Another Scrambler Purchase/Road Trip - UPDATE- BODY ON FRAME AGAIN

This time around I am going to follow the FSM.







Instead of rope I think I will try weed eater line, should be thinner and might work better?

So, I am thinking that I will get in cab with glass, seal around glass, rope in seal channel, push glass outward towards the exterior, then get in bed and pull rope to get outer seal flange over the top, makes sense??

Gotta be better then last time.

I need to find an appropriate non hardening glazing sealant to go between the glass and rubber. I will just use thin clear silicone to seal the exterior seal's rubber flange to the fiberglass once it is installed. Something like that....

I’ve heard of the rope way, just never seen the directions. Makes it sound fairly easy, but it always does….

I am with @Belizeit you are far braver than me.
I got the windscreen man to do mine and he made it look effortless, just the thought of breaking the glass doing it myself.

I had a hardtop side window put in a few months ago. Guy charged me $40. As much as I like to know how to do things myself, if I broke a window it would cost me a lot more than that so I left it to a pro.

That’s why Raymond is doing it.

wm69 said:

I had a hardtop side window put in a few months ago. Guy charged me $40. As much as I like to know how to do things myself, if I broke a window it would cost me a lot more than that so I left it to a pro.

Click to expand...

I normally would leave it to a pro but none of them will use sealant between the glass and rubber, rubber and top. The shop around here knows how to do it, they won't. The guy told me today "you don't need sealant if you buy a new seal". He told me this as a he sold me a tube of sealant

I had a shop install the new glass/seal into a new windshield frame back when I first rebuilt the Jeep. No leaks for a year or two, then minor leaks. They did not use sealant.

I would gladly pay someone $40 to reinstall this, I just can't find someone local who will do it right.

Besides, if I break the glass, I can upgrade to a rear slider window since this is the earlier hard top

I was able to reinstall the rear window/gasket into the hardtop yesterday, almost an all day ordeal!!!

I purchased this product from the local automotive glass shop to seal the glass to the inside of the rubber seal.



It is basically liquid butyl in a tube. This stuff is very sticky, hard to tool. I preheated the tube of goop with a heat gun, this made application with a caulk tube easier. I would highly recommend preheating this product. The FSM recommends a 3M product but that stuff is no longer available.

I would also recommend great lighting, hard to see inside the seal while inserting the goop. I applied this much all the way around, probably about the right amount, more on this later.



This stuff is made out of the same goop that the 3M caulk strips are made out of, with all the pluses and minuses that that entails. Very sticky, never dries, a little stringy. I will say the caulk tube version is much easier to apply compared to the strip version.

I covered my work bench with paper, placed the window rubber seal exterior side up with the outer LOCK disengaged, carefully inserted the glass into the seal, starting at one corner and then working around the perimeter. Worked out well, a little bit of goop squeeze out, more on this in a bit.



I purchased this rope in an attempt to try the FSM rope trick. Fits inside the seals exterior groove channel well.



Ran the rope around the outer seal groove channel. But, working by yourself, the rope will want to fall out the bottom of the seal while moving the glass from the bench to the vehicle. Also, working by yourself, the excess rope "pull handles" can get in your way when inserting the glass/seal assembly into the hardtop opening. So, I used some tape to help secure the rope to the exterior sides of the glass.



That is all fine and dandy. So, I get the glass/seal assembly into the cab of the Scrambler, crawl in there with it, and attempt to install it the "correct way", i.e. get it started from the inside, then pull outer seal lip over the fiberglass top with the rope. Tried for about 30 minutes and gave up. Was NOT going to happen. Maybe with a helper, maybe with a new seal, maybe.......

So, I did it my way, worked out fine. No pictures, this is what I did.

Put glass /seal in the bed

Crawled back there with it

Installed glass/seal into opening from the exterior

Started at the bottom, got the inner lip of the seal installed correctly all along the bottom/interior side

Worked my way around, on the interior, working the inner seal lip over the top opening

Got about 90% of the interior seal lip installed correctly then started working on the exterior seal lip

Again, got the exterior about 90% installed

Back and forth, inside to outside, got the seal right with the top, interior and exterior, except for about 2" in one corner

At this last corner, had to push on glass FIRMLY to get the seal to "roll up" correctly on the intetior/exterior flange AND roll back correctly over the glass at this one 2" spot

Probably not the correct way, but it worked. Tools I used:



I used the wood paint stirring sticks to work the seal flange over the top. The wood will not cut the seal or damage the fiberglass/paint. Get plenty, you will break them. I used the plastic tools to work seal flanges into the opening. Again, no damage to the seal/top. I also used the metal prybars: I started the seal along the bottom edge. Once it was started I pryed the glass/seal downward all the way on to the lower flange. I pryed against the roll bar. Also useful if you need to push the seal/glass sideway in the opening, which I also did.

