I've heard that the OEM hardtop latches are hard to remove presumably because there's some sort of of thread sealant on the bolts. For those that have unbolted the screws to remove the latch, tools did you use? Does one need to heat up the screws to loosen the thread sealant?

I'm trying to fix a squeak and I'm suspecting that the latch is rubbing on the interior panel somehow. (High pitched squeaks)

 

the trick is to use a large and long phillips screwdriver, one that fits tight in the head of the screws, and larger than you might expect to use.

Then push up with a good bit of force while turning to crack them loose. Using a small screwdriver may result in stripping the screw head. They came out pretty easy with the large screwdriver for me.

 

yea that worked for me too and maybe some gloves for better grip

 

I used a phillips screw driver that fit well. I also used a pair of vice grips on the handle of the screw driver. That way, you can focus completely on pushing up on the screws(most important part so you don't strip them out). Then, you can wiggle the pliers a bit to loosen the screws.

And, only one of the screws on each side have thread lock. It's the blue stuff, not the red stuff. I just pulled these off a brand new hardtop, so this is how they come from the factory.

 

Thanks for the tip guys. Will try it when I get a chance.

 

Didn't remove the latches today, but we replaced the soft top strikers with hardtop ones. Used the suggested method and that worked well with the right sized phillips. The screws wouldn't budge with the shorter screw drivers.

 

that's exactly it, use the same screwdriver on the latch bolts. People who end up stripping either set of bolts usually make the mistake of using too small of a screwdriver.