Nicely done. :thumbsup:

 

I am Resurrecting an old thread.
I have lost sleep over replacing my soft top frame or my 1 year old soft top with the new frameless tops. JUST because the nylon straps are breaking on the frame. I KNEW there had to be a way to repair it. Without this write up, I would still be without sleep AND spending a crazy amount of money on things that are not necessary!
You're awesome!
You sir, have saved me $350 at least! :highfive:
THANKS!!!

 

Mine were trashed. I ended up putting some small ratchet straps up there in place of the web. So far so good.

 

I made sure to order some spare webbing as it was so cheap. It was really too easy as long as I already had the tools.

 

Nice...one of mine is broken, so I can fix it as soon as the top comes off for the summer.

 

Thanks for your ideas! Never used a rivet gun before. I'm $4.30 poorer (rivet gun and rivets), but now my passenger side webbing is attached securely to the back bow. I'm sure the drivers side will need the same help in a few months. My only concern, and a small concern at that, was the half rivets that were cut off will be forever stuck in the bow rattling around. I'm sure I'll never hear them... but that was my biggest concern. Not too bad. Easy fix. Thanks!

 

Hey I need to ask...one of mine broke a while back...I couldn't tell that it was serving any purpose, other than making it only fractionally slightly easier to raise the top...what am I missing out on why should I make this repair...not that I won't, as cheap and easy as I know it is thanks to this great write-up :thumbsup:...but am I doing harm by not having the strap on there? My top still looks nice and tight and straight and everything. :dunno: Thanks!

 

Perfect! I'll be doing this soon.

 

I have the same question as SlackJaw. I just got a New Jeep and the PO cut one of the straps off completely and sliced about 3/4 of the way thru the other one. How necessary are they ?

 

Necessary. Without them, the rear of the top will sag

 

This what it will look like without the straps http://www.wranglerforum.com/f210/what-is-wrong-with-my-soft-top-744338.html

 

Awww - that's so sad. It looks depressed . Good to know, I will be replacing those when I replace my windshield header channel. Still trying to figure out why the PO cut them...

 

Avast Web Shield reports malware on that wranglerforum link above. It may be a false positive, it may not. It's not the first malware report I've had recently from that site. I've reported it to them anyway so they can check it out. The page doesn't load at all for me now.

 

Hey guys can you help me out on the size and type of webbing that you ordered, I just ordered a new sailcloth R-A-T, and want to replace the webbing as one side is all the way ripped and the other side is well onits way, thaks for your help

 

My straps were removed by the PO is someone able to give me the correct length and distance between the bars?

 

I can tomorrow after work, if someone hasn't yet

Edit: pm me tomorrow night if I haven't & you still need the measurements. I'll try to remember without a pm though

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Thanks RichD - i replaced my worn/ripped straps yesterday based on your write up!

Some minor modifications that I made was using a 3" wide webbing material (for extra surface area to carry the load), instead of drilling out the rivets, I cut them out with nippers so I could retain the diameter of the original holes and I riveted and then wrapped the rear bow around once so there are no exposed seams to chafe the underside of the soft top. Much appreciated!

 

Hi Guys.

I'm Working on doing this repair and had a couple rivet questions. Can anyone tell me what size diameter rivets were used? Also I know the OP used stainless steel, has anyone had luck with aluminum? I'm worried aluminum will be too weak but my cheap $10 rivet gun is going to be pretty upset at SS rivets.

 

Much easier to use sheet metal screws and washers

 

Thanks for the input I'm sure this would be a quick fix and adequate for most. I'd be concerned about the heads of the screws abrading the top. I'd rather put some extra time in now and have the top for several more years.

I bough 3/16" OD SS rivets for now. If anyone can let me know know if these are the wrong size I'd like to order replacements for the weekend. Or maybe I'll just try aluminum and see how long it lasts

 

I'm looking for the dimension on these too. Mine are gone, so no way to measure.

 

After starting the project today, I believe the stock rivets are probably 5/32". My Straps are also in rough shape but it looks like the approximate hole to hole dimension is around 34" This is the distance between the two farthest holes since one row is at an angle.

 

I made a template from some images in another post. The guy's post said overall length was 34.84" end-to-end. I assumed his was stretched a little and my new ones will stretch a little, so I shortened to 34.75" end-to-end. I printed my template and cut the straps to match. You can cut with sharp scissors but the ends need to be melted with a soldering iron. I also made the holes with a soldering iron.

The three holes on the back of the template (end with curve) are close but not exact. What I did was line the paper up close and pushed over the real holes with my fingers to make indents in the paper.

To make sure they were identical, I stacked them together and made the holes through both at the same. Drill out the rivets (and get the scraps out of the tubes) and replace with stainless #8 screws and washers.

Bought the 3" strap from Strapworks.

So far, I think they're working great. Yours may vary. No warranties implied – you're on your own.

Enjoy!