So basically when I got the car the previous owner had already installed the hardtop and untill yesterday I hadn't driven it with the hardtop on it. I was unpleasantly surprised by how much noise I was hearing while only driving around my neighborhood. I went back home and (with the help of another person) removed the hardtop and from what I can tell it didn't seem to be installed incorrectly.

My question is, without simply posting instructions on how to install a hardtop... is there anything specific I should check for or make sure that I do when I go to put my oem hardtop back on again?

Thanks.

 

you might have to adjust the rear latches to get a better fit (tighter). check your seals also with the top on it to see if their sealing. good luck with it. these are just some suggestions. my experience is from my aftermarket top.

 

yeah shin-etsu grease all the seals, check the height of the rear latches/catches fitment, strikers can be diy'd or get new, latches close firm?

 

It seemed like my front latches were pretty tight although I don't have anything to compare it to. Tomorrow I will put the hardtop back on
and mess around with the rear latches and see if it helps. If not then I will grease the seals and hope for the best. Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

 

it really depends on where the leaks are. my top is still leaking on the rear edge of the door windows...

 

I have the same problem with wind noise at the rear edge of the door windows. Adjusting the window seal so it sits as far outboard as possible helps (if you peel the seal away, you'll see that there are screws holding the channel in and these screws sit in slots that let you adjust the positioning), and also adjusting the hardtop as far forward as possible helps, but it could still be much better if the seal seated against the window better. If you compare the left and right sides you'll see what I mean. The right side has the window in contact with both ridges of the seal, but the left side only contacts one ridge. As far as I can tell its simply a design flaw in the way the hardtop is made. Once you hit 70MPH or so, it starts getting loud.

 

I have the same issue with the left door seal I hate the noise.... What else can be done to fix issue

 

damn i guess im lucky ive never had problems with my OEM hardtop.

 

Depressingly, there is no 'simple' fix, nor are any really quick.

There are about 300 threads (no exaggeration) in regards to adjusting and fixing the hardtop rattling/wind noise/etc.

Adjusting the front latches and removing the washer/spacers will probably help.
Adjusting the rear 3 mounting bolts for the death spikes will also probably help.
Adjusting/replacing the strikers in the front will probably help.
Using shin-etsu grease around seals will help as well.

 

So much BS when it comes to hardtops and wind noise.