'03 Wrangler soft top leak question

Nov 19, 2004 7 Replies
A

Howdy folks! I've got an '03 Wrangler (daily driver, ~20k miles) that has developed leaks in the soft top in the rain. It appears to be coming through the soft top at the rear corners of the top, and running down the braces to drop onto the front of the rear wheel wells, then running down to the floor.



The top hasn't leaked for the first year and a half I've owned it, but the wonderful new mildew smell isn't too appealing. I've searched through the news group archives, and haven't found anything exactly like I'm seeing... My questions are:


  1. Is this a "normal" degradation for soft tops?
  2. If yes, then is there any way to repair?
  3. If no, then I'll be off to the dealer...

Best regards,



-Ajb


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M

If it's under warranty I would sure take it in for a replacement. It sounds like the stitches have let go. Hit or scrape by any trees lately?

If it shows scratches, well... Tent makers sell some seam sealer compound that might help but if the threads have snapped I think I would be gluing them to hold them before seam sealing.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

ajb wrote:

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D

No, not normal at all IMO. I'm still running the original top on my '99 and it doesn't leak anyway.

Dave

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A

Mike,

Thanks for the feedback! I've been off the trails for a while, and have always been careful to keep away from low branches when on them anyway. I'll be calling the dealer on Monday!

Best Regards,

-Ajb

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A

David,

Thank you for the info! I'm glad that I should expect more life out of the top. I'll be calling the dealer on Monday!

Best Regards,

-Ajb

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M

More life. LOL!

I am just wondering if I should do the first repairs to my 1986 soft top or see about replacing it. It just started seeping at the seams but I have a couple recent tears in it to fix. I do have seam sealer. Some rodent ate a hole in it too...

Mike

ajb wrote:

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R

A buddy of mine in Oklahoma had his soft top stored in his shed along with his bikini/windjammer/tonneau. We went to get it all out last year and he found that rodents had eaten large holes in all of them. He now stores them, the new ones anyway, in the ceiling of his garage.

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M

Mine 'was' in the ceiling in my garage and some rodent still ate a hole that is right above my head! I mean, he had the 'whole' top to chew, but nooo....

This year mine is in the house. Have a cat in the house, no mice.

Mike

Ray wrote:

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