tailgate

[cwilson jr]

surprisingly i can't find my exact issue which i know is very common.

my tailigate latches are froze almost all in execpt for maybe a 1/4 of the way, so needless to say there is not enough to catch, plus the handle does nothing to move them either way.  even if i got it latched, it would be stuck.  i already have soaked them with wd and pb blaster several times and let set.

the handle is very stiff, but movable and has a slight slant.  i looked underneath and i see one rod, which is still in place.

is there a way to open the tailgate?  all i'm seeing are a few screws to loosen the assembly.  not seeing how i would be able to access everything?

[zieg85]

I have been in your shoes and didn't like it.  What I ended up doing is there is enough room to snake a fairly large screw driver that I had to grind flat to release the gate.  The rods were frozen and I popped them out of the latch and removed from each end.  I removed the pull handle from the gate and soaked everything in ATF for a week.  I bought new clips and straightened the handle.  Cleaned everything up with solvent and rattle canned it for protection.  I did this all years ago before I had internet and didn't take pictures but it can be done.

[PromiseKeeper]

its been a while since I've been there too. I'm thinking there should be 2 rods - one for each side? You may have one that is disconnected. Did you loosen the latches and give them a good soaking? That could be where the problem is. If the handle wont move them, something is either disconnected or the latches themselves are frozen up. Like Zieg says, disconnect at the handle, unscrew the latches and take it all apart.

[bake74]

surprisingly i can't find my exact issue which i know is very common.

my tailigate latches are froze almost all in execpt for maybe a 1/4 of the way, so needless to say there is not enough to catch, plus the handle does nothing to move them either way.  even if i got it latched, it would be stuck.  i already have soaked them with wd and pb blaster several times and let set.

the handle is very stiff, but movable and has a slight slant.  i looked underneath and i see one rod, which is still in place.

is there a way to open the tailgate?  all i'm seeing are a few screws to loosen the assembly.  not seeing how i would be able to access everything?

     Did you try to pull on each rod separately from the handle ?  The rods could be fatigued or bent, and the movement of the handle is not enough to move the rods enough to open the gate.  If this works, before closing again, inspect and fix/replace parts to avoid this in future.
     This is a major pain on a pick up, not being able to open the tail gate.

[PromiseKeeper]

Bake,
If those latches are froze up tight, is there enough flex in the rods to make it seem like its moving, but in reality isn't? Seems to me I did what you said once, disconnecting the rods at the handle and pulling them individually to get things freed up. The older trucks had an access plate on the inside of the gate. They should have kept that feature.

[bake74]

     If the latches themselves are frozen, you are kinda screwed.  But I have had so many that the rods themselves have been bent or over stressed and to weak to actually open the tailgate.
     On older and newer trucks, this trick has worked and kept me from cutting holes on the inside of the tailgate and repairing later just to get the tailgate open.
     A little wd-40 or PB blaster every once in awhile on the tail gate and hood release latches are worth their weight in gold, platinum, titanium, or whatever you cherish.