If your factory JK hood latch is starting to look faded, boring, and not tightening as good as it should anymore, you might want to consider upgrading to a Jeep JL hood latch. Having a loose hood latch can potentially lead to your hood fluttering, which could then lead to other negative consequences.
Sure, you could always just replace the hood latch with the exact same one that you currently have, but where’s there fun in that? JL hood latches are nice, fancy, and modern looking. Jeep JL hood latches will fit perfectly on the JK hood, and it doesn’t take much time or effort at all to replace it.
There are a couple of things you’ll need to get started:
- Two JL Wrangler hood catches
- Two catch brackets
There are a few different ways to the installation process because the lower bodyside latch typically won’t align properly when it’s just purchased out of the store. One method around this is to drill right into the hood and bolt it on, and the other is to avoid drilling anything and just adjust or modify the latch itself. Most like to avoid drilling a hole into their Jeep, so that’s the method that will be described. The process is fairly simple. You basically just have to cut a few plastic tabs off on the lower portion of the latch.
You’ll require the following tools:
- Side cutters
- 10mm socket
- 13mm socket
- Extension
- Universal swivel adapter
- Ratchet
- A dremel or file that has a sanding wheel
- Take off the two tabs on the rear of each hood hold-down that are bolted to the body side of the vehicle. Using your side cutters is the most efficient way to do this. After that, you’ll want to grind them with the dremel until they are flat. A file works well for this, too.
- After that, get your 10mm socket and take off the hood hold-downs. This is done by removing two of the bolts on the hood side. For the body side, you’ll need the 13mm socket with the extension and swivel. Ensure that you don’t accidentally let the nuts fall into the engine bay because you’ll be using them again later in the process.
- After you’ve removed the bolts, you can now install the JL hood latches. If you want to make this step go easier, trimming the gaskets a bit is recommended so that nothing sticks out of the new catches.
- Beginning with the hood side, with the hook facing upward, slide the studs into the gasket and through the holes on the hood. Grab your 10mm nuts that you previously removed and install them.
- The nut on the lower side will be a little tricky. Take your time on this step and make 100% sure that you don’t let it fall, because it’ll be a nightmare trying to get it back. After it’s set in place, you can now install the gasket that was just trimmed onto the stud and through the body.
- You can now get the 13mm nut started on the stud. The extension and swivel will make this part easier. Without using the drill method of installation, the latches won’t align completely, but when you close the latch shut, the difference will be negligible.
This installation process should only take about half an hour, and for such a minimal time investment, it adds such a nice, fresh look to your Jeep.