Rear Swing-Gate Flip-Glass Alignment

[03GoingStrong]

The flip glass on my 03 KJ is not aligned / centered above the swing gate and I can't find any discussions or videos concerning this.
Glass and gate open and close just fine, but the glass isn't centered.

Wide gap at body pillar and contacting swing gate on driver's side. Little to no gap at body pilar on passenger side.

I tried loosening the hinges but they don't seem to move.
I tried loosening the screws attaching the glass to the hinges but there is no play there either.
I tried adjusting the bar on the bottom of the glass as well as the latch in the tailgate with no improvement.
I tried consulting the KJ shop manual but found no help there either.

I bought the Liberty new in 2003. It has not been wrecked. This condition may have existed for years and I just now have tried to correct.

Any suggestions for moving that glass around to fit better in the opening are appreciated !!! Thank You

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[discogypsy]

This might help you?

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[03GoingStrong]

This might help you?

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No help whatsoever.
Read the OP. "Glass and gate open and close just fine, but the glass isn't centered."

I could understand how adjusting the latch might be necessary if it shifted the glass to one side or the other, but it doesn't.
I tried adjusting that latch (see the OP) and it had no affect on the glass centering in the opening.

That latch in the video only affects the in/out position of the glass, not side to side

 

[Jeremy-WI]

Is the hinge pin getting wore out on one side?

 

[03GoingStrong]

Is the hinge pin getting wore out on one side?

@Jeremy-WI ... don't think so. Not at all worn or not worn enough to make the difference shown in the pictures. Reason I don't think a worn hinge is the problem is because with the flip glass unlatched, I can not move the glass around and see, find or feel play at either hinge pin. In other words, I can not move the glass to align with the opening. It's like the glass is where it is because that's the spot it's bolted to.

The service manual has instructions for replacing the glass and even says to make sure the glass is centered in the opening but the service manual doesn't explain how or what to adjust if the glass isn't centered in the opening. At least not as far as I can tell from the service manual.

- I've wondered if there is supposed to be positional movement of the hinge when both hinge screws are loosened and I haven't found that positional movement because of age, weathering of components or something? I haven't had either hinge completely off, just hinge screws well loosened, so don't know.

- How is the flip glass centered in the opening?
- How is side to side clearance with the body pilars controlled?
- How is flip glass vertical positioning controlled?
- Can the flip glass centering in the opening even be adjusted, or is the flip glass location simply where it is when hinges bolted to body and glass bolted to hinges ... take it or leave it?

 

[Luke]

It was so long ago … but I did remove the glass to treat a rust problem up there. I was able to reinstall it without any issues as I recall. Have you popped the plastic covers and loosened the hinge hardware? It may be that they allow for horizontal adjustment.

 

[03GoingStrong]

It was so long ago … but I did remove the glass to treat a rust problem up there. I was able to reinstall it without any issues as I recall. Have you popped the plastic covers and loosened the hinge hardware? It may be that they allow for horizontal adjustment.

Popped the covers and loosened two hinge screws each hinge. Unable to move the hinges to a different position, as though there is no adjustment there ... unless something is corroded up and stuck under there.

 

[Luke]

Looking at your pic closer it looks like the drivers side, glass side, of the hinge has slipped down… as opposed to it needing horizontal adjustment.

 

[03GoingStrong]

Looking at your pic closer it looks like the drivers side, glass side, of the hinge has slipped down… as opposed to it needing horizontal adjustment.

Both @Luke . Drivers side is "slipped" down and touching the swing-gate and take a look at the ->||<- in both pictures. The glass is MUCH closer to the body pillar on the passenger side and MUCH further away from the body pillar on the driver side. So the glass needs both a horizontal and vertical adjustment ... mostly on the driver side.

On another note, I'd thought maybe the swing-gate itself was misaligned but looking at the contour lines on the body pillar as the lines swoop down to meet the contour lines on the swing-gate ... they pretty much match up exactly. So it isn't an issue of misaligned swing-gate. The problem is the flip-glass just isn't centered in the opening above the swing-gate.

 

[Luke]

Understood… I would still bet it’s all due to the glass to hinge connection and that it is actually still centred (once you fix the droop). So … on the underside of the glass, both sides look identical at the hinge?

The hinges on the body do move, I remember having to use wedges to centre while tightening… maybe a little love tap while the bolts are slack would help.

 

[03GoingStrong]

Thanks for chiming in @Luke .
Yeah, think I'm going to have to get out the mallet and try to encourage the hinges ... or take everything apart to gain a better understanding of the design.