Swapping hatches?
 

Does anyone know how to swap a whole hatch for a hatch? I won't need to remove the glass or anything, just straight hatch for hatch swap.. thanks!

should just directly bolt off, just watch out for any wires attached to the hatch that are still connected. other than that you should be ok.

from the looks of it.. there are 2 bolts on each side that swing the hatch up.. and two sticks that hold it in place like a hood dampener, but on those it says to not detach? there also seems to be something connected from the chassis to the hatch through some sort of tube..

just unscrew those two top bolts, wire that runs through the tube goes back to brake light area so you'll have to remove gray plastic interior pieces to get to/disconnect the wires.

hatch and glass are very heavy, have a least one person helping you while you are removing it. And each dampler is held by a small metal clip which you have to remove first and then the damplers just come off.

i would loosen the top bolts a little first and then take off the damplers and disconnect wires. after those are completely off, it'll be easier to remove the top bolts and take the hatch off

Has anyone done this before? I think I'm going to do this tomorrow and would feel more comfortable if more people chimed in that have done it and could let me know what to watch out for!

why are u doing this? are u getting a white hatch or a black one to make it look panda mode? lol

No I hate panda themes haha my hatch is damaged so I'm trading a guy that has a totaled car but clean hatch

It seems the bolts are pretty easy but I don't think I can reach the wire to disconnect it cus it goes into where the SRS curtain airbag is?

You are going to have to take those panels off the hatch to disconnect the brake light wire

Is it safe to do so? Will it affect the airbag in any way? I just remove the light gray panels on the ceiling and side and just disconnect it from there or are there more wires I would have to d/c?

I dont think you have to disconnect anything from there, just on the actual hatch. Like you have to take the 3 panels off the hatch, which is safe.