Episode 529 – Don’t Test Drive a Jeep Like This

This Week In Jeep

RECALL ALERT

According to an official document released by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), certain vehicles have a potentially defective master switch, which prevents drivers from turning on the high beams. When the master lighting switch is set to the auto position, the high beam headlights will not activate unless the master lighting switch is first changed to the ‘on’ position,” the safety agency explains. Due to this concern, the 2021 Grand Cherokee L vehicles in question fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, for ‘Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Just about 7100 Jeeps are affected in total for this recall, with an estimated defect rate of 100%. The Grand Cherokee L’s included in this safety campaign were assembled between December 8, 2020, and August 25, 2021. Those not included in the recall population are said to have been equipped with automatic high beams or made after the suspect period. The planned dealer and owner notification is scheduled for December 3 or before, according to the NHTSA. Affected owners should schedule an appointment with their local authorized Jeep dealer, where technicians will inspect each vehicle, reprograming them accordingly. The feds also state that “this recall is not the result of a part defect, but rather incomplete system design parameters”. In other words, all that driver assistant technology that is there to help you is once again getting in the way. Those who have already fixed the issue on their own will be reimbursed by the automaker if they can prove it via the original receipt or other payment methods. If you’ve been affected by this issue, please give us a call and share with us your experience.

Jeep Performance Parts Adds New Sunrider Flip Top

According to Stellantis, the newest Mopar offering from the Jeep Performance Parts division is the new Sunrider flip-top roof. Jeep customers have for decades enjoyed removable soft and hard tops, each taking turns over the years as the standard equipment for the Jeep Wrangler. Now both Jeep Wranglers AND Gladiators have standard and premium soft tops available, as well as hardtop options. Although they look identical, the premium version is made with a more durable canvas material instead of vinyl. Both can be easily rolled down without the need for tools, but doing so eats up valuable cargo space. Drivers who want another layer of protection against the elements obviously opt for the removable hardtop. This one can also be optioned with a Mopar headliner for better insulation, plus it can be outfitted with roof racks. The downside is that it’s bulkier and isn’t as easy to store or remove. While it’s expensive, the one-touch Sky Top roof is also a great option. Much like a sunroof, the whole roof can be rolled back with the press of a button. Panoramic sunroofs are also optional on several other Jeep SUVs, including both Cherokee models. Stellantis says the new Sunrider flip top is made from black-twill fabric, reportedly offering better protection against the elements. Unlike the regular soft-top, this one only unrolls for the front row passengers. Think of it as a fabric sunroof for your Wrangler that you operate yourself. The mechanism can be easily flipped forward and back at a moment’s notice. The Sunrider flip top can be installed at the dealership, but the automaker says the installation process is easy enough for the do-it-yourselfer too. The new top is available for 2018-2021 Wranglers and all models of the Jeep Gladiator. For both vehicles, it has a suggested price of $895.

Slow Week For Dumb Jeep Criminals

A Sumter County man is wanted after “failing to return” a Jeep after taking a test drive.

Eugene Nedd, 45, is wanted on the charges of breach of trust with fraudulent intent.

Reports from the Sumter County Sheriff Department say on October 18 Nedd test drove a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee and never returned back to the lot. The dealership is located at 2600 Broad Street. If you see Nedd, call 911. If you have any information, call the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, or you can also submit a tip to Crime Stoppers at midlandscrimestoppers.com.

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

TOPIC/QUESTION: Hard Top Repair (FINAL)

In the last few Tech Talks, we’ve been going over the basic steps to repairing a fiberglass Jeep hardtop. If you haven’t already listened to the other parts, I highly encourage you to go back and listen to the others starting with episode 517. 

