Had an 09, now an 11...neither had/have a leaking problem...

 

You are a master mechanic and you can't figure it out? You think the genius working on it at the dealer is a master mechanic too? I doubt the dealer is putting their number one guy on a leaky top. Probably have the kid who sweeps up at night looking at the top.

I am all for making the dealer do warranty work but its clear your dealer isn't qualified for this type of job. Being a 3 time certified master mechanic I would think you could get the garden hose out, find the leak, and stick on a little weather stripping to solve the issue. Then drive down to the dealer and show the night sweeper what he needs to do next time.

I guess I am lucky neither of my tops leak cause I am neither within warranty nor a master mechanic, just an A-hole that has a garden hose and weather stripping.

 

I've been pretty lucky only one of my 3 hardtop JKs have leaked and my '07 stopped leaking when they put new seals on it.

 

Maybe I was just a A-hole and didn't provide any help.

So, I will offer a suggestion in addition to the garden hose.

See if you can find a forum member nearby who will come over with his same top and take them apart to compare seals. If you have a really bad leak you might be able to see a difference in the seals and see what needs replacing/or additional weather stripping. Bet there are some friendly jeepers nearby.

 

My 07 JKU leaked till i replaced the weather stripping and found better silicone stripping than the factory foam. Its held since I replaced it. As for my soft top JK, YJ and TJ all of them leaked. But through the seams, tent seam sealer helped there. Leaks, they are a way of life if you accept them and stay after them. I have found Jeep/Chrysler to be poor when it comes to leaks. My mother just traded her Sebring in because after 7 attempts on 2 different cars (1 Lemon replacement for the 1st) they couldnt find the leak even when i showed it to them. I love my Jeeps and I have a tolerance to the issues. To the original OP, stick to your guns call Chrysler service not your dealer tell them what you are dealing with, I have found more luck that way than dealing with the stealership. My suggestion Jeep in the garage and Mustang outside.. Horses like fresh air.. Owned plenty of both.. Either way cant go wrong, just dont give up if you dont want too..

 

The 07 hardtop on my 09 leaked over the passenger seat. I finally found it was coming in the seam right above the rear pass door which is funny because the seal on the door looked like it would cover it up. Put some silicon in the seam and no more leaks yet. I was chasing the leak around the gasket where the freedom panels meet. So check the seams on the rear shell and front panels guys.

 

we have a 07 and no leaks from the hardtop or the soft-top in 80K miles. I hope I dont have leaking with the 2012 due in shortly, I would certainly find that to be unacceptable for any 40K vehicle jeep or otherwise.

 

My 07 hard top has been badly abused, I don't put the screws in,the Freedom panels bounce around in the back between an old blanket, and that foam stuff on them is long gone. For some reason the damn thing still don't leak.

When it finally starts, I will stop it one way or another.

I think it is too bad that people cannot visit this forum before they buy a JK.

That way they could read up on all the potential problems (I could list them but its too long) before they buy a JK.

Because anyone reading the forums before, buying one, then bitching about having the problems on the list list after, is.....well......

Better to nag the dealer and Chrysler customer service into ordering a complete new seal kit or even a new top than let them mess with it 5 times. And then better yet to install it yourself.

 

A difference of opinion doesn't qualify you as an asshole, but responses like your last one as well as this one probably do.

If the interior of your jeep is getting wet it should be by choice, not by failure of the seals that were designed and intended to keep the water out. Doesn't have anything to do with pretty. If the interior is supposed to be wet, why use any seals at all?

If you want to F - up the interior of your jeep , go for it. Your money, your choice. I just don't see any reason to behave like an ass towards someone because they don't want a live well in the passenger floor pan area. If you didn't agree you didn't have to comment at all, you could have just left the thread and beat your chest somewhere else.

 

Of course I can figure it out. But it's under warranty. A warranty everyone pays for as part of their new vehicle purchase. I already found the point of leakage and told them where it is. As of right now it has a new header seal, and should have two new door seals this coming weekend. And since all of these seals have been completely re-designed, simply running a bead of silicone over a collapsed seal of inferior design isn't the right answer.

A very large part of being a good tech is weighing all of the options before picking up the wrench - er, tube of silicone, in this case. I'm going to let the warranty that my vehicle came with pay to replace the seals that Chrysler has seen an obvious need to spend many thousands of dollars to re-design. Only if and after that doesn't work will I start investigating other remedies, not the least of which may involve a trade towards a '12 if the money is right.

But what I'm most happy about is being secure enough in my masculinity that I don't need a wet, moldy, stinky Jeep interior to prove my manhood.