Whoever solves this soft top mystery gets a gold star.

[dylansalrin]

I'm at my wits end with this soft top. I bought the 05 jeep lj a month ago and it had a slight whistle at highway speeds. I got out to notice the soft top header bar on the windshield was slightly elevated on one side. I figured the header had just bowed and so I ordered a new one. (The soft top is the factory sun rider feature btw). Well when it got here it was cracked in two pieces so I had to send it back. When I sent it back for a new one, the replacement finally arrived a week later. The whistle is driving me nuts at this point. It is very cold and windy out today but I got the replacement in anyway. While it is a bestop brand, the header went on kinda tough actually. I got it on but the top still won't sit flush on the driver side.. and now there is a tiny gap on the other side too. Keep in mind that this gap is smaller than the last header so I think it will still solve my issue. The latches are also MUCH tougher to get on. Especially more difficult on the driver side. Is it possible it's so tough because it's freezing out and the temp shrunk the soft top a bit? What is bowed? The soft top assembly or the windshield frame? Could the soft top be uneven?? Everything looks straight to me? So frustrated. First picture is of the passenger side (there never was a gap there with the old factory header)

This is the problem side. Are these normal to have on a soft top and I'm just crazy? I hadn't gotten a chance to drive yet but i can't see inside from looking at the gaps and that is a plus from the old one:

You can see it sits very flush in the center.

 

[Kevin E]

I always read it's better to put a new top on in warm weather. 70ish. I would call Bestop. There could be an easy solution. Are you latching the front header on last? I always do mine last. Probably not much help. Good luck you'll figure it out.

 

[dylansalrin]

I always read it's better to put a new top on in warm weather. 70ish. I would call Bestop. There could be an easy solution. Are you latching the front header on last? I always do mine last. Probably not much help. Good luck you'll figure it out.

It's not a new top though. It's the original top from 2005. It was like this when I bought it from Oregon and drove it back. It is like the frame structure is like too short by a half inch. Maybe tomorrow I'll take the top completely off and put the header on first??

 

[Kyle_W]

This is what my Bestop bolt on header looks like (you can see that mine has the gaps on each side as well, you just have to zoom in to see it):

And, WTF are those dice doing on your Jeep?

 

[dylansalrin]

This is what my Bestop bolt on header looks like (you can see that mine has the gaps on each side as well, you just have to zoom in to see it):

View attachment 15076

And, WTF are those dice doing on your Jeep?

They have been on every car I got since I was 15 ahaha. They started on a mustang, figure I'll keep them hahaha

 

[Kyle_W]

They have been on every car I got since I was 15 ahaha. They started on a mustang, figure I'll keep them hahaha

Ohhhh ok, no no, you keep those dice right where they are! I would do the exact same thing if I were you!

 

[Goblin]

Maybe it's the wind going through your roof rack. I got a howling/whistling sound when I put in my 50" LED light (which I eliminated by putting door trim on the bottom 4-5 find)

 

[dylansalrin]

Maybe it's the wind going through your roof rack. I got a howling/whistling sound when I put in my 50" LED light (which I eliminated by putting door trim on the bottom 4-5 find)

No it did it before I put that on. It did howl but I made a wind fairing for it (taken off in these pictures) that take care of roof rack noise. Thanks though!

 

[Rob5589]

My Smitty header sort of fits like that but my factory one does not. How does the rubber seal look?

 

[dylansalrin]

My Smitty header sort of fits like that but my factory one does not. How does the rubber seal look?

It check closer in the morning in the light. It didn't seem to have any divots or obvious wear. It's a bestop header so quality shouldn't be an issue

 

[Rob5589]

You know what you could try, lay some duct tape over those gaps and take it for a drive. If it goes away you will know that is the problem.

 

[dylansalrin]

I'm for sure the noise is due to the header gap. I can see through it at times and I can feel the breeze at highway speeds from inside with my finger up there lol. I just don't know why two headers give off the same issue ha. I'll investigate more tomorrow. I found many forum threads about this issue but they all die off without a solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rob5589]

If both do the same thing, I would think the seal needs to be replaced.

 

[Chris]

If both do the same thing, I would think the seal needs to be replaced.

X2

I had this same issue (though it was only with one header) and the solution was a new seal.

 

[dylansalrin]

Just got out to the top to play around with it. It's freaking 32 degrees!! Man it's cold out. Hard to think I had the top off a couple days ago. Anyway I took the whole thing off and started to put it back together with the header first. It helped as the picture below shows, not perfect but much much tighter. Hopefully when it warms up it will be flush, if not I'll know I'll need a new seal. Thanks for all the input!

 

[glwood]

Contrary to what others have stated, I always sit in the front seat, push forward, and latch the header first before pulling down the rear corners to attach to the belt rail. I've always thought why fight the top to latch the header, when it needs to be as tight as possible...?

 

[bobthetj03]

I have to attach the latches first but not clamp them down or I'll never get the side rails in.

 

[dylansalrin]

I think the issue lies in the sunrider bow assembly. I don't even use it and it makes everything a pain in the ass lol. I would happily trade it for a normal lj soft top frame.


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[jeepXcore]

This is what my Bestop bolt on header looks like (you can see that mine has the gaps on each side as well, you just have to zoom in to see it):

View attachment 15076

And, WTF are those dice doing on your Jeep?

Hate to hijack, but I see you have a best top bikini top, I have an oem hardtop that im planning on taking off for the summer and replacing with a bikini top, do I need to buy a header or is it already on there if I have a hard top?

 

[Kyle_W]

Hate to hijack, but I see you have a best top bikini top, I have an oem hardtop that im planning on taking off for the summer and replacing with a bikini top, do I need to buy a header or is it already on there if I have a hard top?

You need a header! In my opinion, the "no drill" header is better than the alternative. But, the "drill" header has the advantage of always being attached, and it doesn't get in the way of the hard top latches.

Have you thought about a Spider Web shade? I like my full bikini top. But, it's hard to store. A spider web shade seems like it's much easier to work with.