Rear hatch misaligned

Just bought an 88 XJ for cheap, and am in the process of going through and fixing all of the little things. Problem is, the rear hatch doesn't sit flush. If you look at the hatch in relation to the roof, the hatch sits below a little, and is very tight around the tail lights and bumper. Sometimes you have to close it a few times for it to really shut. There's also a small crack in the upper right corner of the fiberglass. Is this common? Is there a simple fix up in the hinge area? Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like you are missing the shims for the hinges.

Rev

The hatch is adjusted by a combination of shimming and slotted holes in the hatch and body to slide the hinges around.

The crack in the hatch sounds like an item of concern. Jeep went thru at least 3 different updates to the construction of the hatch over the years, trying to eliminate cracking. A combination of misalignment and the stress it puts on the hatch, coupled with overly rambunctious slamming of the hatch, and adding in some off road body flex, and you get cracked hatches.

I would suggest you get shims from the Jeep Dealer, and try to adjust the hinges so the hatch matches the body lines as best as you can. Then adjust the LATCH to meet the striker in the sillplate above the bumper.

Try to keep the stress off the hatch when it is closed, and the cracking won't get any worse.

If you are REALLY motivated, you might try to "drill stop" the cracking, like they do on airplane parts, and/or repair the crack.

Salvage

Just a thought. Many years tailgates will fit you year. I think the price at pull-n-save was agout $40. If you look at your latch you will probably find that the latch mounting bolts have "worked into the fiberglass. Some of the newer ones have steel reinforment plates around the latch mechanism or you can make one like I did out of stainless steel (.040" or .050" should be enough). Works best if you dimple for the screw heads. Epoxy and rivet it into place after scuffing the paint.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll look at all of the stuff you mentioned. I may also sand down the hood/roof/hatch due to the clear coat coming off pretty soon, so maybe I'll heed your advice and just go get a new hatch from the junkyard if all else fails.