1999 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Rear Hatch Lift Supports Replacement 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Repair Guide

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

3

Time Required

                          30 minutes - 1 hour            

Sections

1

• Rear hatch lift supports
• 3 steps

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• Back1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ

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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Rear hatch lift supports               

• Open the tail gate and either prop it up or use an assistant to hold it.
• The tail gate is heavy and will fall if not properly supported.
• The rear hatch has both a left and right lift support strut.

Open the tail gate and either prop it up or use an assistant to hold it.

The tail gate is heavy and will fall if not properly supported.

The rear hatch has both a left and right lift support strut.

1024

Step 2

              Loosen the strut bolts               

• The struts are fastened with T40 Torx head bolts.
• Use a T40 Torx driver to loosen the bolt
• The bolt does not remove the strut. It is pressed in to the strut and will be replaced with the new strut.

The struts are fastened with T40 Torx head bolts.

Use a T40 Torx driver to loosen the bolt

The bolt does not remove the strut. It is pressed in to the strut and will be replaced with the new strut.

Step 3

              Replace the struts               

• Completely loosen the bolt securing the strut to the top of the tailgate with a T40 driver.
• Replace the worn strut with a new one.
• On this vehicle both struts were replaced. This will stop the tailgate from sagging.

Completely loosen the bolt securing the strut to the top of the tailgate with a T40 driver.

Replace the worn strut with a new one.

On this vehicle both struts were replaced. This will stop the tailgate from sagging.

To reassemble your Jeep, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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                    oldturkey03                     

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Raymond Janko - Jun 24, 2022

Reply

We just had a garage replace the tailgate lift struts on our 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now the tail is very difficult to pull closed. Is there a way to adjust the struts so that it easier to pull down closed??

oldturkey03 - Jun 24, 2022

Double check the work. Make sure they are mounted the right direction and that all the bolts are properly fastend. There are no adjustments

Dave Hankins - Aug 18, 2022

Reply

I need to replace the lower bolt as it snapped in half. Any advice for that?

oldturkey03 - Aug 18, 2022

Use a drill and drill off the head. Remove the strut and use something like a pair of vise-grips and get a grip on the leftover part of the bolt. Try to remove it. If you can/ time to drill it out and retap the thread.