Freedom Top Redesign 2007-08 versus 2009
Thread Starter
JK Freak
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 871
Likes: 0
From: Tucson, AZ
Freedom Top Redesign 2007-08 versus 2009
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Some may not be aware of the small changes made to the 2009 Freedom Hardtop front panels. Apparently, there was some leaking issue, so they redesigned for the 2009 model year. And that sucks for me, because I'm advertising my hardtop for sale and this issue cuts my selling audience down considerably.
I can't seem to locate it, but saw a post that included testimony from a guy who worked directly on the Freedom Tops who said, what I'm about to show in pics.
Anyways, I wanted to find a 2007 or 2008 Unlimited and view for myself the changed made, and to also snap some pics to help everyone else on here out.
First of all, the visual differences. The most obvious, is the location of the center front latch. On 2007 and 08 models, the latch clamps the two panels together and doesn't have any contact with the windshield. On the 2009 models like I have, the center front latch clamps the drivers panel to the footman's loop on the windshield header panel. This is how the leaking was cured, and is the only reason why 2009 front panels will not work on a 2007 or 2008 without some slight modifying.
When I say 'won't work' I mean that I was able to install my 2009 panels onto a 2008 and they would seem to work great. But they would need some mods to make them actually work flawlessly on the 2007-08 model years. The footman's loop for some reason was moved slightly towards the driver's side of the Jeep. Therefore, the 2009 front latch will not contact the 2008's loop. This can be seen in the next two pics, as I measured from the windshield clamp latch over to the footman's loop.
2007-08:
And, 2009:
.
Some may not be aware of the small changes made to the 2009 Freedom Hardtop front panels. Apparently, there was some leaking issue, so they redesigned for the 2009 model year. And that sucks for me, because I'm advertising my hardtop for sale and this issue cuts my selling audience down considerably.
I can't seem to locate it, but saw a post that included testimony from a guy who worked directly on the Freedom Tops who said, what I'm about to show in pics.
Anyways, I wanted to find a 2007 or 2008 Unlimited and view for myself the changed made, and to also snap some pics to help everyone else on here out.
First of all, the visual differences. The most obvious, is the location of the center front latch. On 2007 and 08 models, the latch clamps the two panels together and doesn't have any contact with the windshield. On the 2009 models like I have, the center front latch clamps the drivers panel to the footman's loop on the windshield header panel. This is how the leaking was cured, and is the only reason why 2009 front panels will not work on a 2007 or 2008 without some slight modifying.
When I say 'won't work' I mean that I was able to install my 2009 panels onto a 2008 and they would seem to work great. But they would need some mods to make them actually work flawlessly on the 2007-08 model years. The footman's loop for some reason was moved slightly towards the driver's side of the Jeep. Therefore, the 2009 front latch will not contact the 2008's loop. This can be seen in the next two pics, as I measured from the windshield clamp latch over to the footman's loop.
2007-08:
And, 2009:
.
JK Freak
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 916
Likes: 3
From: Terryville, LI, NY
There's an easy way to fix the leak issue with the '07 and '08 tops...
Read this thread: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stock-jk-tech-12/freedom-hardtop-redesigned-100632/
My regards,
Widewing
Read this thread: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stock-jk-tech-12/freedom-hardtop-redesigned-100632/
My regards,
Widewing