stuck tailgate

[lucky 13]

my 89 jimmy has a tailgate that must have come off a pick-up so the inside is solid but it wont open the handle pull all the way up and then you have to orce it back down but the gate dosnt move HELP!!

 

[tRustyK5]

No parts wanted in the Garage please.

Rene

 

[Fordum]

No parts wanted in the Garage please.

Rene

Uhh Rene, unless I misread him, he is not looking for a tailgate, he has one.
He is just trying to figure out how to open it...

 

[Fordum]

Depending on the year, most of them pull two rods towards the center when you lift the handle.

Pull the handle up as far as you can, and get a light, squat down and look up under the handle. You should see two short arms with holes in them with rods stuck through the holes.

Odds are one or both of those rods are not in the holes.
If so, take a coat-hanger wire and fish around on that side until you hook the rod.
Grab it with a pair of pliers and pull it toward the handle while pushing in and out on the tailgate.
If you get it open, DO NOT close it back until you have fixed the problem.

There are some clips that hold the rods on and one or both may have broken.

If all else fails, do not pries it open. Instead, cut a hole in the inside part with a dremal tool, or something that leaves a clean edge.
Reach in and unlatch the gate with the rods, and then make a cover plate for the inside.

 

[tRustyK5]

That's because I edited out his parts request (as an alternative to removing the thread entirely)

Rene

 

[toomany]

Uhh Rene, unless I misread him, he is not looking for a tailgate, he has one.
He is just trying to figure out how to open it...

His original post had a wanted add for a D44 in it.

To the OP, I've stuck a pry bar in between the gate and bedside to pop the latches before.

 

[Fordum]

Yeah, I pretty much figured that out.......After I posted. Sorry about that.

I will be going to bed now. I have been up way too many hours straight in the last 24 and I am starting to drag.

Plus, I gotta meet with a lawyer tomorrow.. Mine, thank goodness, so I need to be sharp.