Notes:

1) I did not use any lubricant. Lube would help BUT: if you lube the exterior groove channel how will you ever get sealant to adhere properly to the rubber and the top? You can't.

2) I started out really prissy like, just like with removal. You will quickly realize you gotta man up and get firm with force. Gentle, BUT firm.

3) My seal does not look damaged, but I will say the interior side rubber feels a hair softer then the exterior sides. BUT, the exterior sides of the seal has the LOCK, and that has a plasticky ridge, so probably why it feels a bit harder on the outside. New seal might help make install easier, but I doubt it. This job is a PIA if you are a rooky like me, pro's make it look easy.

4) Much easier working in the bed, where you can stand up and stretch, compared to inside the cramped cab interior.

Anyway, about 1.5 hours screwing around, about an hour of manning up, got that SOB in there!!



Now for the fun part, clean up!!!

Clean up. Fun.

So, remember that goop we put inside the glass channel portion of the seal? Well, when you finally get done wrestling the seal/glass assmebly into the hard top, and everything gets compressed correctly, you will get some goop squeeze out, especially where you maybe put a bit too much, like in the four corners and where you started/stopped your caulking run. I probably erred on the excess side, but not too bad. Would rather have too much then not enough.

So, yeah, excess goop.





The goop cleans off painted metal and fiberglass fairly easy. I really did not make a mess anywhere except on the glass, all the way around the seal perimeter, inside and outside. Unfortunately this stuff sticks great to glass and rubber, which is what you want. It does clean up off the glass and rubber with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover and Acetone. Not easy, but it will clean up.

I first cleaned excess goop off the exterior side of the seal at the LOCK channel split. I wanted to lock this lock before proceeding.

Goop removed from the exterior split seal LOCK, used a plastic tool to lock the lock.



Locked.



Once the seal was locked, about three hours of cleaning. Fun. The goop sticks well to itself so a PIA. Best way I found to clean it up: small section at a time (4"), wipe down with a small rag soaked with the 3M stuff, immediately dry wipe. That gets most of it. Then, around and around and around again and again and again and again. Then, you will notice a film of goop on glass. Again, Acetone on a rag, wipe down again and again and again. Oh yeah, both sides!!!

And finally finished.





Hard to see but a closeup of the seal to glass interface. About 95% happy with this clean up job, and will probably stay happy with it.



Next to no goop outside the rubber to glass joint. I have read that in high heat this goop might start to migrate outward again, will report back in the future.

Even though the cleanup was a huge PIA I would still recommend gooping the glass to the rubber seal. The FSM mentions going back and sealing the glass to the seal but I see no need for this? Maybe I used too much goop, but if so, then great. I have effectively gooped the glass 100% to the rubber seal. Both interior and exterior rubber seal flanges are 100% gooped to the glass. Fairly confident I won't get water leaks between the glass and seal.

BUT, I still need to seal the rubber gasket exterior perimeter to the hard top. Waiting on the fog to lift before proceeding.

That's it for now.

The fog never let up this morning so I worked inside the garage, no biggie.

I masked up around the perimeter of the back glass rubber seal to protect the paint and make excess goop clean up easier.



I used this stuff to seal between the rubber seal and the fiberglass top. The rough texture of the top almost mandates some additional goop here. A smooth texture and a new supple seal, maybe not.



The stuff pictured is thin and flows well out of the tube, no preheating required. The small size makes it easy to work around the rear roll bar. If you want to use a big tube of something and a caulk gun it might be easier to remove the roll bar and have at it.

I used the red plastic tool to peel back the seal a little, then stuck the small tube's plastic nozzle inside the gap. I made a very small hole in the end of the tube, you just need a little bit of sealant here.



Basically, I just slowly moved the tube/nozzle all the way around the seal, without pulling it out of the gap. Good light is necessary to monitor how much goop you are squeezing in the gap. I went all the way around the seal, even the bottom. The top and sides are probably the most important, due to gravity. But, odd things happen with wind/water going 70mph down the road so I sealed the bottom edge, too.

