!#@$@#! Zipper! :(

[steelman]

Hey gang...hoping you all can help me! The zipper on my rear window has seperated (see picture below). I managed to unzip the window (very slow and difficult! :mad and tried to reinstall it. Now the zipper does not connect at all when I try to reinstall it. :sad: Naturally, this takes place as the rains are approaching SoCal and I now have NO rear window!
My question is this: Is this thing shot or is there a way to get the zipper to zip like it's supposed too? All help is appreciated.

[Fuel Rod]

I think if you can continue to drive in the forward direction the rain stays our.

[sarah]

Rick is the king of fixing zippers, and he's not around You're probably having issues because it's dirty or dusty. One trick I think we learned from Al was to spray silicon on the entire zipper - it cleans it, lubes it and makes it fresh as new! (For a while at least)

[cjdirtbiker]

Work the slide back up 'till it gets to the part of the zipper that's still connected/zipped. Yes, you can do that if you're careful.

Then replace the slides and lube the zipper like Sarah says.

The slides can be tough to find. I've been to several upholstery shops and there are quite a variety of No. 10 zipper slides that DON'T fit. The correct one will work like a charm.

Take one in to match it and make sure the throat depth and slide width are IDENTICAL, and that's it's configured with the pull on the right side, or a double-sided one that you can cut off the pull. There is a right-side-up on them, and no, they won't work worth a crap if they're upside down/inside out.

My zippers now work like a charm. I just installed straps with snaps so I can roll up the back window and strap it up. My old jeep had that, why doesn't the new one? In a couple of more months I pull the whole thing off and run a safari bikini for the next six months - weather be damned!

[king4wd2]

We've done that several times with our windows. And now they are totally ruined. Our Jeep hasn't had the back window in now for almost a year. Our side panels can't go on now and they've been off since late summer. So yes, our Jeep has gotten soaked. That's why we've got a tarp now to put on it, but then again we don't use it!

[steelman]

I think if you can continue to drive in the forward direction the rain stays our.

Leave it to an Engineer to have the knowledge noted above! Thanks Dan!! :doh :wink: LOL!

Rick is the king of fixing zippers, and he's not around You're probably having issues because it's dirty or dusty. One trick I think we learned from Al was to spray silicon on the entire zipper - it cleans it, lubes it and makes it fresh as new! (For a while at least)

Thanks Sarah, I'll start with the silicone trick and see if that works...

Work the slide back up 'till it gets to the part of the zipper that's still connected/zipped. Yes, you can do that if you're careful.

Then replace the slides and lube the zipper like Sarah says.

The slides can be tough to find. I've been to several upholstery shops and there are quite a variety of No. 10 zipper slides that DON'T fit. The correct one will work like a charm.

Take one in to match it and make sure the throat depth and slide width are IDENTICAL, and that's it's configured with the pull on the right side, or a double-sided one that you can cut off the pull. There is a right-side-up on them, and no, they won't work worth a crap if they're upside down/inside out.

My zippers now work like a charm. I just installed straps with snaps so I can roll up the back window and strap it up. My old jeep had that, why doesn't the new one? In a couple of more months I pull the whole thing off and run a safari bikini for the next six months - weather be damned!

[COLOR="Red"]cjdirtbiker...if the silicone doesn't work, I'll try this slide replacement trick. Do these slides both just pull off of the (facing the rear of the Jeep from behind) left side of the end of the zipper?[/COLOR] The window is out so both slides are just hangin' there on the left. Is there a trick to getting them both off of there without screwing it up more than it already is?

[COLOR="Navy"]Last but not least...if I'm not lucky enough to have these ideas work, any ideas on who has the best deals on a Replace-a-Top?[/COLOR] (ouch :angry: ) ORRRR...does anyone have one in decent shape they want to get rid of???

[steelman]

We've done that several times with our windows. And now they are totally ruined. Our Jeep hasn't had the back window in now for almost a year. Our side panels can't go on now and they've been off since late summer. So yes, our Jeep has gotten soaked. That's why we've got a tarp now to put on it, but then again we don't use it!

What is it that you've done? The silicone trick?

