Rear hatch not lining up, need help!

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chansdaman

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Joined
Jan 25, 2010
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51
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252
Location
Ellicott City, MD
Is anyone else having this issue? Any ideas? I am also dealing with a rattling noise from the lower lift gate. I don't know why this bothers me so much...Thank you guys!
Lhatch.jpg
Rhatch.jpg
 
It looks like your lower tail gate is bent in the middle. It is a common problem on the 80 from kneeling on the open gate. Some people have bent it back and reinforced it with a thick aluminum plate. Mine looks the same as yours. This has been on my to do list for a while now.
 
My '97 has the same problem, same color too.:D I've loosened and adjusted the mounting points and it's a little bit better but I'm not satisfied yet. My next move is to replace the bolts on the latch/striker plate which will allow the hatch to close tighter.
 
It's the weirdest thing you know? I can't seem to figure out where it's getting caught. I think it IS the lower tail gate since that is the only place that I can't really see whether or not contact is being made.

How can you tell that the lower gate is bent? I don't see it... :confused:
 
Pretty sure that fit is just an 80 thing. My gate is straight and my old hatch was just like yours. Put a new hatch on and same thing. Tried adjusting and all that did was make the hatch harder to close.

I just ignore it now.

As for the rattles, if youre sure its coming from the gate then pull off the carpet, open up the inspection doors and feel around. Ill betcha its coming from the lower ds of your hatch though. There are a bunch of connectors (rear wiper etc.) there that make noise. Wrap em up in some foam, that round, dark gray pipe insulation works good.

Hope it helps.

D
 
Mine looks the same, I wouldn't worry about it.

As for the rattle, start with the obvious - the license plate & frame.

Paul
 
Same thing here. Just put a new hatch on and it's harder to close than before. I did make it a little easier by loosening where the hinges bolt to the body and raising it up slightly (maybe 1/16") and tightening it back down. Now at least I don't feel like the back window is going to shatter when I shut the hatch.
 
Rattling sound from plastic "vent" on sliding glass window

I think the sound is actually coming from the plastic vent look piece that is right behind the sliding glass window. Whenever I close the driver side door, something inside the plastic piece rattles. The weird thing is, even if I place pressure on the exterior of the plastic piece when the door is being closed, it still makes that sound. Tips/suggestions?
 
I think the sound is actually coming from the plastic vent look piece that is right behind the sliding glass window. Whenever I close the driver side door, something inside the plastic piece rattles. The weird thing is, even if I place pressure on the exterior of the plastic piece when the door is being closed, it still makes that sound. Tips/suggestions?

Our 1994 FZJ80 rattled from the rear window vents since it was new when closing a door/cargo gate. I think it's the way they are designed. air pressure opens and closes them.

Pete
 
It may be this.
There is a piece inside the gasket that may have slid down and preventing the tail gate from closing properly.

I just discovered it few months ago. The gasket around the door is hollow. Except that there is a piece inside about 5" that suppose to be where the upper tail gate is closing to cushion the the upper door. It seats ABOVE the lower tail gate.

It is held by glue and with age it may have loosen up. The 5" thick material then slide down inside the gasket. It makes the lower gate not close all the way and the upper tail gate not closing correctly. Once I discovered it, I worked that 5" piece back into position and it is held by a pin right now. Mine did it only on one side.

I hope what I wrote makes sense.... I can't really take a picture of what inside the gasket, you need to feel it.
 
It may be this.
There is a piece inside the gasket that may have slid down and preventing the tail gate from closing properly.

I just discovered it few months ago. The gasket around the door is hollow. Except that there is a piece inside about 5" that suppose to be where the upper tail gate is closing to cushion the the upper door. It seats ABOVE the lower tail gate.

It is held by glue and with age it may have loosen up. The 5" thick material then slide down inside the gasket. It makes the lower gate not close all the way and the upper tail gate not closing correctly. Once I discovered it, I worked that 5" piece back into position and it is held by a pin right now. Mine did it only on one side.

I hope what I wrote makes sense.... I can't really take a picture of what inside the gasket, you need to feel it.

That's interesting info. Can you take a reference picture of the area of the gasket where this piece is supposed to be?
 
Ok so I went to my car and felt the piece that is inside the rubber gasket. The piece was all the way down to the bottom of tail gate on the driver side (inside the rubber seal). For the passenger side, the plastic piece was right in the middle area where the lift gate and the tail gate meet. I tried working the piece to move it up but with no avail. I thought about cutting the seal to gain access to the piece. Any thoughts on this?

On the issue of rattling...it was my factory jack that was not strapped down properly.:doh:
 
rhyary,
Very interesting find! My tailgate doesn't rattle, BTW.

I stepped out to the truck, opened the hatch and dropped the tailgate. On the left/DS, I couldn't find it at first. Folks, just run your thumb gently along the main gasket that goes around the hatch opening. My thumb finally went almost to the bottom, where there was a stiff bump for the last few inches. Is this it, I thought?

Then I went over to the right/PS side, did the same inspection. Bingo, on this side the lump is up right in roughly the first 5" of the gasket above where you can see it with only the tailgate closed.

So, on my non-rattling truck, the lump is there on both sides, but the one on the left seems to be out of position...

But what if the variable location capability of the lump is part of "tuning" the tailgate not to rattle...:hmm:?

So you may want to experiment with locating these to tune out a rattle.
 
Mine lines up the same way, I think it's normal.
My lower tailgate rattle turned out to be the license plate frame ...(why only 2 screws???)
 
Attached is the length of the rubber insert. If you look at the shape of the tail gate, you can see how if this strip slides down, it interfere with the tail gate closing.

It is pinned in place now so it will not slide down again. this is a temp solution and the pin started to rust. I have to figure something more permanent. It drove me crazy for 3.5 years until Kevin from Wagongear figure it out while working on my tail gate.
rubber-insert.jpg
 
I think both rubber pieces need to be where my picture shows. It is there to cushion the closing of the upper tail gate and has to be above a certain level as to not interfere with the lower tailgate.

When both pieces are positioning correctly, you get a nice positive, not harsh, feeling of closing the upper tail gate. If you don't have both, closing the upper with a thunk does not cushion by both sides and it does not feel as good/right.
 
rhyary -
Thanks for the info about the rubber insert. How exactly does one go about working this piece back into its proper position ? Any tricks ?
 
I just tried it. It's pretty ease actually. Pinch the bottom of the piece/rubber and push up. Then grab the top of the piece, and release the pinch on the bottom. Repeat. This of course is if you want to move the piece up.

My lift still ended up not lining up so I am going to try moving the piece completely out of the area where the tail gate its the rubber. I think the reason why my lift gate is not closing all the way is because the piece is stopping the tail gate from closing completely.
 
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