Topic: What soft top for wheeling in a YJ?

[jfrabat]

This is what happens when you are undecided about what you want...  I bought my YJ with a soft top some years ago.  I got me a Pavement Ends Targa Hard Top (the one with 2 pieces rather than one single piece), and I sold the soft top.  Now, I am having some issues with the hard top (water coming in because the upper doors are a bit bent outwards, so even with weather stripping, the water is routed into the cab on the passenger side).  Also, for wheeling, the hard top is (1) too heavy (especially considering that you will be loading the jeep with gear!), too expensive if you break it (I already hit it once hard against a tree), and lets too little fresh air inside the cab (not good when the average temperature is about 90*!).

I cannot go topless either when wheeling because in Panama it rains 9 months out of the year (and by rains, I mean it POURS once a day at least!).  So I wanted something that would keep the rain and mud out, but still let the air in (and that you can close fairly quickly).

I ran into the bowless tops on eBay, and this one looks fairly decent (by that I mean that it is a complete set; the Rugged Ridge one does not come with any of the required accessories).  However, for it to work, i would need to get the soft upper doors, and the ones available for the YJ are all with the square corner, rahter than the one with the rounded corner required.  I did find ONE available on eBay, but it only the right side (well, not counting the ones from best top for the low retail price of $360!!).

Any comments on this top and where would a good place to source the upper doors would be?  My idea is to get something that is as light as possible, yet somewhat durable.  I also like the idea that this top allows me to convert to a safari top fairly easily, which would be a plus for cruising around town...

[sharpxmen]

i like the bestop sunrider, I have the "non-sunrider" version of that one and never had water leaking issues (but the windshield frame fitting is different so can't speak for the sunrider). It is a heck of a lot louder than the hardtop unless you have the windows closed and the fan on or vent open in which case it's pretty quiet as the top would bubble just line an air supported dome (like in stadiums and such).

[Jeffy]

I like frameless tops.  After dealing with soft tops over the decades, I've come to hate them.  They're not particularly hard to take down but you have to take care with the windows which most people don't do.  Then you have to put the top back on which usually means at night when the stop shrinks and it a PITA to get on.

That being said, I'd stick with Bestop.  They are the OEM supplier for a very long time.  The problem is if you want a frameless top, you're SOL if you own a YJ.  I've had a third-party soft top and it sucked bad.  I had a window blow out on the highway because the company skimped and make the window too big and the clip too small.

I'd try adding rubber weatherstripping to the hardtop though.  So I have the OE gasket on the door and another gasket on the top itself.  This should help a bit I think.

[Tr00b]

Are there any CJ7 or YJ tops around your area with the windows smashed out of them for cheap or free? You could custom grind the windshield lip (for a CJ top to fit your YJ) and make custom removeable plexiglass side windows (or with the cam-latches like in pickup extended cab windows) and a custom sliding ragtop like lowriders here in the US have.

[jfrabat]

I'd try adding rubber weatherstripping to the hardtop though.  So I have the OE gasket on the door and another gasket on the top itself.  This should help a bit I think.

I tried that; but the problem is that the door is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch out of flush on the rear top part of the door (passenger side), so the water goes in there, travels all the way to the windshield (where the weather stripping ends), and drops between the windshield and the door to fall on the passenger side floor (and my speaker).  So it is not so much that it is not sealing as that I need a way to avoid the water from coming forward (or stopping it altogether).

I have thought about getting some ruber and actually making sort of a channel.  This would help me not only to seal the top, but would also help to stop the dripping from the top of the door when you get in when it's raining, but I have yet to find the type of rubber header that I need...

As for the top, I hear you; I think I'll go with Bestop, and find something I can at least put down without having to actually have to take the top off (don't know if I can with the Hi Lift where it is, though).

[Jeffy]

You can adjust the catch on the door so it pulls the door in a bit. IIRC.

[jfrabat]

You can adjust the catch on the door so it pulls the door in a bit. IIRC.

The lower part of the door is closing flush; it's the upper hard top part that's leaning out a bit.  I CAN try to put some thin weather stripping on the outer bottom part of the door so that it leans a bit in, now that I think about it. 

[Jeffy]

The lower part of the door is closing flush; it's the upper hard top part that's leaning out a bit.  I CAN try to put some thin weather stripping on the outer bottom part of the door so that it leans a bit in, now that I think about it.  

Is your window bent?  It should bow in.  Is your top centered?  You have an aftermarket top don't you?

[neale_rs]

My driver side door does not close flush on the bottom rear corner.  I've never examined it carefully to find the reason, maybe the door or the hinges are bent.  You might want to consider straightening something since you might have the same problem with the soft top if you use the same doors.

[sharpxmen]

had the same issues with my doors and had to adjust them (PO had 2 thick weather stipping pieces all along the d/s upper frame but didn't work), it's pretty tedious process but once you're done you'll be happy, if you have not done it before or you're concerned a body shop should be able to get them aligned properly. If you get the soft top you'll still have these problems.

[jfrabat]

Is your window bent?  It should bow in.  Is your top centered?  You have an aftermarket top don't you?

I have a Pavement Ends targa top, but quality is very poor...  the rear glass no longer seals (I had to put some weather stripping on the glass itself, as the hinges bent a bit and now there is about an 1/8 gap between the glass and the top), and now the door seems to be slightly bent.  I will try to force it back in, but the top IS centered...

My driver side door does not close flush on the bottom rear corner.  I've never examined it carefully to find the reason, maybe the door or the hinges are bent.  You might want to consider straightening something since you might have the same problem with the soft top if you use the same doors.

I planto use soft upper doors...  those sliding glass windows dont let enough air into the cab for wheeling...

[jfrabat]

Here are some pics of the door in question so you can get a better idea. 

First off, a shot of the entire door.  A bit difficult to see, but the lower hard door is aligned well with the tub. 



It's the upper part that sticks out, and only at the rear...





So, water falls from the roof to the gap here:



Then gets to the windshied frame up to here:



and trickles down the inner door frame, falling on the passanger side floor.  Here's one last shot just for the heck of it...



Anyway, it is not much of a problem when the Jeep is rolling down the road, as the wind pushed the water back, so it does not leak.  The problem is when parked.  So I am thinking of putting some silicone to stop the flow to the front; maybe that would help.  The other idea is to put some sort of rubber (kind of a splash flange; not sure what it is called) to keep the rain from falling into the groove in the first place (this would not look as good, but would be quite useful to keep the rain from falling on you as you enter the Jeep while raining).

In any case, as I mentioned, the first step I will try is to put some weather stripping on the outside bottom of the hard upper half door, so that it leans a bit in.  I'll report how that goes when I do it...

[neale_rs]

It looks like it could be a manufacturing defect.  Hopefully, adding weather stripping at the bottom to tilt it in will work.

[Jeffy]

Can you bend the support post a little?  I hate third party tops.  They always leak and aren't built to the same standard as the OEM.  I sold my Steelhorse at a loss because I was fed up with it.  Went back to a soft top till I bought my current hard top from a friend.

[sharpxmen]

isn't there any adjustment on the aligning inserts inside the door? if not what Jeffy said. Is it plastic or fiberglass, if it's plastic you might be able to work it with a heat gun but can't guarantee the result.