2005 TJ hardtop gaps around doors and tailgate

[cyberkni]

I just got this 2005 TJ used. It came soft and hardtops, since winter is coming in New Jersey I figured I'd switch over to the hardtop.

Now that its installed I've found a few gaps around the doors and tailgate that I'm trying to figure out how to seal up. I've included a bunch of photos at the end of the post.

So far I've done the following to fix this:
1) Looked for obviously damaged or missing weatherstripping. Nothing stood out as clearly in need of replacement.
2) Loosen up all the hardtop bolts and attempt to shift it forward a bit. This *did* close up the gap a little but I do not think its going to move much more.
3) When I took off the softtop I left on the the tailgate opening clips(link to mopar part) but did remove the softop rail retainer. After looking at part diagrams and the jeep I decided to remove them. The fit improved but I also read a bunch of posts which suggested this change is unnessicary.

What else should I be adjusting? Should I just be mass replacing the weatherstripping on the door and tailgate?

This is a shot of the passenger door with a light shining on it from the inside.

Here is a shot of a similar issue on the driver door:

Finally shots of the gaps around the tailgate both drivers and passengers sides:

 

[crackedcornish]

those are better gaps then on a Tesla...

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

You are missing the mucket seals for the door.

Right side: Crown 55177256AB
Left side: Crown 55177257AB

 

[cyberkni]

You are missing the mucket seals for the door.

Right side: Crown 55177256AB
Left side: Crown 55177257AB

Bingo! Thanks! I'll be ordering these once I figure out what to do with the tailgate.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

Bingo! Thanks! I'll be ordering these once I figure out what to do with the tailgate.

I would put the brackets back on if I were you.

 

[LONGJP2]

Yes, you might need new weatherstriping on your doors tailgate, and rear window.
For example, you shouldn't need that extra trim that's attached to the top of your tailgate.

 

[cyberkni]

I would put the brackets back on if I were you.

I tried that out this morning and it didn't look like a great idea...

The rubber ends up resting on the bracket and doesn't close up tightly. Here is another shot without the bracket:

When I removed them the first time I decided to put the screws back just so I don't lose them. That caused some gaps. This time, left them off but that left exposed screw holes. I stuck self-adhesive weatherstripping over them for now.

 

[cyberkni]

Yes, you might need new weatherstriping on your doors tailgate, and rear window.
For example, you shouldn't need that extra trim that's attached to the top of your tailgate.

This is also super useful to know. I've been messing with it since the Jeep came home. I've tried it facing out, facing in, and off.

For now with the weatherstripping thats on it seems like helps seal up a bit when its facing in like the photo below.

I've ordered mucket seals, a bottom liftgate seal, and new weatherstrip for around the liftgate glass. My hope is that these new ones will have a bit more life in them so that weird bit of weatherstripping can be removed.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

This is also super useful to know. I've been messing with it since the Jeep came home. I've tried it facing out, facing in, and off.

For now with the weatherstripping thats on it seems like helps seal up a bit when its facing in like the photo below.

View attachment 207759

I've ordered mucket seals, a bottom liftgate seal, and new weatherstrip for around the liftgate glass. My hope is that these new ones will have a bit more life in them so that weird bit of weatherstripping can be removed.

Yeah that bracket is bent which is why the plastic part doesn’t want to fit inside of it. When I do hardtop installs I loosen the 4 screws that go into the hardtop at the top of the glass - there is about 1/2” of adjustment so you can lower the glass down where it has a better and more snug fit with the seal.

 

[glowell222]

This is also super useful to know. I've been messing with it since the Jeep came home. I've tried it facing out, facing in, and off.

For now with the weatherstripping thats on it seems like helps seal up a bit when its facing in like the photo below.

View attachment 207759

I've ordered mucket seals, a bottom liftgate seal, and new weatherstrip for around the liftgate glass. My hope is that these new ones will have a bit more life in them so that weird bit of weatherstripping can be removed.

A while back I replaced the rubber seal on the bottom of my hardtop with an "upgrade" version, which was about three times as thick as the OEM rubber seal. This caused the entire hardtop to sit just high enough that the liftgate wouldn't seal against the tailgate, and my soft top bracket screw holes were also exposed. I added that same bit of weatherstrip across my tailgate, and it helped a little, but I suffered with it all winter. I finally made my own rubber hardtop seals in the original OEM thickness (about 1mm) and this cured my issue. Also, each winter I put a dab of clear silicone caulk over those bracket screw holes, and in the summer when I put the brackets back on I just screw right through the silicone. Helps to prevent rust, because these TJs will rust if they get even the smallest chance.

