I know everyone is going to say "search the forums". I did and it seemed like the way people did was put tape or material inside to temporary fix the latches. I want a complete non-hacked, non-modded fix. Could someone possibly tell me what needs to be replaced for my hardtop to stop rattling? It is driving me crazy.

 

Where exactly are the rattles coming from? Also is it an OEM top, or an aftermarket?

 

Exactly, you're not giving exactly where it is rattling. If the latch itself is rattling the EPT Sealant actually does do a good job and is relatively permanent.

If it's on an early model car and you don't have hardtop strikers, that will do it.

If it's on a later model and the strikers are just worn out, that will do it.

There are a million things that can cause rattles.

*edit*

You also don't mention if you have an OEM top, crappy Chase top, or what. Makes a big difference between the hardtops as to what the fix is.

 

My rattling was driving my crazy one time. I'd re-lubed all the seals with shin-etsu and the rattle persisted. Mentioned it to my brother and he found a lolipop stick, stuck it between the latch hook and striker and then... silence.

So basically if you think it might be your front latches take something small and stick it between the hook and the striker. This will add slightly more pressure/tension from the front latches. If that fixes your problem the likely issue is that striker is wearing down.

 

I spent a lot of time addressing the tightness of my hardtop (OEM). I installed new hardtop strikers on my windshield frame, did all of the shimming possible, and aligned my hardtop dozens of times, and nothing helped.

I eventually put on new front latches and all of the problems disappeared. Turned out the tension on my latches was crap, they never really closed tight regardless of how much shimming I did. The new latches are tight , lots of tension on them , you can feel the difference in the tension between old and new like night and day difference.

 

I'm having the same problem and I might also just break down and buy new ones. The rattle sounds like its coming from inside the latch itself, and the latch just feels very loose, it takes almost no effort to close it, compared to my softtop latches which have a lot of resistance when you close them. I thought at first it was just the positioning of the latch didn't allow for enough clamping force, but even after I slotted the holes in the latch and moved it back, it makes the roof tighter but the rattle is still there.

 

It might be the latches on the soft top! They will rattle since they're not latched and the car is much quieter with the hard top. Put a rubber band around or tie wrap around the latch (to keep the 'hook' from rattling) and see if that helps. Learned about this from hardtop guy.