- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
96 or 97? I was pretty sure it was 97 but I had some people claim that earlier ones had it as well 
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which year did steel hatches start?
- Thread starter Kejtar
- Start date
Yucca-Man
NAXJA Member # 683
- Location
- Castle Rock, CO
97 with the new body style.
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
That;s what I thought.Yucca-Man said:
Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
what were they before? Mine's a 96 and its definitely metal. Aluminum maybe? Is the steel stronger?
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
Before they were fiberglass. Are you sure yours is metal?BlackSport96 said:
IntrepidXJ
NAXJA Member #647
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
BlackSport96 said:
try using a magnet on it
copperhead
NAXJA Member #984
- Location
- Lakes Region, NH
My wifes 96 Sport is fiberglass as well.
Copperhead
Copperhead
Legacy
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Albuquerque
my 91 has an fiberglass hatch, so any under 97 are fiberglass and an 97+ are metal.
well i found out the hard way that the header panel is fiberglass as well.
well i found out the hard way that the header panel is fiberglass as well.
FrankDV1
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Southern NJ
My 97 is metal...was told 96 and earlier are not.
Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
Never said it was steel, I figured mine was aluminum if it wasn't steel. Besides, did they even change the hatch (besides obviously the fiberglass to steel switch). I guess I'm just not as knowledgeable as you ATL.Atl XJ said:
Kejtar: No, I'm not sure, it just feels pretty solid so I assumed it was metal.
Haven't used a magnet on it Intrepid, but that wouldn't have made me think it wasn't metal, if I rememebr right, aluminum isn't magnetic. I could be wrong on that. But I'm gonna go with the knowledge that its fiberglass based off the large response
- Location
- Westminster, SoCal
Your only 2 choices are steel or fiberglass.BlackSport96 said:Never said it was steel, I figured mine was aluminum if it wasn't steel. Besides, did they even change the hatch (besides obviously the fiberglass to steel switch). I guess I'm just not as knowledgeable as you ATL.
Kejtar: No, I'm not sure, it just feels pretty solid so I assumed it was metal.
Haven't used a magnet on it Intrepid, but that wouldn't have made me think it wasn't metal, if I rememebr right, aluminum isn't magnetic. I could be wrong on that. But I'm gonna go with the knowledge that its fiberglass based off the large response
copperhead
NAXJA Member #984
- Location
- Lakes Region, NH
If you open the hatch, look on the bottom edge at the drain holes. You can see the fiberglass construction is pretty thick. The front surround is also fiberglass on the 96, did they change this as well on the later ones?
Copperhead
Copperhead
cbremer
NAXJA Member #393
copperhead said:
the header panel was fiberglass throughout the XJs production run :compwork:
Churchlady
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bath, Maine
I found out about this in a humiliating way. I bought a flag magnet to put on my hatch & when it wouldn't stick I took it back to the store & told them it was defective. They put it on their metal file cabinet & it stuck. The manager asked me what kind of car I have & laughed when I told him. (He has a '93.)
They look like metal & feel like metal--better, maybe. Have there been any long-term durability problems w/them? Are they harder to repair if damaged?
They look like metal & feel like metal--better, maybe. Have there been any long-term durability problems w/them? Are they harder to repair if damaged?
JeepinAudiophile
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Northborough, Massachusetts
Yes, there is a design change, smooth edges, rounded, etc... and it's is a different shape on the bottom to fit around the new-style tail lights.BlackSport96 said:
AZ Jeff
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Gilbert, Arizona
Churchlady said:
The fiberglass hatch on the XJ was chosen by AMC when the designed the XJ for several reasons:
1. lighter hence better fuel economy (compared to a steel equivalent)
2. less prone to corrosion, which is a chronic problem on tailgates/hatches in the "rust belt" of the US
3. less costly tooling than the equivalent stamping dies for a metal hatch (this was probably the MAIN REASON, as AMC was not very well capitalized, and tooling is capital intensive)
That said, the hatch was plagued with problems in the early years with fatigue cracking around some key mounting points. Several running change upgrades were made over the course of time, some of which were covered under warranty.
When Chryco did the body refresh in 1997, I suspect they decided that the benefits of fiberglass were outweighed by the issues they had been wrestling related to cracking, so they reverted to a traditional hatch.
Darky
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- 29 Palms, CA
ATL: sorry bout that, sometimes, get a bit irritated by work...didn't mean to take it out on a fellow XJ'er.
What is the header panel, ie where is it? Does the fiberglass tend to lose its paint easily? I have areas (top of hatch, panel above hood) where the paint is horribly faded.
What is the header panel, ie where is it? Does the fiberglass tend to lose its paint easily? I have areas (top of hatch, panel above hood) where the paint is horribly faded.
Churchlady
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Bath, Maine
AZ Jeff said:
Just #2 would be reason enough for me: the bottoms of the rear doors is where my Trooper started rusting first.
BlackSport, the paint on my 8 yr. old fiberglass is perfect--same shade & gloss as the metal. Can't imagine why yours would wear there first. Of course there's probably less sun-fading in Maine than in CA. I don't think mine was even garaged for most of its life, though it was faithfully waxed.
I wonder if some colors are less durable than others or there were some years when Jeep's paint was better than other years. Anyone know? (Mine is Flame Red, which seems to hold up very well. Sure are lots of bright shiny red XJs around of approx. the same vintage as mine.)
