Re: Jeep Cherokee Tail Gate Question

["Steven M.Dristy, Jr." <soundwve@xxxxxxx>]

I have had an '84 Cherokee Chief XJ and an '85 Wagoneer Limited XJ with the
same problem.
(My '86 Cherokee Pioneer had already had this fixed with fiberglass "Bondo"
by the time I got it.)What happens is the 3 holes the latch assembly screws
go thru get hogged out with the flexing and shaking of the door over the
road, and repeated closing of the door. I know the '84-'86 XJs had
fiberglass hatch doors, and the fiberglass seems to wear away here. A good
indicator of this problem is major difficulty in getting the hatch door to
latch closed.

What I did with the '84 and '85 was to use sunken washers. They look like a
regular washer, except the middle (with the hole) is recessed, so the
screw/bolt head is flush with the surface. I was given 12 of these by a
carpender friend, so I assume you could find them at a hardware (NOT auto
parts) store. They seem to center the screws in the holes, and they work
amazingly well. Cheap fix, maybe $1.00-$1.50 for 12!! If you can't find 'em
there, I could see if I can find them here, and send 'em to you.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Klemmensen" <pklemmensen@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 7:40 PM
Subject: Re: Jeep Cherokee Tail Gate Question


> This is for an 86 Cherokee chief, we have the back panel off for some work
> back there and the rattling is driving us nuts..
>
> THE NEEDS OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE ONE..
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jim Blair <carnuck@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: amc <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 6:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Jeep Cherokee Tail Gate Question
>
>
> > A: Fullsize or XJ? Fullsize has little rubber stppers that sit in holes
> that
> > the alignment pins go into. When the rubber wears out (or often, just
> falls
> > out because it is stuck to the pin when you open it) the metal on metal
> > squeak will drive you nuts! I used rubber vacuum caps on my '83 and they
> > needed replacing once in awhile (I opened the tailgate a lot)
> >
> >
> > From: "Peter Klemmensen" <pklemmensen@xxxxxxxxx>
> > To: "amc-list" <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: Jeep Cherokee Tail Gate Question
> > Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 11:53:24 -0500
> >
> > Our tail gate or hatch keep's rattling when we are driving down the
road,
> Is
> > there any way to stop this?????? It is driving us nuts to here it
rattail
> > all the time..
> >
> > Pete..
> >
> >
> > THE NEEDS OF THE MANY OUTWEIGH THE NEEDS OF THE ONE..
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>