rollbar padding removal

**06WhiteRubi** · 09-04-2006, 06:36 PM

has anyone taken the padding off of their rollbars? probably think I'm crazy for considering, but just one less thing to try to keep the mud off of and also it looks kind of tacky and bulky around the corners, if so, what about the speaker wires? is there anything to do with this such as run inside the bars or something? Thanks for the help?

Wrangler@Sport · 09-04-2006, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06WhiteRubi

has anyone taken the padding off of their rollbars? probably think I'm crazy for considering, but just one less thing to try to keep the mud off of and also it looks kind of tacky and bulky around the corners, if so, what about the speaker wires? is there anything to do with this such as run inside the bars or something? Thanks for the help?

Most likely, you will have to get a torx bit {t-50 I think} and take off your rear seatbelts from the bar. From there, just unzip it.

Don't destroy them though as you may not like it after you do it, or change your mind later, like I did. I destroyed mine and think it would have been nice to have them. Heck, you could even sell them to idiots like me (no, i'm really not interested

)

Also, aren't '06 rollbars a goofy looking shape (not round)

NEWtoTHEjeepLIF · 09-04-2006, 07:23 PM

I took mine off. Some just comes off some needs other things removed first. 30 mins total. Easy as hell to clean

**Rocky529** · 09-04-2006, 07:28 PM

If you take it off, don't hit your head on them.

You may want to double check your paint job on them too - I know a user who didn't get a complete paint job on his rollbars.

fried_gold · 09-04-2006, 07:52 PM

Your 06 is different so I can't say for sure, but on earlier models like my 01 you can unzip most of it. You have to remove the bars that connect to the windshield if you want to take it off those bars, and when taking it off the bar behind the seat you need to unscrew the softtop bars.

The only speaker wire I had was for the soundbar and I just ran it up the rollbar between the seat and rollbar (on the outside of the rollbar). In the places where the seatbelts bolt in, the rollbars aren't hollow, so you'd have to drill a hole to run the wires on the inside.

**bradleyfitz** · 09-05-2006, 10:18 AM

Keep your padding. Raising / lowering your soft top will add plenty of scratches / gauges to the paint on the rear rollbars. If you sell down the road, you're gonna want to cover that up

NEWtoTHEjeepLIF · 09-05-2006, 11:01 AM

Yeah keep the padding, but take it off if you want it off. BTW the padding on my 97 offers no help when hitting your head. I almost knocked myself out and that was when I still had the padding.

**19OlllllllO41** · 09-05-2006, 01:13 PM

Dont want to hijack, but does the padding from an 03+ model (the "thicker" padding) fit older TJ's? My friend gave me his padding from his 03, and i want to put it on my 99 cause i personally like the "thick" padding look, not to mention a bit more protection for the head! I think ive read that it does fit, but anyone here actually done it?

c_gilbert · 09-05-2006, 01:17 PM

I took mine off and ran the speaker wires in the roll bar. It was a huge pain, but Ill tell you how I did it if you're interested.

fried_gold · 09-05-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_gilbert

I took mine off and ran the speaker wires in the roll bar. It was a huge pain, but Ill tell you how I did it if you're interested.

I'm curious how you did it, but don't go the trouble of typing a big howto, just give me the cliff notes because it's probably a project I'll bother to do. I'm just curious because it looked impossible the one time I looked at it.

AZG23 · 09-05-2006, 09:30 PM

I think it looks way better without it...

here is mine...a few mods ago....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/azg23/100_0786.jpg

**06WhiteRubi** · 09-05-2006, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_gilbert

I took mine off and ran the speaker wires in the roll bar. It was a huge pain, but Ill tell you how I did it if you're interested.

i would like to know how you did it also, i have seen others around that look really good with the padding removed. thanks for the info.

AZG23 · 09-05-2006, 11:57 PM

Its actually got a hard foam type spacer around the bar making it "look" bigger...so unless it comes with that it wont fit, it would be loose...

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJeep 99

Dont want to hijack, but does the padding from an 03+ model (the "thicker" padding) fit older TJ's? My friend gave me his padding from his 03, and i want to put it on my 99 cause i personally like the "thick" padding look, not to mention a bit more protection for the head! I think ive read that it does fit, but anyone here actually done it?

**19OlllllllO41** · 09-06-2006, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZG23

Its actually got a hard foam type spacer around the bar making it "look" bigger...so unless it comes with that it wont fit, it would be loose...

