Driving with rear window up?

[johnnychemo]

I've seen a few Jeeps driving around on a nice day with the rear window of the hard top up. Evidently the owners didn't want to pull the top/doors for what is (around here) a random nice day amongst a series of cold & crappy ones.

My question is -is this safe to do, or do you risk damaging the window that way?

Sponsored

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@johnnychemo

You will probably get someone saying it is ok and they do it all the time..... do know though, that it is not prudent to do so... You risk the rear window tweaking and shattering.... you risk strut damage.

Sure you may do this plenty of times and then..... it's kinda like jay walking..

 

[Reinen]

Aside from the risk of breaking the window (the struts are not designed for the stresses of being open while in motion) there is also the risk of pulling exhaust into the vehicle. You absolutely must have all the other windows open if you do that to keep the Jeep from turning into a suicide box.

 

[zgrw]

I personally drove like that and I don't think it would break that easily. That being said, manual is advising against it;

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I used to do it in the JK on days were i had just the roof panels off. The JK rear window would stay up and not move.

The JL rear window makes all kinds of bad noises and moves up and down every time I hit a bump.

I suspect that it has something to do with where the wiper is mounted. Kinda sucks, as used to do that a lot with the JK. It was also helpful when I need to haul a long item. Definitely a disappointment. That and I have to constantly lube the bottom seal on the rear window to keep it quiet when closed.

 

[hanschien]

I used to do it in the JK on days were i had just the roof panels off. The JK rear window would stay up and not move.

The JL rear window makes all kinds of bad noises and moves up and down every time I hit a bump.

I suspect that it has something to do with where the wiper is mounted. Kinda sucks, as used to do that a lot with the JK. It was also helpful when I need to haul a long item. Definitely a disappointment. That and I have to constantly lube the bottom seal on the rear window to keep it quiet when closed.

without damaging the struts, is it possible to install clamps to each to prevent compression?

 

[DaltonGang]

I've done this, a couple of times, until I went over a railroad track/crossing, and the window slammed down, pretty hard. I thought it might do damage, so, never again.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

without damaging the struts, is it possible to install clamps to each to prevent compression?

@hanschien

Sure you could temporarily place clamps on the struts. You still could definitely see damage to the struts and if the rear window tweaks (and it can/will do so easily) the rear glass will shatter.

Sure you may drive with the rear window up plenty of times and then..... then, have the rear window tweak/break and well, cost you a lot of money to repair.. It is just not worth the chance.

I shake my head and mumble to myself...... "how stupid can you get", every time I see anyone driving any brand/model vehicle with the rear hatch/window up - supported with struts.

 

[johnnychemo]

I kinda figured it was a bad idea, but you never know, there are plenty of things you shouldn't do in other vehicles that Wranglers have no problem with!

 

[Reinen]

without damaging the struts, is it possible to install clamps to each to prevent compression?

Extension is just as much of a concern as compression. The strut's extension stops are designed to stop the force of the strut plus a bit of hand assistance, not the impact of a bump.

Sponsored