I just got my 4dr Sahara with soft-top. I wanted dual-top but couldn't find one in area in red-rock. My ? is, I'm going to order OEM hard-top from dealer, what other things will I need to change tops? I noticed I won't have the rear defrost button on h-vac controls or rear wiper switch on right stalk. What has other people done? Now I'm wondering if I should have waited and found one with both tops from factory. Any ideas?


4dr Sahara
Red Rock with 18's
auto with soft-top

need: hard top

want: lift with 33's w/ MT classic II's

have: budget for only one

 

I believe that if you order the oem hard top a new wire harness, that controls the wiper and rear defrost, has to be installed and the computer needs to be flashed to recognize and control them.

 

...Plus the wiper stalk on the steering column has to be replaced and the panel for the fan speed/climate control has to be changed to add the defrost button. It's a 4-5 hour job for the dealer if they do it.

 

Make sure that you inspect the hardtop carefully before accepting it from the dealership. Mine had cracks on the two removeable sections and also had quite a bit of touchup paint on it that didn't match the original paint. Also had a leak in the right rear window - didn't find that one till I ran it through the carwash. I had one heck of a time with DC trying to get them to fix the issues. They never did - needless to say customer service is a joke with DC. My dealership eventually swapped tops with a new four door that came in. Also if you are not good with electrical connectors I would have the dealership do the harness install - you really don't want to mess with it if you don't have the experience. If you are going to do the job yourself take your time, you will have to remove alot of your dash to get to the electrical connectors and to remove and replace your environmental control switches. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. That sounds like a lot of $ for labor. Lift and tires are starting to sound like better deal for my money. Has anyone ran their soft-top all winter? This is my primary vehicle,think I could survive without a hart-top? I live in mid MO where the winters can be rough sometimes.

 

I wanted the hard top just for practical reasons (I live in PA) and I did research it beforehand to see what the cost of adding it later might be ... Let's just say that I'm glad I found a 2dr X with the factory hardtop already installed ... I can always add a soft top later (for the 3-4 months of summer we actually see here in SW Pennsylvania.)

If you can find a good dealer that won't rape you on the labor, I'd highly recommend going that route ... Along with the wiring harnesses as others have mentioned (plus the windshield wiper fluid line), the stalk on the column and a new climate control switch (for the rear defrost) It is quite a job if you're not sure how to tackle it. Plus, if something goes wrong if you install yourself, you're on your own ... At least if you have the dealer install it, it will be more expensive, but any warranty issues that may arise down the road will fall on them and not you.

Just my 2¢