Tailgate side hinge nuts

So i drilled an inspection hole to get my bore scope ( i love Christmas ) inside the gate. Well the nut plate is a thick piece of steel. Its threads are stripped. So i think im going to drill out the remaining threads and upsize my inspection hole and just put a nut on the back side. I have pictures of the plate ill post when I get them from the laptop.

It really surprised me to have such thin backing on the tup side and heavy plate on the gate.
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Some of the tailgates have a rubber vent in the middle which can probably be pried out. I wonder if you could cut the access there to get the new plate in. You could then replace it with the factory cover.

Google “TJ tailgate vent” to see the pics.
 
LJGreg said:
Some of the tailgates have a rubber vent in the middle which can probably be pried out. I wonder if you could cut the access there to get the new plate in. You could then replace it with the factory cover.

Google “TJ tailgate vent” to see the pics.
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Yeah mine is a 97 so no vent unfortunately
 
glwood said:
Wouldn't you still want that bottom snubber on, even with the full kit, to help keep the tailgate from rattling on the latch?
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The kit replaced that one with two others on the mounting plate
 
JMT said:
The kit replaced that one with two others on the mounting plate
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I see that, but those two bottom snubbers are still on the tailgate (on the bracket). Those, in that position, don't seem to add any resistance to keep the tailgate from rattling at the latch like a body-mounted bottom snubber does...
 
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LJGreg said:
I can't help with the answer but I had mine apart the other day. This is what is on the inside. It isn't a nut welded to the sheet metal. If it is stripped, maybe you can remove the left nut and then try the right side while also pulling back on the hinge.

View attachment 72465
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How did you get inside the tailgate? Did you bend sheet metal back to remove the inside of tailgate?
 
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