Rattle / knocking noise around tailgate

[davidd]

it was the spot welds on the inside panel which had torn away.

[sanman]

Thanks all - I'll check all of your ideas. I have already tried the electrical tape on the striker but it did not improve things.

[wranglertj]

are you carrying oversize tyre on the back?

[sanman]

Originally Posted by wranglertj

are you carrying oversize tyre on the back?

No - only stock tyre.

[TassieMav]

Regardless, check the Spot welds on the inside of the Tail Gate for any cracking. It's pretty obvious if it's cracked. I had this happen to me and it was replaced under warantee!

[redgp]

Spot welds let go on ours at 60,000klms (we were in Cairns), we have steel 16" x 8" with 285 75 16 Mickey Thompsons ATZ tyres. the dealer said no warranty and a new tailgate was needed. the quoted cost was more than our budget for the rest of that trip so we went (as usual) down the road to an engineering shop who then repaired/strengthened the tailgate for $300.00. It has never been a problem since even on the worst corregations.

It appears if you have bigger (heavier) wheels , even using the apprpriate spacers, you will in time loose integrity in the rear tailgate and need to look at a fix. Dont expect Jeep or its dealers to offer any warranty or a reasonably priced fix.

Steve

[sanman]

Hi all

As the original poster of this issue I thought I'd give an update.

Last night I applied a thin smear of my wife's lipstick to the square plate on the tailgate (not the bare metal one (lock mechanism) that keeps the door closed but the black one that the tailgate engages on the door frame to help support it when closed).

By putting the lipstick on the tailgate plate I was able to see where the bracket is touching (and therefore being supported) by the door frame plate.

Only a small amount of lipstick transferred when I closed the tailgate!

So I loosened the plate on the door frame and slid it slightly upwards and changed the angle slightly to give the tailgate more support... and now no tailgate noise when going over bumps!!

I think this is worth checking even if you are getting no noise because without this plate supporting the tailgate when going over bumps, it is probably putting extra strain on the hinge side and this could be leading to the welds cracking.

Hope this helps others.

Sanman