Installing the Jeep Grab Handles with a Sky One Touch roof

[Sherifftruman]

So, we got a new Sahara with the Sky One Touch. The new grab handles on the A-Pillars are nice, but my wife really liked having roll bar mounted handles on our JK and wants the same in the JL. I had seen a few different threads where people were able to thread some of the fabric straps for various paracord handles through the small gap. Unfortunately my wife really likes the look of the official Jeep handles https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/front-grab-handle-pair-jeep-wrangler-jl that mount over the bars. Jeep says they won’t work with the Sky One Touch.

Sometimes it seems like my wife’s purpose in life is to come up with crazy ideas that I have to make work. I’m also the kind of person that doesn’t mind making things work.

Looking in between, there is definitely a gap there, but it’s too tight to slide the pre-bent metal brackets through. Also, part of the front mechanism is in the way of one of the screws I need to remove. If I could lift the sides up, I can get to everything. So, I saw the thread where the guy bought the Sky One Touch off eBay and installed it. Seemed like if that was possible, loosening the bolts that hold it down would be possible.

So, we did it. Needed to loosen the 2 bolts in the front area and three (1 apart and 2 together) in the back seat area. Also, had to take off the screw at the front where the latch is. These are the hex cap screws, not the T-25 for for the trim. We took it slow, making sure nothing seemed to be in tension to make any realignment hard. They were not torqued much, I was able to do all but two with a manual screwdriver style bit holder. The others just needed a small ratchet and little effort. Once they were loose (for whatever reason one of the bolts in the front does not have as much thread engagement as the rest and it came out completely, the others I backed out about a half inch or so) we were able to raise the sides of the hard top up enough to get to everything.

I cut the rubber off the front bracket to give it more room and had to slightly angle the back and it all went right back together. Top works great and seems to be engaging all the gaskets just the same as before.

Screw for attaching front bracket to, under the locking mechanism area.

Here is the bracket with the coating removed

Finshed (two of the cap screws are visible on each side)

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[Midding]

Still happy with your install? I’m going to attempt it on Sunday if you have any further recommendations.

Thanks for getting the ball rolling.

 

[Sherifftruman]

Haven’t seen any issues so far.

 

[D2340]

I'd love to do this mod. Do you have any pics of the bolts you loosened?

 

[Foggy47]

I think I would like to do this......just unsure of getting things back together without causing alignment issues with the top. I'm wishing there was a video or more pics?? Maybe I am overthinking this? Grin.

 

[cwadle]

I think I would like to do this......just unsure of getting things back together without causing alignment issues with the top. I'm wishing there was a video or more pics?? Maybe I am overthinking this? Grin.

I havent seen any issues in my setup yet, If any issues were to be caused it would be from a vertical misalignment rather than a horizontal one, which would lessen the chance of any form of leak. Therefor, I wouldn't be too worried about the install. After all it is completely removable.

 

[Ex-Nuke]

Did you or anyone else that has performed this mod have any leakage problems? Just put these on the wife's Rubicon yesterday, and saw some wetness inside after it rained last night. Only thing I saw that could possibly be different was the trimming of the rubber on the mount?

 

[Bob Rae]

OK, I did it. I read this thread 12 times before I finally had the guts to touch the untouchable, Sky One-Touch Roof and install the Mopar handles. As requested, here are some more pictures and my comments.

Step 1 - Tools - T-30 Torque bits for the Sky One-Touch rails and T-25 Torque bit to attach the handles. I used a screwdriver end and a rachet because you need the rachet to loosen and ultimately tighten the roof back in place. I hand tightened everything first with the screwdriver to make sure everything set in place correctly.
Step - 2 Cut the Plastic - I will upload a picture of where I cut the plastic. It pulls off very easily.

 

[Bob Rae]

Step 3 - Loosen 4 bolts and remove 2 bolts. I was able to do this by loosening all the bolts, but the play that was needed required the front two bolts (one on the rails and one on the latch) to be removed. Here are pictures of all 6 bolts.

 

[Bob Rae]

Step 4 - Gently raise the roof - The roof only needs to lift at the front about 1 inch to slide in the handles. You need to keep it raised while you remove and attach the handles. I used a trim removal tool to hold the roof up while I worked on this.
Step 5 - Install the handles - Requires a T-25 bit. The screw under the latch is tricky, but I was able to do this using a screwdriver handle to keep my hand away from the latch while turning. WIth the roof on the trim tool, this worked fine.
Step 6 - Re-attach the roof. I used the screwdriver tool to snug the bolts along the roof rail first. Then attached the lock bolt since it appeared to have the most ability to adjust. I simply let the holes for the roof rails to be my guide. When I was sure all the rubber moldings had fallen right back into place, I used the rachet to tighten. I don't know torque settings, so I just tried to mimic how the bolts felt when I removed them.

 

[Bob Rae]

In the end, this worked. No leaks. I hit it with the hose and everything is tight. I haven't driven through a car wash, but the seals seem tight and no different than when I started. Attached is a picture of the roof closed and how uniform and tight the seam is on top. Also here is a picture of the handles installed. 1 hour to do both handles. Done!

 

[Robuc]

Can you install theses for the back seats as well?

 

[Bhodi11]

Anyone ever get backseat handles to work?

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