I just got an oem hardtop and everything seems tight when its clamped down, however, when i am driving and hit even the smallest bumps the damn thing rattles. does anyone know why this could be? any help would be greatly appreciated as this is annoying the piss out of me.

 

did you put the hard top strikers on or are you just using the soft top ones?

 

Replace the strikers with the hardtop version if you haven't already done so as previously mentioned.

What is the tension like on the front latches? Are they easy to close or have some sort of resistance? If you can wiggle the latches after they're closed, you can stick something on the striker hook so that it increases tension. More likely than not, the latches are the culprit of your rattles. I had the same issue with my driver's side latch.

 

i have the same issues. what i have done to elimnate it is stick a few layers of 3M double sided tape under the latch, since that is what was rattling on my car.

 

Is it the play between the hardtop and strikers that's causing the rattling, or is it more like a squeeking noise from the rubber seals?
If it's the latter, try using some shin-etsu grease.

Dan

 

make sure your soft top latches are tied down too cause they rattle like crazy. rubber bands or zip ties work well.

 

loctite on the screws holding the strikers in place. on mine the screws kept coming loose and would make the strikers loose, which would cause a rattle between the striker and the car.

also i used rubber hose from autozone and cut it real short to put on the end of the hook (whatever it is called) to keep the hook from rattling against the striker.

i also used shin itsu grease on the rubber seals.

no rattles anymore. shit used to drive me crazy

 

i have done this on my car yet still have somewhat of a creak.. i mean its common sense where to put the grease right? or did i miss something?

 

cool thanks for all the feed back guys. i dont have the hardtop strikers on so maybe that is all it is. i can tell some of the noise is the latches but there is definitely some other serious rattling going on. im t hinking maybe my side catchers are getting loose? im going to order the hardtop strikers and re-tighten all the screws over the weekend and see if that does the trick.