Mod: Opening XJ rear hatch from inside?

[katuah]

Has anybody eer tried to do a mod to open your XJ's rear hatch from inside? I would love to build out the interior for sleeping, but its a real pain to have to always exit from one of the small rear passenger doors.

 

[Herbie]

I did it on my Subaru wagon!

The mechanism is very similar. If you remove the hatch trim, you can see the latch mechanism. Playing with the outside handle you can see how it pulls on the rod that's connected to the cam that will release the latch. You just need to make a way to create the same movement - usually a cable or another rod. On my Subaru I used ~18" of thin rod and clamped it strategically onto the latch mechanism. I fed the rod through a small hole in the trim/skin of the hatch to the inside cabin area. My rod was threaded, so put a small knob on the end to make it easier to pull. Pulling the rod just so released the latch, and out I went.

 

[dirtyzj]

done this

98 zj....... piece of line (para cord) and a store bought lawn mower pull start handle .make sure pull is in correct direction .
after that you might want to put in switch to disrupt overhead light i found that useful....good luck

 

[MuckSavage]

On my nephew's XJ, We did something similar to dirtyzj but tied the parachord end into a monkey fist. Nephew didn't need interior access for sleeping purposes, rather to open the hatch for recovery purposes. He had a bad habit of sinking his rig in our Piney water holes!

 

[1stDeuce]

For an even trick-er setup, you could use a door lock solenoid to pop it. You'd have some wiring to do, but only a switch showing.
Hmm. I wonder if any "newer" XJ's came with a key fob that could pop the rear hatch. If they did, then the parts for the solenoid and mounting are in a junkyard somewhere... Anyone know if this was an option??
C