Late to the Party: theksmith's 2016 JK Unlimited Rubicon (Gadget)

[theksmith 2,213]

had an awesome adventure on a few trails around Mammoth, AZ this weekend! click here for all the trip photos...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@johnpa was our lifestyle photographer for the weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

and @4x4tographer got this cool shot of Gadget braving the sudden winter weather:

 

[theksmith 2,213]

i've been getting a ton of dust inside the rear cargo area. 

 

at first i thought the tailgate wasn't sealing at the edges correctly because i recently adjusted the latch and guide-plate...

 

 

but it turned out to be the flapper vent doohickey behind the spare that lets cabin air pressure escape when you close a door.

 

every single flap had broken off and flown away!

 

 

that vent is called a "Bodyside Aperture Exhauster" - Mopar part number 5058636AD.

 

a new one came yesterday, just need to put it in still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mynr1 144]

Nice find.  Same problem. Will be checking mine tomorrow!

[johnpa 552]

Thanks Kris, ordered one today. Also, you know we were talking about the a pillar leak. On the way home from mammoth, my a pillar did not leak through some good down pours. Leaked only on the trail?

[dzJeepChic 1,411]

36 minutes ago, johnpa said:

Thanks Kris, ordered one today. Also, you know we were talking about the a pillar leak. On the way home from mammoth, my a pillar did not leak through some good down pours. Leaked only on the trail?

Maybe the airspeed was keeping the water from pooling in a certain spot? 

[johnpa 552]

True, I also thought the roof wasn't flexing on the black top so the seal was better. 

[shellback91 888]

56 minutes ago, johnpa said:

Thanks Kris, ordered one today. Also, you know we were talking about the a pillar leak. On the way home from mammoth, my a pillar did not leak through some good down pours. Leaked only on the trail?

I had the same water leak  issue on the trail but it was coming in through my door. On the way home it was just an occasional drop or two.  I am thinking slow speed and weird angles may have caused that. I am thinking the cause is along the same lines as mentioned by  @theksmith and   @dzJeepChic

[johnpa 552]

Thanks Kris, took Al's apart today

[theksmith 2,213]

On 1/31/2021 at 10:32 AM, johnpa said:

Thanks Kris, ordered one today. Also, you know we were talking about the a pillar leak. On the way home from mammoth, my a pillar did not leak through some good down pours. Leaked only on the trail?

 

On 1/31/2021 at 11:09 AM, dzJeepChic said:

Maybe the airspeed was keeping the water from pooling in a certain spot? 

 

On 1/31/2021 at 11:31 AM, johnpa said:

True, I also thought the roof wasn't flexing on the black top so the seal was better. 

 

On 1/31/2021 at 11:34 AM, shellback91 said:

I had the same water leak  issue on the trail but it was coming in through my door. On the way home it was just an occasional drop or two.  I am thinking slow speed and weird angles may have caused that. I am thinking the cause is along the same lines as mentioned by  @theksmith and   @dzJeepChic

 

 

mine would leak horribly during heavy rains when it was parked in my previous steeply sloped driveway. the dealer ended up replacing the entire "header panel seal" under warranty and that mostly stopped it.

 

now i occasionally get a few drips from the A pillars, or at the front of the B pillars. it only happens when going slow offroad and usually only on inclines - so i think it's a combination of body flex and water pooling in the channels around the Freedom Tops at low speeds. it doesn't happen often enough to be worried about right now (thanks to living in AZ)!

 

here is the mega-manual on how to troubleshoot and fix water leaks in the JK. this is the updated longer version that includes a bunch of factory TSB's and factory repair procedures:

 

JK_Water_Leaks_All.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4 by theksmith

[johnpa 552]

I am thinking of adding a thin piece of foam to my vent when I install