Hey All. Looking over my '87 XJ today and realized that the rear hatch is riding low enough in the opening to rub at the base. Only way I can figure to resolve this is with shims undernead the hinges where they bolt to the roof. Anyone had any experieince in resolving this problem? I had no luck tyring a search of this forum.

 

Anyone?

 

Don't know how shims will work but did you look at lock & striker in floor & see if they can be moved a bit. Also look behind hinges & make sure no tears/ rust on both sides . You may be able to use a block of wood & small sledge to bang hinges up a bit if no tears or rust as a quick temp repair to see if it lasts.

 

you can adjust the hinges.maybe the hatch needs to be moved up and out more. 3 bolts on each side. i had a problem with my 2000 when i put a new rear hatch in and i had to loosen the bolts on the hinges and move it a little bit. hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the replies. My problem is not with the latch. My door is sagged in the opening enough that the bottom of the hatch is rubbing on the plastic of the opening itself at the bottom. With the hatch open you can see where the paint is worn through into the fiberglass on the hatch. The only way I can think of to fix this is some sort of shim underneath the hinges where they mount to the roof in order to move the hatch upwards to prevent this wear. Anyone else dealt with this? Thanks in advance.

 

Try going to the auto parts and buy some diff size shim stock loosen the hinge bolts a slide some shim stock in and see if it helps Good Luck

 

grab extra shims in a junkyard.

My jeep had alot of them.