 & 3rd it was raining hard to moderate here in NYC, This time after a good hard downpour on the 2nd and staying dry during my

45 minuet trip that night, I found the following morning on the 3rd of moderate rain I had a continuous drip down onto the area of the window up/down switches. The origin of the drip was from between the drivers "side glass" and the weather-stripping, in the area of where the drivers sun visor mounts to the pillar extending out from that point an inch up and down , This was not due to some water coming in initially when a door is opened on a frameless window convertible due to not having any drip rails like conventional cars OR the roof not being latched properly OR the window not being up fully OR the door not being fully closed. These conditions were considered as this drip continued for the entire 45 minuets of my trip.

The weather stripping appears in good shape except for one possibility. The top weather stripping that meets the closed convertible roof appears to extend over the side glass on the passenger side , but on the divers side it appears to end in the center of the width of the side glass. This condition may have caused some water to flow being the weather strip V type flap that holds tight against the side glass. The option of a adjustment to the latch so it closes tighter may have no effect as the drip was at the side where a hinge adjustment would have more effect.

I've been in it a couple of times when it was pouring out and no problems. the window switch area was filling with water such that I finally got a plastic bag and stuck one side of the bag into where the arm rest mounts to the door covering the switch area. I got the car new in late July 05, most of the week it's under a cover and I use it on weekends, On my next service visit I'll put this on the list. In doing some net research I found the following blurb, ""the dealer replaced the whole top on my car because one of the front-to-back tension pads tore loose, but at the same time they replaced the A-pillar weatherstrip "

Right now I'm not too clear on what is a " A-pillar " or what is a " front-to-back tension pads " if someone could explain or direct me to a picture I'd appreciate it.

We had the same problem on our 04 Sebring. Took it to the local dealer and he adjusted the top to fit down over the drivers window a little tighter. No leaks since.

Thanks for the response. Does anyone know how this adjustment is done? Is it in the top latches or something in the folding frame top?

Thank you for taking the time to offer your expert advise on this and many other items.

Don't know for certain, I know he made the adjustment on the front where the top joins the roll-over bar and I believe he mentioned that there was a second adjustment made which moved the top, forwards & backwards. As it was under warrantee, I wasn't really listening.

Dennis

is that windshield frame a roll over bar? I remember in the 70's the convertibles had a roll over bar - then I don't see them any more much. The roll over bar was that a law or just a owner installed extra?

No, a windshield frame will not protect in a turn over. The roll bars have not been a law. Due to pressure from the media, Jeep put them in. Some cars like the Mercedes have a automatic pop up roll bar. Some are optional from dealers and some are owner installed.

OT: About the jeep rollbar ... I have seen one collapsed a few years back when the roll occurred at highway speed ... the driver was killed. I keep meaning to look into this ... perhaps someone has info on "to what speed" those jeep rollbars are good to.

Most of them were factory-installed placebos. They weren't tested or rated for rollover protection, but they "looked" safer than a completely open car.

Even the Viper R/T 10s "halo bar" over the rear window wasn't technically called a "roll bar" because that would have opened up too many legal worm cans if someone were to be killed in a rollover. It was at least engineered to give *some* protection, most of the others weren't.

And by the way- you'd be surprised how little protection a full roof gives in a rollover sometimes...

Interesting -- I had thought there were some liability cases that established that anything that looked like a roll bar needed to function as one, and calling it a light rack or something wouldn't help... (note the conspicuous lack of cites here, of course).

Due to their poor performance in rollover tests, I believe !!!

Jeep never put a 'roll bar' into any stock product I am aware of. They put a 'sport' bar in that works very well for off road slow speed roll overs or tip overs.

Even so most serious off roaders modify the sport bar and anchor it to the frame instead of just the body tub like it comes stock. This increases the strength. Lots make real roll cages too.

I have my 'sport' bar tagged to my frame.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >

Just for reference, my 1996 Chevy extended cab pickup has a (don't remember the exact name of the option) "hinged panel" and not a 3rd door. This was the first year Chevy put the 3rd door in the truck and the design didn't meet the standards for a "door" (I think relative to crush strength and such) so they couldn't call it a door. Maybe "roll bar" has a legal definition and standard.

"And by the way- you'd be surprised how little protection a full roof gives in a rollover sometimes... "

Especially when the windshield pops out- its a structural member. (I couldn't believe that when I first heard it...)

Dave

Maybe that's why they called it a 'halo' bar. I don't honestly know, but I did just read a passage in a book about the fact that there was an internal argument between some guys at Chrysler over whether to include it or not. One camp thought that it detracted from a clean top-down look. The guy who prevailed was the one who had a had actual experience with building limited-production high-performance vehicles before, and felt that it was necessary because it offered some level of protection, and given the type of car there *would* be single car incidents that wound up with the wheels in the air. he must've seen Kelsey Grammer's name on the waiting list... :-)

That's why they're almost universally glued in now. They're designed to STAY in and add a little rigidity to the front of the roof.

nate

(strange but true...)

Indeed. The rear head rests. They can be raised and lowered in 'normal' use. They pop up and lock in an emergency. This includes, I gather, the car being at an 'unnatural' angle.

DAS

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