Right, i got the foam spacer things and the covers from my friend. I know the foam spacer thing is kinda hard, but i still like the thicker look.

c_gilbert · 09-06-2006, 12:06 PM

This is the process for hiding your wires inside the roll bar.

1. Unplug the wires from the sound bar and cut off the "male" end of the plug about 1-3 inches back and stagger some of the cuts so their not all in the same place because you will be reattaching the wires back up with red wire connectors.

2. Take 6 long pieces of red stranded wire (each about 4-5 feet long) and reattach the "male" end of the plug to these 6 wires using red wire connectors.** So now you have a really long wiring harness. Start at one end and wrap all 6 wires together with electrical tape and work your way to the other end. Take your time doing this and make sure all the wire is covered by the tape and don't overlap too much because you don't want it too thick. This is what you will be feeding through the roll bar.

3. Drill 2 holes in the roll bar...I cant remember what size, but big enough for the wires you just wrapped up to fit into. One hole on the back side of the cross bar between the bar and the sound bar. The other hole is on the "down bar" behind the drivers seat near where the wires are routed from the factory.

4. Here is where I had to get creative. Bottom line is, you have to get he 6 new wires that you wrapped up in one hole and out the other. What I did was take a piece of fishing line...tied a small weight on one end and sent id down the top hole that I drilled. I wiggled and jiggled until I heard the weight hit the bottom of the tub inside the "down tube." Then I took a metal coat hanger and cut a piece about 8 inches long and made a small "bend" or "hook" at one end. I put the hook into the lower hole that I drilled and fished around until I hooked the fishing line and pulled it out the the bottom hole. So now I have the fishing line running from the top to bottom inside the roll bar.

5. The fishing line that is coming out the top hole needs to get tied to the 6 new wires that you wrapped up. I made 1 of the 6 wires a little longer...made a loop with it and taped it so that I had something to tie the fishing line onto. Now use some sort of lube on the wires so that they slide through the holes easily. I think I just sprayed WD40 or something like that. This works better with 2 people but you can do it with one. Have someone feed the wires into the top hole while you pull carefully on the fishing line out the bottom hole.

6. This takes some patience...be careful not to feed to much in at one time and get it bunched up. Once you see the end of the wires at the bottom hole pull them out carefully not to tear the wire coating and expose the wires.

7. Now its time to splice the wires into the factory wires using red wire connectors.

**Don't forget to do this- Before you wrap up the 6 wires, you have to mark on them so that you know what wire to splice it into at the bottom hole. There are 6 wires that go up to the sound bar from the factory and they all have a different color. The way I did it, was I took a sharpie pen and put dots on the end of the wires that got sent through tot the bottom hole. 1 dot= brown w/ yellow stripe, 2 dots=blue w/ purple stripe 3 dots=blue w/ white stripe and so on. That way I knew that I was connecting the wires back up to the proper ones at the plug.

I'm sure I confused the heck out of you with this explanation, but it really was trial and error. I screwed up 3 times before I got it right. Ill be more than happy to answer any more questions about this. It turned out really clean...you cant see holes or the wires anymore. And the roll bar padding can be put back on if need be.

09-05-2006, 10:18 AM	#6
bradleyfitz Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 847 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Keep your padding. Raising / lowering your soft top will add plenty of scratches / gauges to the paint on the rear rollbars. If you sell down the road, you're gonna want to cover that up __________________ 98 Sahara, hp44/hp60, warn 5x5.5 premium hub conversion, 4.88, arb's, hydro assist, RE 4.5 SF /w 3.5 springs, Novak / Teraflex SS SYE, currie anti-rock, JKS 1.25" BL, 36" bias iroks, PSC Tube fenders /w 3" flare, PSC Ricochet Rockers, custom rear bumper, btf front bumper / winch plate, warn 9.5ti, full cage, TwistedStitch seats, RCI-2161a fuel cell

09-05-2006, 01:17 PM	#9
c_gilbert Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 147 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	I took mine off and ran the speaker wires in the roll bar. It was a huge pain, but Ill tell you how I did it if you're interested. __________________ 1997 TJ SPORT - 4.0 - 2.5" Skyjacker Lift w/ hydros - Cragar BLACK Soft 8 - 31x10.50 - Warrior Rear Bumper - PIONEER 9600 Deck - FLOWMASTER 40 Series - JKS 1.25" BL and 1" MML -

09-05-2006, 09:30 PM	#11
AZG23 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Surprise,AZ Posts: 667 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	I think it looks way better without it... here is mine...a few mods ago.... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/azg23/100_0786.jpg __________________ Brad B. "If you cant understand that, your face needs to be set ablaze with kerosene and promptly put out with a wet brick."

