There's a strap that connects the rear bow to the next bow on each side, about 2-1/2 inches wide. Apparently I wasn't paying attention when I put my top up yesterday, cause I discovered that the strap had ripped out of the 4 rivets holding it to the back bow. Happy Monday:zap:
1- how vital is this? I assume it's to provide rigidity and reduce flapping, correct?
2 - how should I repair it? Or where should I take it to have it repaired?
Yeah, it supports the top and pulls the bows with it or somesuch... I forget and tequila is attacking my brain atm... But I bet you can just throw some short screws in there to put it back, paint the heads black and no one will know the difference... But they are sort of important as I recall.
Mine came loose on the drivers side. The only purpose I can see for it is when you are putting the top up it pulls the rear bow up with the rest of the top. I never fixed mine just a little harder putting the top up which I try not to do any more than necessary!
Plastic or metal?how old is the top?I bought a Bestop Supertop off eBay last September,brand new,for $350.00-smokin' deal!Only used it a week or two before I put my hardtop back on.This April I put the soft top on,and two weeks later that strap broke(I had the plastic one).I called Bestop,and spoke to Geoff in customer service to see if I could get a replacement.He kindly informed me that since it is riveted,it is not replaceable,and sent me the ENTIRE right side of the frame-front,rear-the whole magoolah,at NO CHARGE!2 days after I called him,it was sitting on my porch when I got home from work!And best of all,the new one has a metal strap!If you have a Bestop,I highly recommend you call their 1-800 #!
That's kind of what I was thinking, Inferno. I just wanted top hear it from others before I take a drill to my top
I never quite understood the purpose of this strap, but I guess it makes sense that it's there to assist in 'raising the roof' unk:
Gold TJ, it's a rugged ridge top, it came with the Jeep when I bought it, and has metal bows. That's all I know about it. When I get back from camping, I'll look up a tech support number for rugged ridge and call them, maybe I can get a sweet deal like you did
They said it was a brand new top when I bought it, and I believe it, it looked in great shape for a soft top. But, I really like the looks of the Viking Fastback tops, and I want one, but I can't justify buying a new top when I already have a new top. ...Something ingrained by my Dad about waste of money and all that....
Thanks for the quick replies folks! Have a great day, and keep on wavin':wavey:
You could rivet it, use a little washer between the rivet and the strap to keep it from pulling through and make sure there aren't any sharps where they could rub against your top.
I had the same issue on the drivers side. I drilled out the existing rivets and replaced them. I found a package of washer at Lowes that had a bonded neoprene layer (normally used as a seal) which gave a bit more grip on the webbing.
Both of mine are off and I have had no problems raising or lowering the top. They have never actually been attached since I got the Jeep, come to think about it.
They may assist in raising and lowering the top but I don't really see any other purpose because the bar that they set on rests against the roll bars anyway.
Yes, they are there to provide support and tension between the bows. Mine were ripped when I bought the Heep. I repaired mine with large head rivets, you could also use "rivet washers." I also had some 1" strap laying around, so I used that (3 pieces), instead of trying to find 3" strap. Drill out the old rivets, put in the new. An Ace or True Value should have the large headed rivets and/or rivet washers.
Thanks very much for the offer, dbbd1 !!unk:
I believe my Mom has a pop-rivet gun floating around in her shop somewhere, I'll get out there and look for it when I get back from camping this weekend.
What part of Oregon are you in? We're camping up south-west of John Day.:wavey: If you spot a Green TJ with the Green Lantern decal, stop by and say Hi
The straps you speak of have become disconnected from the "bows" on my Unlimited recently in the same manner you speak of..the rivets. My vehicle is still under complete warranty, so we brought it to the dealer today. They mentioned they would put some type of washer on it....should I contact Jeep directly to ask what the preferred correction for this is? Have they come up with a better option on the 2010 model? Is this a common problem? I would like it correction properly at the dealer so it does not occur again in 6 months...
Hello, new Jeeper here (had my TJ since the first of July).
My driver's side strap is intact but my passenger's side strap pulled off the rivets. I don't notice that it's any harder to get the top up or down but I've had trouble with the back of my soft top flapping and coming off in the wind when I'm driving with the top up and the side windows out. You know, the corner part between the back and side windows? It comes off in the wind and flaps like crazy on the passenger's side where the side with the intact strap stays in place.
I called Bestop & they said if I couldn't repair it I could just tie a rope where the strap is to keep the shape of soft top (and hopefully keep everything in place when I'm driving on the highway). I'm going to try that. Just thought I'd mention it because it's a really common problem and I don't have the skills to re-rivet the existing strap onto the bows.
I might try military spec paracord. Any thoughts?
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