HighClearance

1997 Jeep Cherokee
I am trying to replace the under hood liner (the insulation). I need to run the new liner behind a bracket for the latch mechanism. To do that, I have to remove that bracket inside the rectangle (see photo), but what kind of tool will take it off? The holes in the fasteners are completely round. I've been looking at videos for hood latch repairs, and none of them have those original fasteners. Another possibility is to unhook the part in the oval (see photo). Is there a way to do that? The old liner was chewed by rodents, so I didn't have to figure out how to take it off.

Thank you.

Stevo1971

The left fastener appears to be a hex head screw. Is that correct?
I don’t see a hex pattern on the right so either it’s been rounded out or it’s just the quality of the pic.

HighClearance

I wish it were a hex head, but they are both round. I see why it looks like a hex head in the photo, but they are entirely round, inside as well.

Stevo1971

Well then I assume it’s a pop rivet. I would drill it out and pop rivet it back in when ready.
I haven’t had a liner in mine since I’ve owned it. I don’t plan on putting one in either. Just me.

HighClearance

A pop rivet! That's a new one for me, but I just did a little reading up on them and watched a video. Thank you for the info! Time to develop another skill.
Yeah, a lot of people go without the liner, but I like to have it.

Idunno

After drilling out the rivet you'll need to use a hammer and punch to punch in the remaining part of the rivets, that need to be dislodged and cleared of the hole, to pull a couple new rivets in. I just went through this (removed and painted my hood). It'll take a minute to do that and the angle to do that job is all wrong with the hood in place to get the right hammer swing at the rivets to remove the remaining parts. I had my hood off and lying on a table upside down so it was easy to get a good strike on the punch. But, those rivets were really stuck hard. After you do dislodge them they're stuck in that blind cavity forever. Home Depot as a riveter and rivets if you're going that route. I suggest using short sheet metal screws because if you have to repeat the job in the future there will be no room left in that cavity for two sets of knocked-in rivets.

Stevo1971

Screws are a good idea

MonacaYankee

Forget removing that piece. I cut my replacement under hood liner in half right there and slid it in place.
Still have to remove the hood latches on each side and that rod though. I used a push retainer with a wide head and it holds the liner there.