09-06-2006, 12:06 PM	#15
c_gilbert Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bay Area Posts: 147 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	This is the process for hiding your wires inside the roll bar. 1. Unplug the wires from the sound bar and cut off the "male" end of the plug about 1-3 inches back and stagger some of the cuts so their not all in the same place because you will be reattaching the wires back up with red wire connectors. 2. Take 6 long pieces of red stranded wire (each about 4-5 feet long) and reattach the "male" end of the plug to these 6 wires using red wire connectors. So now you have a really long wiring harness. Start at one end and wrap all 6 wires together with electrical tape and work your way to the other end. Take your time doing this and make sure all the wire is covered by the tape and don't overlap too much because you don't want it too thick. This is what you will be feeding through the roll bar. 3. Drill 2 holes in the roll bar...I cant remember what size, but big enough for the wires you just wrapped up to fit into. One hole on the back side of the cross bar between the bar and the sound bar. The other hole is on the "down bar" behind the drivers seat near where the wires are routed from the factory. 4. Here is where I had to get creative. Bottom line is, you have to get he 6 new wires that you wrapped up in one hole and out the other. What I did was take a piece of fishing line...tied a small weight on one end and sent id down the top hole that I drilled. I wiggled and jiggled until I heard the weight hit the bottom of the tub inside the "down tube." Then I took a metal coat hanger and cut a piece about 8 inches long and made a small "bend" or "hook" at one end. I put the hook into the lower hole that I drilled and fished around until I hooked the fishing line and pulled it out the the bottom hole. So now I have the fishing line running from the top to bottom inside the roll bar. 5. The fishing line that is coming out the top hole needs to get tied to the 6 new wires that you wrapped up. I made 1 of the 6 wires a little longer...made a loop with it and taped it so that I had something to tie the fishing line onto. Now use some sort of lube on the wires so that they slide through the holes easily. I think I just sprayed WD40 or something like that. This works better with 2 people but you can do it with one. Have someone feed the wires into the top hole while you pull carefully on the fishing line out the bottom hole. 6. This takes some patience...be careful not to feed to much in at one time and get it bunched up. Once you see the end of the wires at the bottom hole pull them out carefully not to tear the wire coating and expose the wires. 7. Now its time to splice the wires into the factory wires using red wire connectors. Don't forget to do this- Before you wrap up the 6 wires, you have to mark on them so that you know what wire to splice it into at the bottom hole. There are 6 wires that go up to the sound bar from the factory and they all have a different color. The way I did it, was I took a sharpie pen and put dots on the end of the wires that got sent through tot the bottom hole. 1 dot= brown w/ yellow stripe, 2 dots=blue w/ purple stripe 3 dots=blue w/ white stripe and so on. That way I knew that I was connecting the wires back up to the proper ones at the plug. I'm sure I confused the heck out of you with this explanation, but it really was trial and error. I screwed up 3 times before I got it right. Ill be more than happy to answer any more questions about this. It turned out really clean...you cant see holes or the wires anymore. And the roll bar padding can be put back on if need be. __________________ 1997 TJ SPORT - 4.0 - 2.5" Skyjacker Lift w/ hydros - Cragar BLACK Soft 8 - 31x10.50 - Warrior Rear Bumper - PIONEER 9600 Deck - FLOWMASTER 40 Series - JKS 1.25" BL and 1" MML -

09-04-2006, 07:23 PM	#3
NEWtoTHEjeepLIF Web Wheeler Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,349 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	I took mine off. Some just comes off some needs other things removed first. 30 mins total. Easy as hell to clean

09-04-2006, 07:52 PM	#5
fried_gold Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: US Posts: 628 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Your 06 is different so I can't say for sure, but on earlier models like my 01 you can unzip most of it. You have to remove the bars that connect to the windshield if you want to take it off those bars, and when taking it off the bar behind the seat you need to unscrew the softtop bars. The only speaker wire I had was for the soundbar and I just ran it up the rollbar between the seat and rollbar (on the outside of the rollbar). In the places where the seatbelts bolt in, the rollbars aren't hollow, so you'd have to drill a hole to run the wires on the inside.

09-05-2006, 11:01 AM	#7
NEWtoTHEjeepLIF Web Wheeler Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,349 Profile Gallery Classifieds My Jeeps	Yeah keep the padding, but take it off if you want it off. BTW the padding on my 97 offers no help when hitting your head. I almost knocked myself out and that was when I still had the padding.