 

[SolarColumbia]

I have the same gap after replacing my hardtop seal with the thicker one. I wonder if it will compress over time. In the meantime I'll be adding some weatherstripping.

 

[cyberkni]

I thought that replacing the seals on the liftgate might help. So I replaced the liftgate weatherstrip retainer plastic, the weatherstripping attached to it, and the seal where the glass meets the hardtop. It did not work for improving my seal...

The new seals are definitely nicer and newer but they don't compress the same as the old ones which causes this gap.

 

[Rubicon John]

It’s possible the hinges for the glass are bent causing the window to sit out further than it’s supposed to.
Hard for me to tell with the pics if it needs to be lower or pushed in further.

 

[LONGJP2]

Lots of parts that have to work together just right.
For example, in these pictures, the upper thicker part of the tailgate seal is supposed to line up, and be on top of the square indentation of the liftgate seal. Yours are not.
Also, glass looks higher on right side than left.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

I thought that replacing the seals on the liftgate might help. So I replaced the liftgate weatherstrip retainer plastic, the weatherstripping attached to it, and the seal where the glass meets the hardtop. It did not work for improving my seal...
View attachment 208367View attachment 208365

The new seals are definitely nicer and newer but they don't compress the same as the old ones which causes this gap.

You haven’t adjusted the glass yet?

 

[LONGJP2]

My tailgate presses firmly against my lift gate. You can see the line (dirt) about 1/4" from the bottom.

 

[cyberkni]

You haven’t adjusted the glass yet?

I did actually. I moved the glass down and the hinge at the hardtop down as far as they would go.

I did end up making the glass a bit crooked but I just corrected that. It looks like my next step is getting my spare tire off and messing with the tailgate hinges.

 

[BoldlyGoing]

Yeah that bracket is bent which is why the plastic part doesn’t want to fit inside of it. When I do hardtop installs I loosen the 4 screws that go into the hardtop at the top of the glass - there is about 1/2” of adjustment so you can lower the glass down where it has a better and more snug fit with the seal.

That bracket might be bent, but it could also be meant for a non-mopar soft top.

One TJ I had came with a soft top from some unidentifiable Chinese manufacturer or other, the brackets were different. I only noticed because I attempted to swap the hard top from one of my TJ's on to the other and had the same issue OP has.

After scratching my head for a while, I realized the ends of the tailgate bar from the cheap top were thinner than the ones on my other TJ with a MOPAR top.

Food for thought.

 

[BuildBreakRepeat]

That bracket might be bent, but it could also be meant for a non-mopar soft top.

One TJ I had came with a soft top from some unidentifiable Chinese manufacturer or other, the brackets were different. I only noticed because I attempted to swap the hard top from one of my TJ's on to the other and had the same issue OP has.

After scratching my head for a while, I realized the ends of the tailgate bar from the cheap top were thinner than the ones on my other TJ with a MOPAR top.

Food for thought.

Ah makes sense - I ordered Mopar hard/soft combo mounts when I did mine.

 

[cyberkni]

An update since I spent a good chunk of time this weekend working on this. I did a bunch of things:
1) Removed the hardtop and replaced all the weatherstripping. I used some adhesive backed weatherstripping I got from Home Depot for this.
2) Installed the mucket seals on both sides while the hardtop was off
3) Adjusted the tailgate with a detour in broken-bolt hell and a few other minor problems.
4) I ended up just adding 2 strips of foam weather stripping where the liftgate glass lands to close the gap. I adjusted it as much as I could and there was no getting it any closer. I'll just replace this yearly.

We had a good amount of rain most of today and so far I'm dryer. I found one remaining leak coming from the firewall between the engine and passenger side. Here is a wide shot:

And here is closer up on the opening and parts going through.

I *think* is part of the HVAC system but I'm really not sure of where the water is getting in. If the water was coming through the engine bay I'd expect to see drips from the unsealed hole to the right in the above picture. Note that the car has not been driven today so no splashes are involved with these leaks. Two weeks ago I did clean out the cowl drain and noticed that there is a gap between the metal and the cowl drain itself. Water drained through both openings after I cleaned it out. It did not *look* like water was going anywhere problematic when I was testing.

Any suggestions on where to go next?