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Rear Hatch Rattle Driving Me NUTS.

I have a '96 2 Door Cherokee Sport w/ a Fiberglass Rear Hatch.
The Dang thing Rattles So Bad that it's Driving Me NUTS.
Tried Adjusting the Rubber Bumpers Out & even Added Shims.
That Helps w/ the Rattle. But Now the Hatch Leaks when it Rains.
Anyone Know How to Properly Adjust the Latch to Hold the Hatch Shut Tighter?
I Looked & Can't See Any Way to Adjust the Latch or Post.
UncleSarge58
 
Are you sure it's the hatch and not the inner plastic skin ? Mine rattled the inner plastic panel, a couple of well placed drywall screws holds it tighter than the plastic push clips.
 
Mach90XJ,
Already Secured the Liner w/ Plastic Anchors & Larger Stainless Screws.
It's Definitely the Hatch that's Rattling.
Doesn't Do It much on smooth Paved roads. (Only Over Bumps).
I Live 7 Miles Off the main Paved Highway/Road & It Rattles All the Way Home.
The Road I Live off of is an Un-Paved Forestry Service/County Road.
7 Miles of Dirt/Mud, Gravel, Rocks & Stones w/ 3 Low Water Crossings & 2 Bridges. Crosses 2 Mountain Ridges w/ Lots of Turns & Up/Down Hills.
Rear Hatch Rattles the Whole Way. No Matter how Fast or Slow ya Go.
There Has 2 B a Way to Adjust the Dang Thing.
Just Can't Figure it Out.
UncleSarge58
 
Gotta be in the lock/latch mechanism if its not the inner panel. On my ol chevy van the studs that the locks grab on to have a plastic outer ring. Hard to find good ones at wrecking yard that still have plastic still attached, I have temp fixed by wrapping duct tape around stud to get a tight fit. Try wrapping the stud with a lil tape to see if that tightens it up, temp fix but it will help diagnose the problem. I don't remember that stud on our jeeps being adjustable otherwise you could just move it forward a 1/4" or so.
 
On second thought, what about the mounts on the roof ? Maybe a screw is loose up top.

With a drive like that everyday I would lock-tite any bolt removed.
 
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Roof Mounts Are Solid. Checked them 1st.
Gonna Try Rotating the Stud 180 degrees & See If That Helps.
Also gonna Loosen the Latch screws & See If I Can Adjust it Any.
If All Else Fails to Stop the Rattle, ............
I may just Remove the Lower Rubber Stops & use some All Thread Rod & Drill thru the Hatch, Epoxy some Stainless Fender Washers around the Holes & Use Big Wing Nuts w/ Star Washers, a Flat Washer & a Rubber Washer.
That Way I Can Screw the Hatch down Tight. Should Fix the Problem, Once & For All.
Would Love to Find Wing Nuts w/ a Floating Captured Washer.
That Way I could Safety Wire & Bolt them to the Bumper, to keep from Losing them & I could Let them Hang while I'm in Town.
US58
 
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Look at the hardware inside the hatch, if it's loose tighten down the metal plate that attaches the closing mechanism to the fiberglass hatch. That fixed most of my hatch rattles on the 84, and a strip of duct tape around the striker in the trunk fixed the rest.
 
IIRC the Latch Bolt Did Have a Plastic Ring on it Originally.
Broke off a couple years ago. Didn't really think about it until just now.
Saw it laying in back of Jeep & threw it away.
Wasn't sure where it came from & the Hatch still closed & Latched.
So, I Didn't Care. Seems that is When it Started Rattling Real Bad.
Guess I'll Wrap it w/ some Slick Fiberglass Tape I got from Work.
Will Also Try to Adjust it Too.
US58
 
FYI. You can adjust the latch post to some degree. 2 nuts underneath on the body accessable just past the top of the bumper (14mm wrench?). I had the same problem. The post on mine was actually loose on it's mounting plate and instead of replacing it, I just welded the bottom of it. Problem solved. However, about 4 months later I heard the dang hatch rattling again. WTF? After some investigation, I found that one of my rear shock bushings was shot and that was the sound I was hearing. Sounded just like the hatch problem, so you might want to check your shock bushings too.
 
Sometimes you can help the rattle by moving that latch post sideways, or at a bit of an angle. The goal being to change the engagement point a little, and perhaps to move the hatch itself a fraction of an inch sideways.

It's also not uncommon for the post to wear a bit at the point where the latch closes on it, or the latch itself to wear. Some help can be had here by turning the post 180 degrees.
 
For those who have a mysterious rattle "somewhere" behind them I found my rear passenger seat, upright was rattling where you manually release it to fold down. Whodathot?
 
My rear hatch rattled when going over bumps. I attempted to adjust to no avail. I fixed it with putting some duct tape around the latch making the hatch fit on tighter. Rattle free for over a year.
 
ya this one gave me fits too, I'm on ALOT of bushroads, washboard, pool sized potholes, big rocks... Y'ALL KNOW what I'm talking about.... I figured out the solution this morning, the striker that's attached to the bumper ( which holds the hatch closed ) has a peculiar shape, one that's not flat but wider at one end than the other ( on the horizontal not vertical --- the rear vert IS wider too) anyways I took off the striker, and slammed it into the latch by hand to figure out this BRUTAL rattle, and with a twist, all the play is eliminated. So, I reinstalled the striker to the bumper, messed around with its alignment and twisted it, test fitted, messed around some more, and WITH A MODERATE TWIST the rattle is completely gone. CHEERS
 
My 89 had lots of rattles and the door windows were almost impossible to move. I found 20+ year old rubber gets hard as a rock and that screws with all kinds of fitment.
 
My 96 was rattling fairly bad on rough roads, I taped the latch post and that worked a while but I guess I wore through the tape, so I checked the post and it was pretty badly grooved so I did a 180 rotate and moved it as far forward as possible. It closes tight now but I haven’t had a chance to hit dirt yet.
 
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