Wiped up the little excess that squeezed out, removed all the tape, came out well. A little excess here and there where the tape was not 100% against the rubber, but I'm not worried about that.



Hard to take a picture of something that you can't really see, but here you go, finished sealing up the rear glass.

Moving on, decided to install the new door applique stickers.

Removing the interior door panel, my wax paper water shield is stil in great shape, and keeping water off the back of the door panel.



I needed to remove the inner door panels so that I can remove the door lock cylinder and the outer/lower/horizontal door glass piece of weatherstripping on each door so that the new applique can be installed. If you are using the thin aluminum door handle trim piece you need to remove the door handles, too, plus maybe some more parts.

Reference picture for me, back side of door lock cylinder, note the direction of the little arm.



Removing the lower/exterior/horizontal piece of weatherstripping from the door.
Using a small pick to gently pry upward on each or the four metal clips.





I used a piece of tape on the inside of the door and placed marks where the four clips are for ease of disassembly.



And thanks to the magic of the internet, both doors stripped down.



Not too bad. Picture below is small parts from one door.



Naked door ready to party. Like I mentioned above, if you are using the thin aluminum door handle trim pieces the door handles will have to be removed.



I am using the Jeremy Tepper reproduction applique available off eBay. I bought a new set but ended up using an old set I had in the garage. They don't have any creases but I was still 50/50 on if they would work due to the age and how I stored them. They worked perfectly.



Ended up using some left over Phoenix Graphics decal lube that was left over from the original Scrambler decal application. That's why you never throw anything away LOL. I also used the Tepper supplied plastic squeegee.

I ended up putting a bunch of lube on the back side of the applique and on the door. Too much lube, actually.



I attempted to install the applique but could tell I had way too much goop and it would be a PIA to get it in place. I ended up removing the applique off the door, cleaned all the goop off the metal door. I wiped up most of the goop off the back of the applique leaving just a thin coat. This worked much better. The applique would stick but I could still move it to reposition it as needed.

And the driver side applique installed.



Some notes. You will see body paint color around the applique/door handle. The eBay listing shows this. If you don't want to see this you will need to install the OEM or reproduction aluminum trim pieces that go around the door handles. I'm leaving it like this for now. The trim pieces can be added later.



The applique stops short of the rear edge of the door. The eBay listing shows this, too. Talking with Jeep Addict he says this is correct for '85 and '86 models, earlier models appliques wrap around the back side of the door. This thin red paint margin showing does not bother me.

These appliques wrap up and over the top of the door. They stop short of the inner edge. Again, the eBay listing shows this. The piece of weather stripping that was removed previously will cover this shortfall.



And the passenger side installed.



I was worried about how my install would go, went well. The goop, a little bit, works great. Then, squeegee the goop out/decal down hard. I also ran the heat gun over each door applique for a few minutes, concentrating on the 90 degree bend on the top edge and around the door handle opening bulge. Not sure if it is necessary but I think the heat gun helps.

I like the Tepper appliques, the texture matches the top well. I previously had Phoenix Graphic appliques installed. The PG appliques had some key differences compared to the Tepper appliques:

1) PG appliques have less pronounced texture.

2) The PG applique goes all the way to the door handle opening so the aluminum trim pieces are not required to cover up the painted door color.

3) The PG appliques go all the way to the back edge of the door and wrap around the back side. Plus, this does not leave a paint edge at the end, if this bugs you. Minus, PIA to keep them stuck down wrapped around the back side. I ended up using some CA glue to keep them stuck down on the back side.

4) IIRC the PG appliques cover the entire top edge of the door. Could be wrong here, can't remember.

5) The glue on the Tepper appliques seems much better compared to the PG glue.



Used a small sharp hobby knife to cut open the lock cylinder holes.



Kind of fun getting the lock cylinder retaining clips reinstalled but not too bad. A long punch and a hammer helps.



Gently squeezed the metal clips on the weatherstripping back mostly shut so that the clips would hold the molding tight.



These interior door panels are from Colin's Brothers. They have held up well EXCEPT the glue on the back side edge has turned loose in places. Last time (a few years ago) when I removed these panels I used clear tape to help restick the cover to the back side. This time I used some foil tape that will sure enough hold it down!!



And finished, finally!!!!!



All in all I give myself a B+. Putting a less glossy black top coat on the hard top and purchasing/installing the door handle aluminum trim pieces would move me into the A range IMO.

