I live on a dirt road. I have too many rattles to suit me in the 2005 LJ I recently purchased. I found that the tailgate latch cover is held on by two clips on the bottom of the plastic cover. It may have had an additonal clip near the top when it was new, but it is loose and rattling.
I popped it off and decided to try a screw to hold it at the top. I used a self tapping tech screw. Ignore the hole beside the red arrow. It was not in the right place. So, I moved it to the location beside the yellow arrow. Be careful not to put the screw where it will interfere with the lock mechanism.
To mark the cover, I used some needle nosed pliers to install the screw from the inside of the door far enough to let the point stick out. Then I installed the cover and pressed it against the screw to mark the cover and drilled a hole at the mark.
Now with the cover held securely, that rattle has stopped.
I popped it off and decided to try a screw to hold it at the top. I used a self tapping tech screw. Ignore the hole beside the red arrow. It was not in the right place. So, I moved it to the location beside the yellow arrow. Be careful not to put the screw where it will interfere with the lock mechanism.
To mark the cover, I used some needle nosed pliers to install the screw from the inside of the door far enough to let the point stick out. Then I installed the cover and pressed it against the screw to mark the cover and drilled a hole at the mark.
Now with the cover held securely, that rattle has stopped.