Information on your EE wagon rear latch assembly with pictur
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Band Wagon
Information on your EE wagon rear latch assembly with pictures.
I have always noticed my rear hatch squeaked/ rattled and was always finicky when it came to closing it. It would take several tries before it would shut. The dents under the rear window were past evidence of this problem has been ongoing for sometime, since the dents were there when I bought the car. At first I tried adjusting the striker on the lift gate and I had marginal results at best. It closed a little easier, but rattled even more. I tried adjusting the bump stops on the lift gate, but in the end I was fighting a losing battle. It either rattled or was still hard to close.
When I decided to put the car up for sale I wanted to fix this issue once and for all. I removed the plastic cover to investigate the latch assembly further and I found that something was not right the latch had a notch where the sticker would contact it.
After sleuthing the salvage yards I found that most EF-EE latches looked the same some better some worse. Most were not as bad as mine, but they were hardly worth buying. I decided to contact the Honda dealer Majestic to see how much a new one cost $35.00 plus shipping. I went to my local dealer (who wanted more than $35.00 by the way, Go figure) I asked if they sold many of them, they said they sold a few most were because of customers complain of rattles or squeaks or in some cases the latch would have to be slammed to close. Sure sounds a lot like my car.
A few days ago I seen another EE wagon in the bullpen at a local salvage yard they said they would stick it out in a few days for parts. I went by today and found it had been set out. I decided to inspect the latch on this one and it was the cleanest one I found no separation/ breakage of the isolator. I quickly removed the part and paid the $10.00 for it.
BTW: to remove the rear latch you must pull back the right interior panel and unbolt the lock a single 10mm bolt holds it in. The latch will slide to the left were you can remove the cable and outside lock rod. One bladed connector is also part of the latch assembly (idiot light that says it your tailgate is not closed) the latch itself is held in place with 3 big machine screws. One other interesting point to mention is I noticed a majority of latches I looked at had strike marks at the opening to the left. I'm not sure it’s a big deal, but it could signal the striker being out of adjustment.
I have always noticed my rear hatch squeaked/ rattled and was always finicky when it came to closing it. It would take several tries before it would shut. The dents under the rear window were past evidence of this problem has been ongoing for sometime, since the dents were there when I bought the car. At first I tried adjusting the striker on the lift gate and I had marginal results at best. It closed a little easier, but rattled even more. I tried adjusting the bump stops on the lift gate, but in the end I was fighting a losing battle. It either rattled or was still hard to close.
When I decided to put the car up for sale I wanted to fix this issue once and for all. I removed the plastic cover to investigate the latch assembly further and I found that something was not right the latch had a notch where the sticker would contact it.
After sleuthing the salvage yards I found that most EF-EE latches looked the same some better some worse. Most were not as bad as mine, but they were hardly worth buying. I decided to contact the Honda dealer Majestic to see how much a new one cost $35.00 plus shipping. I went to my local dealer (who wanted more than $35.00 by the way, Go figure) I asked if they sold many of them, they said they sold a few most were because of customers complain of rattles or squeaks or in some cases the latch would have to be slammed to close. Sure sounds a lot like my car.
A few days ago I seen another EE wagon in the bullpen at a local salvage yard they said they would stick it out in a few days for parts. I went by today and found it had been set out. I decided to inspect the latch on this one and it was the cleanest one I found no separation/ breakage of the isolator. I quickly removed the part and paid the $10.00 for it.
BTW: to remove the rear latch you must pull back the right interior panel and unbolt the lock a single 10mm bolt holds it in. The latch will slide to the left were you can remove the cable and outside lock rod. One bladed connector is also part of the latch assembly (idiot light that says it your tailgate is not closed) the latch itself is held in place with 3 big machine screws. One other interesting point to mention is I noticed a majority of latches I looked at had strike marks at the opening to the left. I'm not sure it’s a big deal, but it could signal the striker being out of adjustment.
Comments
I think part numbers would need to be check to confirm if the latches are the same
If $35 is all it takes to fix this, I'll happily pay it. If I can get a replacement cheaper on my next junk run, even better.
So I went to Home Depot and got some washers and longer bolts, and just made the latch sit farther down--so it has to hit the striker.
If this works and the hatch is still aligned and secure, seems like a no-brainer to me