Topic: cj tailgate on my yj

[SamsonJR]

I know this question has been beat to death. I've done my research, and know what I have to do to mount the tailgate to the body "with reinforced back plates for the hinges". my question is,what is needed to get the tailgate to stay shut? I'm picking up one for my yj later on this week and is has the hinges, cables and the slider  locks for the latch. I've read plenty of making latches, but cant seem to find any pics of ones to get an idea. I looked on quadratec and a google search to see if i could buy latches, but with more research, it seems there part of the cj tub. I don't have the tailgate in front of me yet to see how it's latch works, just figured I'd see if anyone has some info to help me with this. Or even some pics of a stock cj7 where it latches. thanks

[Jeffy]

Generally two ways to do it.  One is to go with the CJ latch which is just some tabs that flip out.  Problem is you have what looks like an OE hardtop.  YJ's don't have T handles on the top and the tailgate holds the liftgate down.  This means you won't be able to get to the latches.

Most people just reuse the YJ latch to hold it up.  Otherwise you could have a swingaway tire carrier hold the door.

[SamsonJR]

hey Jeffy, I'm not worried about the hardtop, its a 91 top anyway and does have a t handle. I was going to either get a cj hardtop or put mine on and see what needs to be done to make it work for my application. I have a soft top on right now anyway, and have a few months to figure out the hard top situation. that does lead me to another question I had about my soft top and using the cj tailgate, but I don't want to stray off topic. back to the latch, when you say people use the yj latch, I don't understand how that would work? the yj has a striker and release on the drivers side, looking at the cj tailgate, there is no mechanism to attach to that striker. I saw the two tabs on the cj tailgate, what do/did they attach to on the cj? I know I'm going to have to make something to mount the cables  on the wheel wells, I"m unsure of how to go about keeping the tailgate shut though. I'd like to make something to keep it shut on its own "so I can take my top off still". As for the spare tire carrier, I have a aftermarket swing carrier mounted to the bumper, so no issues with that.   

[aw12345]

I used spring loaded fence gate latches I got from Lowes. Been working pretty well for the last 2 years

[Jeffy]

hey Jeffy, I'm not worried about the hardtop, its a 91 top anyway and does have a t handle. I was going to either get a cj hardtop or put mine on and see what needs to be done to make it work for my application. I have a soft top on right now anyway, and have a few months to figure out the hard top situation. that does lead me to another question I had about my soft top and using the cj tailgate, but I don't want to stray off topic. back to the latch, when you say people use the yj latch, I don't understand how that would work? the yj has a striker and release on the drivers side, looking at the cj tailgate, there is no mechanism to attach to that striker. I saw the two tabs on the cj tailgate, what do/did they attach to on the cj? I know I'm going to have to make something to mount the cables  on the wheel wells, I"m unsure of how to go about keeping the tailgate shut though. I'd like to make something to keep it shut on its own "so I can take my top off still". As for the spare tire carrier, I have a aftermarket swing carrier mounted to the bumper, so no issues with that.   

The tabs just rest against the inside lip of the body on a block that attaches to the strap bracket.  What I was saying with the YJ latch is that you can just re-use the YJ tailgate.

[SamsonJR]

those spring loaded latches are pretty cool!, And I see what your saying Jeffy about the yj tailgate. swag off road sells a kit to convert them to a drop down. Those pictures of the factory latch were what I was looking for. Thanks! once I pick up the tailgate and put it on I'l post a few pics