Saw an XJ with diamond plate on the hatch, below the glass. Looks really cool. I'm thinking of doing the same thing, but I was wondering if it'd be worth it. I doubt it'd reinforce it at all, maybe a bit, but it'd mostly be for looks. I was thinking the black diamond plate on my black XJ. How would I mount this? Screws? Would I have to worry about hitting the speakers at all?


Anyone have tips or pics if they did this?

 

Tips? Don't put diamond plate on your Jeep. It's trashy and has been ruining perfectly good Jeeps for decades.

 

the fiber glass hatches would make it difficult to mount the plate. once you start drilling that fiberglass it all fallls apart. if you got the steel hatch, go for it. its your xj and you can do anything you want with it as long as you like. **** make yours a monster truck if you want. its all up to you.

 

Are there years where they used steel? Is fiberglass more for like the 96+? If it's fiberglass, I probably won't attempt it. Since it'd mostly for looks, wouldn't be worth the trouble.

 

Yeah, the fiberglass won't hold up too well against the diamond plate. you can't rivet it, or screw it. Plus I wonder how well your hinges and shocks would hold up to the extra weight. Diamond plate isn't light... or cheap.

 

84-96 used fiberglass.

 

Damn, alright. That's true, the added weight might be a bit annoying.

Ah, OK. Thanks for that!


I came across this XJ: and it looks nice. Although I'd have black diamond plate to blend in better on a black XJ.


Thanks again for the help

 

I just put this post in the wrong thread

 

ya i was gonna say fiberglass was used in older models. mine is a 93 and fiberglass. i mentioned that cause i saw that his was like a 92 or something like that

 

Hey!! That's me!!! :-P


Here is a better picture, showing the rear more clearly.


Here is a closer look at the rivets:



I bought my XJ with this already mounted and I never saw another like it. The diamond plates are riveted in place on a fiberglass hatch. It hasn't cracked or broken despite me giving it one hell of a beating from time to time...


About the weight, I don't think it adds a whole lot... Or if it does I haven't experienced anything particular. (No squeaky noises, no difficulty in opening and closing...)

If you want to try it, I'd say go for it. I'm sure they used backing plates or washers on the other side to secure the rivets but I haven't looked at that closely... I'll post more photos from the inside later!