So a few years ago I was parked on a hill and I accidentally reversed hard into a parked car (I had the reverse warning turned off). Beside an obvious hole in my bumper the liftgate was difficult to open/close. The striker on the liftgate was hitting/rubbing against the latch. I had to slam it hard for it to close but now a few years later the metal on the striker has worn down making it easier to close but it's still not great. In the spirit of having recently replaced the bumper I wanted to replace the striker or fix whatever is causing this issue. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? I tried to move the latch by loosening the bolts but it doesn't seem to move much if at all. Also, does anyone know the size of the T Bit on the striker?
Finding a nearby wrecking yard that allows you to pull your own parts is gonna give you the greatest number of options at the lowest price. It will also allow you to practice removing stuff without worrying if you cause damage. Main issue though is trying to figure out what part of the hatch got bent and how to bend it back... When I worked in an auto body shop in high school we had a really cool rack as well as lots of floor anchors and we used a chain and a come along to pull stuff back in place. Of course the secret was the body repair guy has 30+ years of experience and knew every trick so the way he worked was impressive. Hard to replicate that part of it...
Do you think the hatch as a whole is bent? I bought a replacement striker but I need to also buy a larger T Bit. I know it's larger than T30.
If I had to quess I'd think it's the hinges where the hatch bolts in is where the damage is... look there first... The least expensive fix is to loosen all the bolts at those hinge points and you get 1/8" of and inch wiggle room which could add up by the time it gets to the latch. You could also widen the diameter of the holes the bolt goes through with a big drill bit to get a tiny bit more wiggle room.
