Hi All,

I am new to the Forum (as a member) and recently have had some troubles with my soft top. I have searched and found some topics about the plastic vs metal header and other miscellaneous items but have yet to see a topic about my issue. Yesterday I was putting the top up and performed the necessary steps (latching front but not all the way) and when i went to the rear to put the sail panel on, my plastic windshield header piece snapped! Now the top is inches from connecting with the top of the windshield and when i latch the top, there is no tension to hold the right side down. I am using ratchet straps at the moment to keep the top relatively close and to prevent the top from destructing at highway speeds.

Has this happened to anyone? Does anyone know if i can get a new full plastic header piece (maybe with metal connector from the TSB) anywhere online?

The canvas seems to be intact with no rips or tears, and the screws seem to still be holding everything together, so if possible a new plastic piece would be sufficient as the latches and what not are still in good shape.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Here are pics:


http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/r...ep/header1.jpg
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/r...ep/header2.jpg
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/r...ep/header3.jpg

 

man that sucks. sorry to hear that. Quadratec sells new headers

http://www.quadratec.com/products/11132_9113_07.htm

 

wont let me edit my post.

Or you can go to the dealer with part # 68049276AB

 

Thanks! I was searching yesterday forever and couldn't determine if the part #68049276AB was just the metal piece or the entire header piece. I read everywhere that there was a TSB covered under warranty to replace the plastic header with the metal header, but i figured it was only part of the header and not the entire plastic piece that holds the latches. Thanks for the info, $125 from quadratec's website.

 

Update: I bought the piece from the Jeep dealership for ~$150 including tax. It was raining yesterday so I haven't had a chance to install. Funny thing is, the part is the same piece as needed to go from the plastic header to the metal header and I was actually looking at upgrading before I even snapped my header! Funny how things work out. I'll post an update to how difficult this is to install; I'm going to use some tips and tricks from other threads on this forum. Thanks for all your help!

 

All of the headers are plastic, the "metal" one that you are referring to is a redesign of the skeleton of the inside. previous headers were straight plastic with the clamps just screwed into it. now there is a metal brace inside the plastic header now they mount to for more rigidity.

 

Yessir! It was difficult finding if ONLY the metal piece was included in that part number or if both the metal piece and the plastic piece with the latches were included. Since i broke both pieces, I'm glad they include the plastic latch piece as well!

 

Update: I installed this last night by myself. I read a few threads that say you can just put the soft top down but not remove it to make the fix, but i tried this and it seemed impossible. This is what I recommend:

1. Fold soft top down like normal when driving without the top.
2. Remove the bolts from the bows.
3. Bull the entire top off and set on ground exactly as it was folded.
4. Remove all screws that are visible (4 on each side).
5. Fold over the header piece to view all screws on other side (~20)
6. Remove all screws from backside of header
7. Carefully remove the header piece so that you can see how the canvas lies in between the two header pieces. I'm not sure exactly how it should lay but I ended up putting the rubber end from the canvas into the channel of the metal header.
8. Use duct tape to secure the top to the header.
9. Put in a few screws (like 3 or 4) to hold the header in place and fold the header back like the final will be and make sure you can reach the screws on the other side. If you do not do this, you may end up putting all 20 screws in and having to take them all back out because it doesn't reach.
10. Put all screws in, fold over the header and put the remaining screws in the reverse side. Remember that the metal from the bow goes between the two header pieces, you don't have to assemble this way as you can squeeze the bow piece in after the headers are screwed together.
11. Put soft top back on.

Maybe you guys can take some tips from my lessons learned:
- Use a powered screwdriver. If you don't have one, borrow one. I manually screwed and unscrewed everything and it added about 30 minutes to my install time.
- Make sure you don't tangle any parts of the top when you are disassembling the header, I ended up tangling the strap between the middle and back and had to cut it off because I didn't want to undo everything again.