As the Jeep has gotten older I picked up a rattle in the back tailgate going over bumps. While I couldn't quite see any movement in the tailgate I did see that the body side latch part was worn. I had seen these billet aluminum latch pieces on Amazon from FURYENGRAVER so I decided to pick one up and see how well it worked to solve the rattle issue on the back tailgate. Make sure you select the one for a JK, they also make one for the JL.
Additional
Parts:
Blue painters tape
M6-100 x 25mm body bolts (Hillman 881161)
Tools
Needed:
10mm socket
Ratchet
T-25 Torx Screwdriver or socket
I was surprised when it showed up, I honestly expected it to be just thrown in a plastic bag with no packing or anything. It showed up in a nice box with a foam insert holding the latch. The latch is anodized black and comes with two screws. I will eventually replace these screws since I'm not quite certain of their strength. The machining is smooth with rounded corners and no burrs. The anodizing doesn't show any gaps or thin spots.
The new latch is slightly larger than the old one. This may be due to wear on the old one, but it was definetly a source of my tailgate rattle when going over bumps. It does fit snugly into the latch on the tailgate.
1. Use a piece of tape to mark where the top of the OEM latch sits on the body of the Jeep. Remove the two bolts with a 10mm socket. Remove the latch from the body.
2. Clean up the surface of the body. I touched up the paint and let it dry for a while before I installed the new latch, but this isn't required.
3. The new latch comes with screws to replace the bolts. As you can see the OEM bolts do not fit into the new machine area on the new latch.
4. Line up the latch with the tape line and install the new screws into the Jeep body. You will need a T25 Torx screwdriver or socket. Remove the tape.
5. I did change out the bolts holding the new latch onto the body. I picked up M6-100x25 body bolts from the local Lowe's. The washer on these bolt is smaller than the factory bolt so it fits inside the machined opening on tailgate latch. I did have to drill out the head on one of the bolts since the allen head stripped as I tried to remove the bolt.
