Factory Soft Top Questions

[604Bronco]

FWIW, I read somewhere here on the forum that you may need to drop the top a few inches above the latches and use the force of gravity to get the latches to close securely, similar to how you close the hood with the force of gravity rather than pressing it closed and potentially bending the hood. I can personally confirm that this technique works well for the hood. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that it works for the soft top latches, because I still haven’t opened my soft top all the way, due to the cold weather.

The latches up front are no problem. It’s the one behind the drivers seat (drivers side) that you press the lever to fold it all the way back. When I go to put the roof back up, I get to this point and it takes some effort to get it to latch. But once it does, the two latches at the front are fine.

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[DubC]

The latches up front are no problem. It’s the one behind the drivers seat (drivers side) that you press the lever to fold it all the way back. When I go to put the roof back up, I get to this point and it takes some effort to get it to latch. But once it does, the two latches at the front are fine.

Same with mine. I’m almost hanging on it to get it to latch.

 

[Razorbak86]

The latches up front are no problem. It’s the one behind the drivers seat (drivers side) that you press the lever to fold it all the way back. When I go to put the roof back up, I get to this point and it takes some effort to get it to latch. But once it does, the two latches at the front are fine.

Yeah, I was referring to dropping the top and using the force of gravity to latch the middle latches between the front and back seats. The front latches are easy.

 

[604Bronco]

Same with mine. I’m almost hanging on it to get it to latch.

Glad to hear I’m not alone! I did the @Razorbak86 trick of dropping it from a bit of a distance and it definitely helped.

 

[Travelingchef]

Straps were in the glove compartment

 

[Razorbak86]

Glad to hear I’m not alone! I did the @Razorbak86 trick of dropping it from a bit of a distance and it definitely helped.

Watch Sean push the top back and drop it onto the middle latches…

 

[ElJeffe]

Sean’s approach Might help in some cases, but for my Badlands it took a lot of force to get it to latch. I had to basically hang off the frame of the soft top and force the lever to latch under the pin.

 

[Kimberley]

I had read this thread a while back https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/soft-top-latch-issue.30901/#:~:text=Soft top latch issue.

I did fold my top briefly a couple weeks ago to make sure it worked and to see if it was easy enough for me to do without a second person. When I flipped it back to that position I think you are talking about I did basically "drop" it into that position and it clicked in on it's own. I will be keeping an eye on it though and testing more as it warms up.

 

[1Five1 Garage]

FWIW, I read somewhere here on the forum that you may need to drop the top a few inches above the latches and use the force of gravity to get the latches to close securely, similar to how you close the hood with the force of gravity rather than pressing it closed and potentially bending the hood. I can personally confirm that this technique works well for the hood. Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that it works for the soft top latches, because I still haven’t opened my soft top all the way, due to the cold weather.

I can confirm that. We drop it a few inches and it will latch. Just like the hood.

 

[Razorbak86]

Sean’s approach Might help in some cases, but for my Badlands it took a lot of force to get it to latch. I had to basically hang off the frame of the soft top and force the lever to latch under the pin.

Jeff, your soft top frame may have been bumped, tweaked, twisted, or blown open unintentionally and may need to be adjusted. Sometimes this happens at the factory, in transit, at the dealership, after delivery to the owner, during inclement weather with very high winds, or simply entering/exiting a garage during normal commuting.

Although gravitational force may work for a properly aligned hood or soft top, if either is out of alignment, the latches won’t close properly until the alignment issues are corrected.

On the hood, there are rear bolts at the hinges, a latch at the front center, and bump stops under each front corner that need to work together and can be adjusted to get a proper latch. On the soft top, there are similar points on the frame, including the mounting bolts, cross bars, and latches that need to work together and may need to be adjusted to get a proper latch.

Sometimes with a folding mechanism like a hood, door, swing gate, tailgate, or soft top, a slightly bent or twisted component not readily apparent to the untrained eye could push the latching points out of alignment. You may be able to troubleshoot this yourself, if you are mechanically inclined, or you may want to take it to a dealer for help. Body shops deal with alignment issues like these every day during accident repairs.