[cjdirtbiker]

[COLOR="Red"]cjdirtbiker...if the silicone doesn't work, I'll try this slide replacement trick. Do these slides both just pull off of the (facing the rear of the Jeep from behind) left side of the end of the zipper?[/COLOR] The window is out so both slides are just hangin' there on the left. Is there a trick to getting them both off of there without screwing it up more than it already is?
>snip

Yes, they both come off the left side of the zipper, just like a double-zipper jacket. I'm not sure what you meant about screwing it up more already, but if the slides are worn or the wrong ones then they don't lock the zipper teeth together properly and the zipper will come apart like what you have.

[steelman]

Yes, they both come off the left side of the zipper, just like a double-zipper jacket. [COLOR="Red"]I'm not sure what you meant about screwing it up more already[/COLOR], but if the slides are worn or the wrong ones then they don't lock the zipper teeth together properly and the zipper will come apart like what you have.

Normally the zipper slides stop at the end of the zipper...just wasn't/am not sure how to take them all the way off of the zipper without tweaking the zipper for further use...

[king4wd2]

What is it that you've done? The silicone trick?

Yep!! It worked for about two weeks and then it quit then worked for another 2 weeks, so we said Forget it!!

Sometimes the silicone trick works for some, but I guess it didn't work for us. I guess we're not holding our mouth right.

And, of course, we have a soaked Jeep again.

[cjdirtbiker]

Normally the zipper slides stop at the end of the zipper...just wasn't/am not sure how to take them all the way off of the zipper without tweaking the zipper for further use...

The right side, at the end of the zipper, has slide stops that are crimped on at the end of the teeth. They keep the first slide from going all the way off the zipper on the right hand side.
On the left side are the two long starter teeth that you feed into the slides. The first slide goes on going forward, to close the teeth. The second one goes on sliding backwards, to open the teeth, and the latter is what holds the zipper together on the left hand side after it's all zipped up.
Again, just like a double zipper jacket only both slides will come all the way off the left side/starter side so you can completely remove the window panel. There's no harm done sliding them both off the end of the zipper on the left hand side, just take them off and put them back on together - as a pair. Yes, it's kind of a trick, but once you've done it a few times it becomes easier. Both of the long starter teeth need to stay lined up with each other at the bottom before you run the two slides up. The back end of the slides, or closed end of the zipper slide, face each other when you put them on, that's what keeps the teeth locked together when you zip it closed.

I just hope you have the correct No. 10 zipper slides, and that they are going on facing up on the correct side of the zipper. They only work one way (properly).

Kind of hard to explain with text alone but I hope that helps.

[steelman]

Well, I got it to work!!! I waxed the zippers and was able to pinch the sliders with some pliers, and it worked like a charm! :thumbs_up

May not be a PERMANENT fix, but hopefully I can nurse it through the SoCal version of the rainy season. Then it's back on with the safari top, and then maybe I'll get the new top next winter. (Might even save up enough for a sailcloth top!!!)

Thanks to all for the replies/ideas! You all ROCK!

cjdirtbiker - an extra thanks to you for your extensive explainations, and yes, they all made sense!

[cjdirtbiker]

Excellent!!

Say, if anyone needs new slides let me know. I have a good source for them at one of those big upholstery supply places in Santa Ana. The last ones I got I clipped the pull off the inside face, but they work perfectly. I think they're pretty cheap too. Sometimes they have the one-sided ones in stock. I'd be happy to pick up a few. There are also some good sources for them online but can be hard to search for.
The sporting good stores have nice nylon cord zipper pulls for backpacking stuff that work well for all those top zippers.
I have not tried to get this stuff at the stealership - I just hate going in there.
Seems to me DC advertizes a woman putting a top down on a wrangler. That may well be but not if they have nice nails! Definitely can be a PITA.

[liv2mudd]

haha, i know exactly what your going through, my jeep is doing the same exact thing. i finally quit trying to zip it up and down and i just hot glued the zippers together to keep rain/snow out. it has worked awesome so far i just cant "roll" down my windows anymore which sucks but at least im dry.

[blackZZR]

I was going to post my fix but wow, I never seen so many guys come to the rescue with post

so I will post a preventive maintenece thinggy, go buy some mopar zipper lube and use it every month or so