Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing such information!:thumb:

No additional drilling required?

Is the space between the 2 parts (hood & fender) identical to the one of the "old" original latches?

 

Drilling is up to you. I have seen install videos where someone drilled the fender area for the alignment tabs. I feel this is not a requirement for stable installation. The tab at the top of the base that installs on the fender is sufficient for alignment of the part.

As for hood space and alignment, I find the closure of the hood to be very close (if not an exact match) to original. I just drove over 600 miles last weekend, the majority of them at 75mph. No hood flutter, problems with air intake, etc....

See my first post for before pics, and here's after:

 

OK4wheelin. :happyyes:
As I have the same car as yours (a Sahara JKU 2017 Gobi...) I will give your solution a chance. I just have to find the good latches over here in France, which is not that easy even on Amazon. Thanks again for the complementary info!!!:thumb:


UPDATE: I finally order them on Amazon at your proposed address and delivery to France was possible. I will receive them in 2 weeks more or less! I'll keep you informed! Thanks again.

 

Getting a set soon as well.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

 

Hello. I just received the JL latches :thumb:. I will certainly install them this WE. I will take some pictures and post them...:happyyes:

 

Anyone know if you can get these with the willys silhouette decal (like you see on some Jeep wheels)? I see the Gladiators have them, so was wondering.

 

Hello. I finally installed the JL latches on my JK. 15mn maximum. It is very easy with NO DRILLING at all!!!

1- First unscrew top part 2 x 10mm bolts and keep the black plastic protection

2- Unscrew the bottom part 1 x 13mm bolt. It is not easy on the right side but with patience you finally get it.

Keep the original bolts (with washers included) which are much better than the new ones.

3-Start by screwing the upper parts which is easy because they perfectly fit into the existing holes. Insert the original black plastic "washer" and cut the upper part of it, if you want to hide it behind the upper part. I did not, and kept the black plastic in its original aspect.

4-For the lower parts you will have to cut the 2 plastic tabs only on half of their length.

You will have to push the part a little to have it fully inserted. Then you screw the bolt and the part fits perfectly.

And that's all you have to do! And there was no further adjustment to make!

Really easy to use and closes perfectly the hood! :thumb::iamhappy:

 

Glad to see these latches worked for you!

 

Yes, thank you 4wheeling! Your Amazon address was OK for me, in France!

In fact these JL latches are much easier to open and close than the Rugged Ridge latches I had before... which were installed just a few weeks ago.C'est la vie!:whistling:

 

Ive done the no drill method but these do seem to hold the hood open more than stock latches. My hood no longer pushes my hood plunger switch down for remote start. i may either mod the switch a little or dremel a little off of the latch, where the two parts meet.

 

Did you get this worked out? Can you include a pic of the plunger switch? We might be able to give you some ideas on how to help solve your dilemma

Merry Christmas!

 

I drilled and it holds the hood down well.

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Where did you buy these? I need to upgrade and mine are faded.

 

Figured I would post pics of the JL hood latch install on my JKU, since there are several related posts on the subject.

It's easier if you pop the grill back in order to reach your hands inside the side fenders. It's one bolt for the base latch (13mm) and two bolts on the hood (10mm).

The JL latches I bought on amazon were $30 (free shipping, no tax).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H94WH72/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

JKU OEM Latch



The new latch has molded pins to line up with the body. Obviously, these don't line up, so I just cut them off. The tab on the top of this part of the latch is enough to help align with the body and keep it from rotating.



The original hood latch portion that attaches to the hood, has a protective plastic layer. I cut at the yellow line so that the new latch will look nice. Otherwise, you'll have a loop at the top that sticks out above the base of the hood latch.





And the final pic of the install completed.

Thanks. I know this is an old thread. We need to replace the latches on my GF's 2014 JKU and this seems pretty straightforward. The amazon ones you linked are for sure half the price than if ordering through Mopar. Can you comment on them after nearly 5 years of use? They look OEM but surely the amazon ones are not actual Mopar OEM?

 

welcome