 

[Kimberley]

Okay so it is a bit warmer today (as in my face doesn't hurt....yet)

So I tried taking a video of me dropping the roof one handed while filming in the other and it catches. I will admit it is a more forceful drop (almost a push up one handed and let drop while inside the rig holding my phone in the other hand.)
I have the straps too, they were in the tool kit with the plastic wrap still on.

 

[604Bronco]

Okay so it is a bit warmer today (as in my face doesn't hurt....yet)

So I tried taking a video of me dropping the roof one handed while filming in the other and it catches. I will admit it is a more forceful drop (almost a push up one handed and let drop while inside the rig holding my phone in the other hand.)
I have the straps too, they were in the tool kit with the plastic wrap still on.

Thanks for being a trooper! This is helpful

 

[Wanted33]

Thanks! My salespersons going to look into it tomorrow for me. Thankfully it’s still Winter and these aren’t an urgent thing right now.

Anybody have feedback on my second question? Maybe folks who live somewhere nice and warm who have had their soft top up & down?

I live in the south, and I'll get back with you on that in about 2 or 3 years brother. On...wait.... that may be to soon. But, I'll get back with ya for sure.

Enjoy that Bronco enough for the both of us my friend.

 

[Moto26]

The latches up front are no problem... it takes some effort to get it to latch. But once it does, the two latches at the front are fine.

The front latches are easy.

I literally had to laugh out loud at this! Our front latches are a royal pain in the ass. I have to use a fairly hard smack with the heel of my hand to get them to close. My wife, who has had issues with her wrists, can’t even get the driver’s side to latch. (I love how Sean, in the video above, just uses his thumb to flick it closed like it’s nothing, LOL)

I took the latch assembly apart to see if I could tweak the adjustment, but the way it’s designed, there’s not much you can do. It seems like the J-hook on ours is just bent too tightly. I’m thinking of fabricating a tool to help my wife lever these things closed…

Watch Sean push the top back and drop it onto the middle latches…

Apparently, there are some real issues with quality control and consistency between vehicles. We’ve had our top all the way back a couple of times now, and when you go to close up the main portion it latches in that middle area just fine, but it sure doesn’t just spring up from the tailgate with one hand like Sean demonstrates. I realize he’s like 6’ 6” and Mr. Muscles, but come on. When we pop the rear latch to release the top upward, it binds up and you can’t just lift it up from the left side like that. We have to shuffle around behind the vehicle and lift it evenly from the rear (or two people have to do it). Maybe after a few cycles, it will free up and move as easily as Sean’s…

 

[604Bronco]

I literally had to laugh out loud at this! Our front latches are a royal pain in the ass. I have to use a fairly hard smack with the heel of my hand to get them to close. My wife, who has had issues with her wrists, can’t even get the driver’s side to latch. (I love how Sean, in the video above, just uses his thumb to flick it closed like it’s nothing, LOL)

I took the latch assembly apart to see if I could tweak the adjustment, but the way it’s designed, there’s not much you can do. It seems like the J-hook on ours is just bent too tightly. I’m thinking of fabricating a tool to help my wife lever these things closed…



Apparently, there are some real issues with quality control and consistency between vehicles. We’ve had our top all the way back a couple of times now, and when you go to close up the main portion it latches in that middle area just fine, but it sure doesn’t just spring up from the tailgate with one hand like Sean demonstrates. I realize he’s like 6’ 6” and Mr. Muscles, but come on. When we pop the rear latch to release the top upward, it binds up and you can’t just lift it up from the left side like that. We have to shuffle around behind the vehicle and lift it evenly from the rear (or two people have to do it). Maybe after a few cycles, it will free up and move as easily as Sean’s…

I’d take it in to Ford to look at your latches. There’s no way the front ones should be that difficult. The only time they were like that for me, was when that latch in the middle didn’t hook. Then the front ones were near impossible - the good thing is that’s my red flag to know something isn’t connected properly and to fix it.

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