Tailgate mod to lock from inside..

L

leftyonly

New member
Not sure if this is a novel mod or not...but I'm sure someone will let me know if it isn't...;)

I am a new, first time Jeep owner. Mine is 2016 JKU Willys (23K) so it it all manual. One of the first things I noticed was that there was no way to lock the tailgate without the key before closing it like you the passenger doors.

I had seen on another site where someone had modded the rear latch to be able to open it from the inside (not sure why??). I took that idea and looked at what it would take to lock it from the inside. Turns out it is easy.

I pulled the Cover/Vent off the inside. Once inside, you can access the locking lever that a solenoid would be attached to in a power lock equipped vehicle. The lever needs to be pushed/pulled down to lock the door. I looped a length of 45lb coated steel leader through the pushrod hole in the lever and crimped it on a ferrule (sorry no pic..). I then drilled a small hole in the cover/vent panel and passed the leader to the outside. I finished it with a loop on the outside with a finger sized loop and short piece of wire insulation to make it easier to pull.

After I am done in the tailgate, I simply pull the leader loop to lock it and close it.

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-Richard
 
Frydaddy

Frydaddy

New member
Awesome mod! I didn't even notice that annoying issue.
I did a similar mod on my old XJ to open from the inside because the plastic rod holders were giving way.
Neat use of cable, i need to find some of that stuff.
 
G

geberhard

Douchebag
cool idea, but wondering if you could add an electric push button (tapping into the electric solenoid)? Cool mod for guys running a stock type rear tire carrier, no go for me :(
 
C

CMJ

New member
Cool mod.

I'm going to track down the mod that allows you to open the tailgate from inside. I was camping with a guy that slept in the back of an FJ, and he was always complaining that he had to crawl over the front seats to get out in the morning. The FJ didn't have a interior latch on the tail gate. He pointed out that the JKU didn't have one either. I'm going to do this mod, just to piss him off.
 
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