IF I put another coat of paint on the top I am leaving the rear glass/seal in place and masking them up. The door handle trim pieces can be installed in the future easy enough.

Glad to finally be finished with this little project. Will wait a few days and then hose everything down and check for water leaks.

That's it for now, Merry Christmas!!!!

The black roof looks great.

Beautiful job. I do like the black top / applique better. That gloss top coat might dull with some sun exposure.

Small update on all the weather proofing work. I drove the Scrambler around for about 45 minutes a few weekends ago during moderate rain.



No rain water leaking up front anywhere, no rain leaking in from the back of the hard top or the bulkhead.

But, I had a little bit of water on the passenger rear floorboard, very corner, next to the B pillar and rear riser. No water running down from the top, rear glass, or bulkhead.

When I put this Jeep back together, the OEM interior floorboard to rear riser bracket did not fit correctly on the passenger side. The driver side fit perfectly. Always thought this was odd due to the fact that this portion of the floorboard, the riser, and all of the under floorboard supports are all OEM.

So, pulled the bracket off the floor, about 15 years of grime visible.



So, the four studs that pass through the riser and tie into the under roll bar floor bracket line up fine. The issue is that the hole in the floor/welded nuts under the floor do not line up with the slots in the brackets. The red paint mark in the grime should line up with the hole/welded nut on the floor. This would coincide with the slot in the bracket.



I spaced the in cab roll cage bracket off the riser, opened the holes up to the next size.



Not enough movement gained.



The holes in the riser are 5/8", the studs passing through the riser are only 3/8". Pretty sure I already enlarged these holse during initial reassembly 15 years ago. I don't want to make these holes any larger. Under roll bar bracket removed in this picture.



So, I partially enlarged the slots in the OEM bracket and bolted it all back together. Better then no bolts through the floor.



This is the location where there was some water on the floor, thinking maybe it came up through the two unused bolt holes. Worth a shot. Will have to do some more water testing.

As for why this OEM bracket/floor/riser did not line up, no idea, maybe just typical AMC quality control?

That's it for now.

Glad you got it all back together. The real test may be a summer time squall off the gulf with some road speed winds and flooding rains. Your typical rain.

Quick update.

Since I will be daily driving this Jeep in the rain for the next few days I decided to install some new wiper blades and arms.

On the arms, the springs were old/weak, passenger arm tweaked a little bit from contact with a tree limb. Part number for new wiper arms:



And new blades from NAPA:



Installed in the "Park" position:



Quick drive on the interstate this morning with light rain, the new arms and blades made a huge difference.

That's it for now.

Drove this one down the interstate to work the other morning during heavy rain to test the waterproofing work I attempted.



No leaks from any of the windshield areas, side doors, or hard top/rear glass/bulkhead. BUT, I still got a little puddle of water on the passenger side rear floor, corner by B pillar, down where that roll bar bracket piece bolts to the floor riser/floor.

Today, finally got the hose out to wash the Jeep and to really test my work.

Hosing down the windshield frame area, starting at the cowl seal and working up toward the hard top, no leaks. I only got a little water on the front passenger floor mat from the heater box when I dumped 5 gallons of water on the hood/cowl vent.



I can pull this front housing off the larger heater box and put a little goop. I never gooped these two plastic parts together.

I was worried about the gap between the top of the doors and the hard top surround, but no leaks. The hard top door flange gets a little water on it but not enough to leak, so good enough.



Testing the hardtop glass/hardtop to bulk head seal/bulkhead to bed floor seal, no leaks. But, the passenger rear floor still gets a little puddle. Which made no sense until I hosed from under the Jeep.

The floor board to riser seam has no sealant under the Jeep. The interior seam sealer has probably cracked some, too. Driver side is good, this is the passenger side.





Beside water thrown up from the rear tire getting in here, water also runs down from the rear bed floor corner drain hole. This drain hole, which I just drilled, dumps water down into the rollbar bracket. This bracket then drains right onto the floor riser joint, funneling water right into the cab from this open seam.

I will remove this bracket, seal up this seam, and also seal the bracket to riser bolt holes, too.

Finished washing the Jeep.



After a good wash, only saw a drop or two on the rear bulkhead, from the bulkhead to top seal. Minimal. Once I seal that passenger floor seam I'm gonna call this project complete. I would say that the weather proofing is about 95% good, and for a Jeep CJ, I'll call that great!

Parked it under the new car port to give a sense of scale.



That's it for now.