Ordered a tailgate check and new right rear tail light. Installed it as needed. Opened my tailgate on a windy day (mind you, my Jeep was facing slightly down grade) the wind caught the tailgate and swung it open to the point of pulling the tailgate check completely out of it's inadequate spring load keeper. The tailgate is already heavy with around an 80 pound tire and rim hanging on it, couldn't grab it quick enough to keep it from crushing the right rear tail light.
Bought a new light and Tailgate check, same thing happened again, this time my Jeep was on the level, the arm pulled right out of the spring load, this time only making a 1" crack in the tail light lens.
I fixed the damn thing by buying a grade #8 1/4" X 1-1/4" bolt and two nuts. After inserting the catch arm again I carefully drilled a 1/16" pilot hole on the end of the plastic and metal just 1/4" where the spring loaded keepers stop (large hump), then I drilled a 3/32" hole finishing with a 1/4" hole. I threaded the first nut all the way onto the threads, inserted the bolt into the hole I drilled into the stopper bar, then ran the other nut all the way up and tightened it up, mounted the unit and tried it out, problem solved the arm won't pull through the spring loaded keeper. You would think that the Chrysler engineers could've come up with this, Yankee ingenuity strikes again. Good luck!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Ordered a tailgate check and new right rear tail light. Installed it as needed. Opened my tailgate on a windy day (mind you, my Jeep was facing slightly down grade) the wind caught the tailgate and swung it open to the point of pulling the tailgate check completely out of it's inadequate spring load keeper. The tailgate is already heavy with around an 80 pound tire and rim hanging on it, couldn't grab it quick enough to keep it from crushing the right rear tail light.
Bought a new light and Tailgate check, same thing happened again, this time my Jeep was on the level, the arm pulled right out of the spring load, this time only making a 1" crack in the tail light lens.
I fixed the damn thing by buying a grade #8 1/4" X 1-1/4" bolt and two nuts. After inserting the catch arm again I carefully drilled a 1/16" pilot hole on the end of the plastic and metal just 1/4" where the spring loaded keepers stop (large hump), then I drilled a 3/32" hole finishing with a 1/4" hole. I threaded the first nut all the way onto the threads, inserted the bolt into the hole I drilled into the stopper bar, then ran the other nut all the way up and tightened it up, mounted the unit and tried it out, problem solved the arm won't pull through the spring loaded keeper. You would think that the Chrysler engineers could've come up with this, Yankee ingenuity strikes again. Good luck!!
- tranterken, West Newton, US