Good Evening everyone!
I recently replaced my girlfriend’s very rusted tailgate on her 2010 Wrangler with a used 2016 from a parts yard. I swapped out the tailgates and kept our tire carrier because the one on the 2016 had a large crack. I also replaced the latches too and everything lined up great and shut no problem. I used an impact to tighten all bolts and then used a socket to ensure tightness on the bolts. After I put the new tailgate on I noticed a small dent in the back near the spare tire mount but is covered by the tire when on so it didn’t bother me too much. However, when driving over larger bumps I hear a sheet metal type sound (popping or warping) almost like a saw blade from the back tailgate area. Could this be from the small dent that was on there or something not installed correctly with spare tire carrier or spare tire. I did have trouble getting the spare tire to align with the carrier when putting it back on by myself but tightened the lugs and there’s no movement. After hearing this noise, I really tugged out on the tire while stationary and heard the popping. Could it be the dent? Maybe Carrier not on all the way? Tire not on properly? Or something else I’m not thinking of, any help or opinions appreciated.
I recently replaced my girlfriend’s very rusted tailgate on her 2010 Wrangler with a used 2016 from a parts yard. I swapped out the tailgates and kept our tire carrier because the one on the 2016 had a large crack. I also replaced the latches too and everything lined up great and shut no problem. I used an impact to tighten all bolts and then used a socket to ensure tightness on the bolts. After I put the new tailgate on I noticed a small dent in the back near the spare tire mount but is covered by the tire when on so it didn’t bother me too much. However, when driving over larger bumps I hear a sheet metal type sound (popping or warping) almost like a saw blade from the back tailgate area. Could this be from the small dent that was on there or something not installed correctly with spare tire carrier or spare tire. I did have trouble getting the spare tire to align with the carrier when putting it back on by myself but tightened the lugs and there’s no movement. After hearing this noise, I really tugged out on the tire while stationary and heard the popping. Could it be the dent? Maybe Carrier not on all the way? Tire not on properly? Or something else I’m not thinking of, any help or opinions appreciated.