I've had this thought, and was curious, do any of y'all know if I can swap a post 96' xj hatch with a pre 96' one? The end idea would to have the latter year's hatch on the earlier one. I have an 89 and like the post 96's handle and what have you. And my hatch has a few issue that I wouldn't mine replacing with a decent looking and working one.

 

The part of the hatch around the tail lights is shaped way different.

 

The liftgates are mounted differently too. With different types of hinges. The lift support struts are mounted differently too

 

Okay. I've looked at both styles but never too closely. Obviously I've looked at mine but not from geometric point of view. I appreciate your input. I got what I was looking for; an answer.

 

Alright. I was curious about them. I'm aware that the pre/post 96' was a huge change for Jeep, I guess I wasn't sure if that part had been changed. I'm not terribly surprise by that tho. Thanks for your input!

 

Someone just posted this very question and it was discussed in detail. Aside from switching the taillights and the strut mounts, the biggest hurdle is the hinges. Pre-97 uses external hinges and later models use an interior hinge. It'll take more fabrication skills than anyone has cared to use in order to make the swap happen at this point.