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How to adjust?

WranglerMan

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I think it's ok if you leave the latches on the front loose. If you start to tighten them to reduce windnoise, the stress point will be the z clip, and eventually it may fail.
Well I initially adjusted the latch points on the Jeep itself, the driver side had pretty much no resistance and the passenger side was very tight so I loosened both sides up and made small adjustments until both were pretty close to the same for tension and to be honest thereā€™s not much tension, the clamps on the SR donā€™t have resistance until they are about 1/2 closed.

I could have went tighter but I did not want to stretch the SR top or put more tension on the clips as you pointed out, I also figured with them snug rather than overly tight my seal along the windshield would not compress as much and last longer but I do clean the front seal often and treat with 303
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Ogre_FL

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so this isn't as good as a replacement top under warranty, but i wanted to try a repair to see if it could be salvaged. you end up with a small bump in the back, but it does pull the side taut and put windnoise back to on par with the driver side, so it's viable. I'll post what i tried here with some pictures in the event that it helps someone out of warranty... or stimulates creative thought on a better fix even

EDIT: presteps are: remove the 2 center sunrider bolts in cabin between seats and remove teh 2 sunrider bolts on the side you are working on, to allow access/freedom of movement... found it helpful also to use a chair to reach and keep all the tools you need on a towel on the hardtop next to you

First lace the bicycle wire with barrel stop through the z clip hole
PXL_20210627_232921880.jpg


then install it through the butt splice connector
PXL_20210627_233144596.MP.jpg

Important step, use a needle nose on the end of the sunrider wire to pull enough slack through the fabric to use in the butt splice, and then hold it in that postion with a visegrip
PXL_20210627_233313857.MP.jpg


next install the sunrider wire through the buttsplice connector. you want this much sticking out if you have the broken end of the z clip still there. maybe a little more, but you can adjust it with the set screws to fit after trial
PXL_20210627_233448125.jpg

Now set the set screws and then clip the excess bike wire
PXL_20210627_233805147.jpg
PXL_20210627_233835211.jpg

optional to put an endcap on the bicycle wire to reduce the strafing of the frayed wire, then crimp it. alternatively you could cut it right at the edge of the connector and stow the loose ends inside, but i wanted excess length in case i have to adjust the position of the connector
PXL_20210627_234003588.MP.jpg
PXL_20210627_234057427.jpg

end result is a sunrider pulled taut, with a little bulge at the back side from the connector
PXL_20210627_234648031.jpg
PXL_20210627_234652188 (1).jpg


i plan to use my warranty replacement, but i couldn't avoid at least trying to repair the broken one and see if it works. the wind noise issue was fixed and it's back to normal windnoise and not a big whoosh coming in the loose middle of the top.

Set screws can be reset/adjusted with more or less tension in the sunrider wire to improve results, but my first setpoint shown here worked pretty well

ymmv. interested in any improvements others may come up with
Thanks for coming up with this fix.
I took it in a little different direction and tried to recreate the z clip.
I used a pop rivet.

Jeep Wrangler JL How to adjust? 20221203_090315


I made a couple, getting better at it and ending up with one that was almost identical to the original size and bends.

The black diamond top is probably stiffer than the twill and getting enough of the old wire out to go through the connector was very difficult.

Once together, it's really easy to adjust as the forward most screw holds the original wire and never needs to be touched.
The aft most screw can be loosened and move the z clip in or out.

Jeep Wrangler JL How to adjust? 20221203_095457


Jeep Wrangler JL How to adjust? 20221203_095741


Jeep Wrangler JL How to adjust? 20221203_095752
 

El-Jefes-Red-Rubi

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Mine snapped today. Both sides. Unfortunately, I bought mine from a JT owner that never installed it but their warranty is only for the original owner. šŸ˜’. Gotta find a way repair.

Any one know how it hooks at the windshield rail end????

I havenā€™t take. It apart yet. I notice some lawnmower cables have z hooks on both ends. Wonder if I could use the z hook and some type of termination at the windshield rail end.
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