How to Remove the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL’s Roof, Doors, and Windshield

To begin taking the Wrangler’s Freedom Top hard top off, start with the two panels situated above the front seats. This arrangement is the same on two-door Wranglers as it is on the four-door pictured here; the only difference is that the latter’s roof is larger. Locate the four rotating latches affixed to each of the removable panels. In this photo, it’s the black L-shaped piece just behind the “passenger airbag” label on the windshield header.

Twist all four latches on each panel until their nubs no longer overlap with the mounting plates on the Wrangler’s roll-bar structure.

To release the panels, pull down on the safety latch at the front of each roof panel.

With all four rotating latches and the safety catch open, simply push up on each panel from within the vehicle and pass them to a friend standing next to the Jeep or lift them off from outside the car. These panels are lightweight, and Jeep provides a handy zippered bag for the Freedom Top’s forward panels. Either take them with you in the trunk or leave them behind in your garage.

To remove the rest of the hard top, start by unplugging the electrical connector that feeds the rear-window defroster and wiper, as well as the wiper-fluid tube. Both are located on the left side of the cargo area, just inside the tailgate opening.

There are three bolts that connect each side of the hard top to the Wrangler’s metal bodywork in the cargo area. Remove these using the provided ratchet and Torx 50 fitting.

The front section of the hard top is affixed to the Jeep’s roll bar via two more Torx 50 bolts, one per side. These are only visible once you’ve removed the two Freedom Top panels above the front seats. Remove these two, again using the provided ratchet.

Ply two or three of your favorite people with beer or money to help you lift the hard top off the body. We found this is accomplished most easily with three people when the glass rear window is open, enabling the roof to be lifted and walked directly off the back of the Wrangler without snagging on the spare tire. The top is quite heavy and very awkwardly shaped, however, so it’s an easier job with four people. Clever Jeep owners have been known to set up garage-ceiling-mounted pulley systems with rubberized hooks that enable a single person to rig up the roof, crank it up off the body, and leave it hanging until they choose to reattach it to the body later.

Removing the front and rear doors—or, on a two-door Wrangler, only the front doors—is much easier than yanking off the roof. Start by locating and removing the interior panels just ahead of each door to reveal the doors’ electrical connectors. Even on models that lack these connectors, removing these panels offers easy access to the hooks that hold each door’s nylon swing limiters in place. On models with the electrical connectors, these nylon straps double as protective sleeves for the wiring.

Unclip the electrical connector and pull the nylon door strap off its retaining hook. Again, on models so equipped, the electrical connector for the front door might differ slightly from the rear, since the front looms handle not only power locks and window functions but also the power mirrors and, on some vehicles, blind-spot-monitoring functions. The process of disconnecting each door from its electrical moors is nonetheless the same front and rear.

Having disconnected the door straps and electrics, keep the door open and locate the swing guide (a small metal arm) poking out from the leading edge of the door and bolted to the doorjamb. Using the Torx 40 bit and ratchet, remove the single bolt holding it against the jamb and move the arm out of the way.

Moving to the outside of the door, find the bolts that thread upward from below into each external door hinge and remove them using the Torx 50 head and ratchet. A quick tip here for owners keen on avoiding scratches on their doors’ paint: Wrap the head of the ratchet in painter’s tape, or hold a microfiber cloth between the tool and the door skin while loosening (or tightening, if you’re putting the doors back on) the hinge bolts. The head of the ratchet sits awfully close to the paint when you’re wrenching away, and it’s easy to slip and mar the door skin.

When every strap, connector, and bolt is free, the door can be lifted up and out of its hinges.

If you’re handling this task alone, we recommend lifting straight up (this is easier to do if the window was down before you started) before pulling the door away from the body, to avoid knocking the door into its hinges. Again, we’re trying to spare you some paint chipping here. Repeat these steps for the remaining doors.

Moving on to the windshield, you’ll be relieved by the lack of heavy lifting. That’s because the glass simply swings down to lay across the hood. Don’t worry; it rests on two large rubber nubs. First, however, you must remove the windshield wipers. After popping off the little plastic cap covering each wiper’s single retaining nut, unscrew those nuts using the ratchet and the provided socket attachment. Then pull each wiper free.

With the wipers clear of the deck, locate the Torx 40 bolts in each upper corner of the windshield header, behind the flip-down sun visors. Remove the bolts.

Remove the two additional Torx 40 bolts straddling the rearview mirror mount from the windshield header. The windshield can now be laid down on the hood—although, unlike past Wranglers, this one has no factory-provided way to strap the windshield to the hood. It rests by gravity’s hand. Should you want to take off the windshield entirely, there are two more bolts running through the piece’s hinges on the hood. Undo those, grab a strong friend, and you can lift the whole shebang up and away.

Now that you’ve removed all of the Wrangler’s doors and roof pieces—and found someplace roomy and well padded to store them all—you can enjoy the Jeep in its most elemental form. Again, per Jeep’s legal shtick, you must enjoy the fruits of your disassembly off-road or something, but, hey, it’s a Jeep thing.