Lift Gate Death!!!

I have a 1997 cherokee and I shut my liftgate yesterday, and when I drove it in the morning today I realized my door was not shut, so I attempted to reshut it. All it did was sort of bounce when it hit the bottom. I inspected it and found that im missing both of the bolts that hold the latch unit in place and that the little latch was in the closed position and looked jammed. What should I do about this:??? and when I take the rear trim off the door I remove the screws but it still stays in place, what is holding it to the liftgate still?

you should be able to put a screwdriver into the slot and crank the latch into the open position . sometimes the latch closes before it attaches to the pin , causing the hatch to bounce off the pin and not close . and about the missing bolts ?? replace em i guess

Well...

All this is based upon RENIX (1987-90) XJ's, so take it with a grain of salt and act accordingly...

The lower rear doorsill trim is, as I recall, retained by screws, the bolts holding the door striker down, and it's clipped under the side trim on both sides. It may take a little doing to get out.

I don't know what size those bolts are offhand, but it's possible, I'm sure, to use a flat head capscrew (FHCS) and a nut to replace them. Reaching where the nuts need to go might be a little dicey, tho.

The door latch might take a little work to open - if it doesn't just pop loose when you hit the button, take a largish round rod (a little smaller than the diameter of the shaft of the striker bolt) and stick it in there. Pull it out (like the striker would go if you open the door) and press the button at the same time - that should do it.

Good luck!

5-90

5-90 said:

The door latch might take a little work to open - if it doesn't just pop loose when you hit the button, take a largish round rod (a little smaller than the diameter of the shaft of the striker bolt) and stick it in there. Pull it out (like the striker would go if you open the door) and press the button at the same time - that should do it.

5-90

Click to expand...

A 3/8" drive socket extension works PERFECTLY as a simulator of the latch striker. Stick that into the hole in the latch pawl, and pull towards the inside of the hatch while pressing the button.