Leaky soft top

engineman1031

engineman1031

New member
I may be beating a dead horse here but who's soft top on their jk leaks? My 09 rubi soft top leaks pretty bad during heavy rain. It's the same spot on both driver and passenger sides. Directly above the door handle. I've tried everything but it still leaks.
 
UpsideUp

UpsideUp

Member
Don't feel bad. My freedom hard top on mine leaked quite a bit during the latest heavy rains we had in CA. Right where the two panels meet at the windshield (right above my cb!) And again where the two panels meet the top at the drivers roll bar. Shocked to see it happen but I think it's in the nature of these tops both hard and soft?
 
Jackal01

Jackal01

New member
No issues with mine. I went through 2 hours of rain at freeway speeds today and not a drop got inside.
 
S

Sturgeon12

New member
I would love to hear a fix for this too... soft top leaks on my 07 in the same spot.. has been for years now.. my wifes shoulder was soaked yesterday as i went around a turn and all the water poured in... (it had rained the day before, so water was just laying in there) seemed to have collected inside the plastic piece above the door, where the top "clips" in... not 100% sure.

I did do a bunch of searching on this, and wasn't able to find any diy solutions that really worked.
I do know that my 95 with a bestop never leaked, and my 03 with factory soft top never leaked...:thinking:


Edit: Jackal01, mine does not leak when driving... but when it is parked... water collects above door and drips in. It DOES "unload" later, while driving due to sway, cornering... etc.
 
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OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
Above the door handle or above the door? Is your window properly seated into the door surround? If not it will leak through there.
 
rubicrawl

rubicrawl

New member
My soft top never leaked nor my hard top but these last rain storms I wasn't driving my jeep it was sitting on my driveway so the water after the rain was just sitting on top of my soft top and eventually it started bleeding through my soft top. my top inside the cab were a bunch of water drips my whole carpet inside was soaked and my carpet under my brake and gas peddles was a puddle and also in the middle of the cab and at the very back I had a puddle in the cuby hole in the very back storage area so bummed anybody have this issue also?
 
S

Sturgeon12

New member
OverlanderJK said:
Above the door handle or above the door? Is your window properly seated into the door surround? If not it will leak through there.
Click to expand...

Mine leaks where the outer part of (hard) door frame, meets the soft tops plastic frame (where the top clips in). I think the water gets in at the front corners of the top, and runs back in along top of door.. Def not the window.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
Sturgeon12 said:
Mine leaks where the outer part of (hard) door frame, meets the soft tops plastic frame (where the top clips in). I think the water gets in at the front corners of the top, and runs back in along top of door.. Def not the window.
Click to expand...

Are you sure the window is seated correctly?
 
LeighP

LeighP

Member
If you google around, there is a Factory published procedure for tracking and correcting roof leaks.....I've seen it a couple of times on various Jeep forums. That may help guide you.
 
Siebermd

Siebermd

New member
engineman1031 said:
I may be beating a dead horse here but who's soft top on their jk leaks? My 09 rubi soft top leaks pretty bad during heavy rain. It's the same spot on both driver and passenger sides. Directly above the door handle. I've tried everything but it still leaks.
Click to expand...

I have an 07 and I have had the same issue. Seems like it gets worse with every rain. Mine leaked in exactly the same spot. Mine was so bad, my seat would eventually be completely soaked, including the dash cluster, and a nice pool of water on the floor. The only good fix (if you can do it) is always park on an angle, ie. If you can put the driver or passenger side lower then the other, it will cause the drip/seep affect to deter outward. But parking that way is not always an option. I purchased a cover for mine, tried to make the effort to cover it up in a rain, but that didn't always happen. This month I replaced with a Hard top and only have the familiar drip in the center (dripping on the CB). I am so relieved and happy that I spent the money. I love the hard top and probly will never go back to soft.
 
Siebermd

Siebermd

New member
PS. one more thing I figured out...

One more quick way to alleviate the water inside if you are at work or get stuck by a freak rain shower. Put a wet rag or towel on your roof hanging down and over the driver side door window (or passenger). This works believe it or not by wicking the water off the drip rail. Make sure the towel is wet before going on, this keeps the wind from blowing it off and it will not pull the water away from the window if it is dry. Try it, you will see it works.
 
chipper

chipper

Member
Had the same problem with my soft top on my '14. It was coming in at the corner above the door, and my floor matts were always wet after a storm. This may sound weird but it's true. I took it to the dealer. They said that I had rolled the rubber seals Above the windshield, when the top was put on and clipped in. They had to try to reform it for me, mine is new so it worked. But that new seal was under $100 if it didn't.
Works great now. No leaks. I just make sure to wipe down that seal and make sure top is seated even before I clip it in.
 
BuckeyeJeep

BuckeyeJeep

New member
I had that same problem with my JK '11 a few months ago and after trying so many solutions, the final solution was to repair the door seal. The water was leaking from the top of the door at the front of the Jeep at the windshield.

Replacing the door seal is so easy, I brought it from a Jeep dealer and installed it myself. I will warn you, you will need to unplug any electrical connections that runs to your door and pull out the little plastic things with a tool around the door (once you pull off the old seal). It literally took me 10 minutes and saved $$$ on labor at the dealer.

The cost of the seal was $120-ish.
 
BuckeyeJeep

BuckeyeJeep

New member
Also, there is a factory "recall" on this for newer models I've heard, but not quite sure. When you get the new seal, I was told there was a 1 year warranty.
 
cozdude

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
BuckeyeJeep said:
Also, there is a factory "recall" on this for newer models I've heard, but not quite sure. When you get the new seal, I was told there was a 1 year warranty.
Click to expand...

yup back when i got my 2011 in 2011 i had it back at the dealer a few months later for a recall on the door seals. mine leaked like a bitch on the passenger side and hasnt leaked since.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
There is a plastic seal, similar to a cup, on the door surround that sometimes gets jammed up. If that is jammed up it will leak like crazy.
 
rdgm71

rdgm71

New member
chipper said:
Had the same problem with my soft top on my '14. It was coming in at the corner above the door, and my floor matts were always wet after a storm. This may sound weird but it's true. I took it to the dealer. They said that I had rolled the rubber seals Above the windshield, when the top was put on and clipped in. They had to try to reform it for me, mine is new so it worked. But that new seal was under $100 if it didn't.
Works great now. No leaks. I just make sure to wipe down that seal and make sure top is seated even before I clip it in.
Click to expand...

Do you have a pic of the area of the rubber seal you are referring to and that the dealer reformed? Thank you!
 
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