s14unimog

So my hatch latch finally broke. For those who haven't experienced this yet, it's just a plastic finger that sticks out over the latch release mechanism inside the door skin. It inevitably breaks as the slide mechanisms start to drag and/or b/c the release adjustment is too tight or too loose. Either the case, Dorman makes a replacement assembly (p/n: J580710) for ~$10 depending on where you source it. I got mine from carparts.com for $9.02 + shipping.

Something I want to point out here is that they revised how the adjuster is held and so it's now much better than how Chrysler originally had done it. The other thing worth mentioning is that their assembly will obviously be fresh and new, so the extra dragging the assembly puts on the handle finger is far less and so in turn, less likely to break even if lubricated. I can open my hatch with one finger now.

Moral of the story? Change it before it breaks or at the very least, don't source one from a junk yard. The one local to me wanted $25 IF they had one.