So we last left you with the nitty-gritty process of rebuilding a section of your fiberglass hardtop. We focused on the two most common types of damage to the top but there are others, and I’m going to cover them briefly now. For instance, let’s say a branch, rock, or some other hard object and your hardtop came into contact with each other right at the corner or edge of the side window? That’s a critical area as both the glass and the seal need to work perfectly in order to keep the elements out and that window in. Rebuilding these edges requires the same sort of steps but with a little more finesse. You’ll still need to clean it up, mask off the area around it, and before replacing the window, rebuild what you need with fiberglass. You see, once the fiberglass mat is saturated with the resin, and you have enough of it together, you can mold it like clay. A very fibrous, hairy, extremely sticky clay that will not cooperate, but still. You get the point. After that, for all these repairs, you need to do some finish work. And here is where we get into the more tedious side of things. The finish work is the process of taking that rough, messy,  patchwork of a repair and sanding it down to the level of the rest of the top. If you did the repair right, you should have some material to work with, and providing you mixed your resin right, and layed things down with as few bubbles as possible, then what is left after you sand will be a layer of cured fiberglass level with the rest of the surface of the top. Even in the case of an edge repair, use a good straight edge to lay across the top at different points and angles to see high and low spots that will need attention. Anything will work here, but I typically grab a ruler. Obviously, with the case of a window opening, the lips must be uniform in height, width and profile. Sanding fiberglass isn’t terribly hard, especially with the right tools, but not everyone has access to air tools and the like. So sandpaper and elbow grease it is. Regardless, you want to start rough and finish with higher grit sandpaper. The lower the number, the more aggressive it will be. Start with something like a 120, yes, you can get more done quicker by using 80 or even 60 grit, but the gouges you’ll leave on the surface will be hard to ignore in the finishing stages. You want to keep the sanding to the area of the repair and not “color outside the lines” as much as you can. When you are done, you will no doubt be looking at a surface that resembles bread. It’s going to have all kinds of holes and divots, material missing, etc. Depending on how bad it is, you can do one of two things, get out the supplies again and fill in where you need, sand, and repeat as necessary. What I would do (providing you don’t have any holes that go all the way through) is simply fill them in by hand with some mixed-up resin. Wearing a glove (of course) dip your finger into the resin, again, just the tip, and dab, smear or fill the holes as best you can. A scraper would be ideal to run over the surface to help push the air bubbles out and force the resin down while cleaning the surface up a little bit of any excess resin. A quick disposable scraper can be made from a piece of cardboard that can hold up to the job. Cereal box cardboard or 3×5 note cards work very well as disposable scrapers. Either way, you’re going to be sanding again after it cures to get a uniform surface. Another option would be to use some Bondo, but that gets into another series of segments altogether. And for small repairs, I don’t think it’s necessary. Finish the sanding and filling with a high grit, 400 or better at a bare minimum. Some will say to take it all the way to 800 or better, but we’re not looking for professional-level bodywork quality here, and that’s ok. I’ll explain in a moment.  At this point, you’re going to have what can only be described as a blemish on the hardtop. I started this series by saying that if you have a color-matched hardtop, that a whole nother level of skills is going to be required to make it look good again. Even so, there is still going to be some work that will need to be done to make sure that the final steps give good results. Painting the top. Depending on the age of the top, you may opt to mask off the windows, rear hatch hinges, and seals, etc.. and just paint the whole darn thing. Which is actually a lot easier than you think. Otherwise, you’re going to have some very black paint on a very not blacktop. OR tan, or whatever color your hardtop is. 

I’d recommend using a bed liner for repainting the hardtop. Its bumpy finish and thick texture is perfect for hiding the small imperfections of your repair and sanding. The roll-on kind would work very well, but I’ve had good results oddly enough with the spray can version from Dupont with Teflon in it. Makes for easy cleanups after a day in the dirt. If by now you feel overwhelmed and unsure if this is something you even want to try on your own hardtop, let me give you an alternative to half of this. It’s called kitty hair. What it is, is a mixture of fiberglass and Bondo together. You still mix it with a hardening agent and will need to mask off things to a certain extent, and you’ll still need to fill and sand-like before, but it reduces the prep, the risk, and it’s easier to work with. The results can be arguably different. And it may not adhere as well to the top or stay in place as the top flexes with the Jeep on the trail, depending on a number of factors. Either way, here’s some advice if you want to practice using either fiberglass or kitty hair. Go down to the local wrecking yard and see if they have any totaled vehicles with fiberglass tops. Doesn’t have to be a Jeep, could be anything. Be armed with a cordless Sawzall or hole saw though, but go find yourself a chunk of a junk hardtop to practice on. All you need is about a one-foot square chunk or less. But don’t go and make a hole saw to that abandoned boat down in the industrial district. Boat hulls use both fiberglass and gelcoat, which is a different beast entirely and is nothing you want to mess with in practicing for your Jeep repair.  Another option would be to go to your local Lowes or a Home Depot, go to the roofing section and see if they have any corrugated fiberglass roofing. This is the green stuff you typically see on porch covers or shed roofs. It’s going to be 10 times thinner than the Jeep top, but punch a few holes in it, and snap off a corner and see if you can’t fix it. Chances are, however, that all you’ll find is polycarbonate panels, which won’t work. Look around, and if you see one that resembles the fibrous nature of fiberglass, then you’ve found what you’re looking for. I know this all seems way out of your ability to pull off. But if you’re even thinking about it, I’d say give it a shot.

 

 

 

 

Links Mentioned in this Episode

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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