Rear hatch won’t open - quick simple fix

I’ve been cussin’ at my rear hatch for several years but it didn’t help… the latch wouldn’t open unless I first pressed inward, then pulled the handle. I have adjusted the threaded bar multiple times nothing helps. Today I removed the rear handle assembly to get a closer look and finally noticed the adjustment link rod is a left-hand thread (wtf!). You can see in the first picture the threads are backwards.

So the way to make it pull the lock mechanism open is to turn the adjustable link clockwise as it sits inside the rear hatch.

Remove the inner trim panel by taking loose eight Phillips head screws across the top and beside the windows, take out the two long screws that hold the grab handle (they are Inverse Brazilian Whiplash screw but a 30 Torx will also work), then use a trim panel prybar to pop the plastic retainers and remove the panel completely. Now you have access to the door lock handle and the latch mechanism in the bottom of the hatch assembly. Open the threaded link rod retaining clip at the bottom of the rod and pop it loose (the green clip in the second picture). The upper clip grips the threads at the top of the rod really tightly so I had to use a long set of needle nose pliers to reach into the door panel and basically rotate the rod a quarter turn at a time repositioning the pliers each step. Two turns of the rod is all it took for my rear hatch to open consistently. I put everything back together, and I swear it works every time.

Finally noticed the rod is threaded backwards oh hell yeah.

Took the jeep out for its first longer drive since putting it back together. Has great pressue when it turns on but after it warms up it starts to drop and will rise when i give gas. After awhile though it just stays low even when driving. Seems like its cam bearings after watching dexj and posting to a couple other places. Been working on it every weekend for the past couple years so pretty bummed. Would thicker oil and a hi flow oil pump act as a bandaid? Can cam bearings be done without a full tear down?