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Tailgate glass issues...

tj 413

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Today I had the old glass replaced with new glass from LMC, most likely from china which my new door glass is from...The fits of the 3 pieces are ok not great, but options for replacement glass are very limited. My rear window used to slowly go up and down; after replacing the new glass halfway up it needs to be pushed up by hand to get it closed. The glass guy mentioned spraying a silicon lube into the new gaskets to help which I did. I have read through some older posts regarding rear window issues; I'm thinking the motor needs to be replaced as it appears to be original and lost its power. I've seen mention of bad grounding, but I think it wouldn't work at all if grounding was bad. I'm going to buy a new motor as that seems to be the likely issue, but if that doesn't fix it, what other things might be the problem?
 
Today I had the old glass replaced with new glass from LMC, most likely from china which my new door glass is from...The fits of the 3 pieces are ok not great, but options for replacement glass are very limited. My rear window used to slowly go up and down; after replacing the new glass halfway up it needs to be pushed up by hand to get it closed. The glass guy mentioned spraying a silicon lube into the new gaskets to help which I did. I have read through some older posts regarding rear window issues; I'm thinking the motor needs to be replaced as it appears to be original and lost its power. I've seen mention of bad grounding, but I think it wouldn't work at all if grounding was bad. I'm going to buy a new motor as that seems to be the likely issue, but if that doesn't fix it, what other things might be the problem?
Before you change the motor look into getting a relay in the wiring system.
A member here has a kit for it, can’t remember his name now, I am sure someone will chime in, but it has thicker wires and a relay, to bring more power to the motor
 
I used 10g wire from relays under the hood. I get 12+ volts to the new motor. Dedicated 10g frame ground. My switch works, so I cleaned it up and good to go.

One of the relay grounds must be cut (seems Fordum offered that up). There was a thread about tailgate relays a couple years ago.
 
I've seen mention of bad grounding, but I think it wouldn't work at all if grounding was bad.
Motors will work with bad grounds as long as the load is light. Then stop when the load goes up. Make sure you have good ground and 12V or better with the motor running at the tailgate motor. The relay upgrades are well worth the effort as well.
 
As I am not super mechanically inclined, where would I get the upgraded relay stuff from the member here or elsewhere.
 
As I am not super mechanically inclined, where would I get the upgraded relay stuff from the member here or elsewhere.

Found these links in an older thread, which kit makes the most sense to get?


 
Found these links in an older thread, which kit makes the most sense to get?


That's the one, I just found it and was going to post it
 
Mine works, so I just cleaned and refreshed. I'm not a mechanic, I just work on stuff. There are members that can do this in their sleep. Someone will jump in with amazing insight and ability. I'm always impressed by the talent you find here.
 
Of the two relay kits posted earlier, one is only for the tailgate and the other also includes the doors. That's the difference. It's not a quality or ease of implementation issue.

As for the tailgate having two switches, one is on your dash and one is the key switch on the back of the tailgate itself. You don't necessarily have to get the keyed switch functioning if yours is busted but it's nice to have if you can get it working.

I'm in the middle of doing it the more DIY way with some wire from Wire Barn and a handful of relays and inline fuses. I probably still spent $100 but I will have a ton of leftover wire to use throughout the rest of this project and others.
 
I ordered the kit that included the door window wiring and relays for $125...looks like MotorCityK5 is the only one with a replacement dash rear window switch which I will replace to have all new components...Lastly, I have been trying to figure out the best rear window motor, anyone know of a good reasonable priced one?
 
Hard to recall but I think LMC truck had a part number for them but maybe they were discontinued, or just out of stock. I rebuilt mine at any rate. Not too difficult to do really. Not much going on inside there. The grease on the inside was getting tacky but it was pretty clean. The motors are under-powered but they seem to have been well sealed as mine was not necessarily dirty on the inside.
 
You can used a couple of 30-40 amp relays and look up how to wire them. It's not hard and wont cost you that much. I did that to both front windows and will eventually do it to my tailgate glass. I found my window channel felts were non existent and regulator was missing wheels and tracks had holes in them ect. Fixed all that and lubed really well then new seals slowed it down again. So dry lube seems to work well on new seals. If you fix everything and run it without the seals installed that'll tell you if the motor is bad or not.
 
Finally got the K5 Squared full relay kit installed for both side windows and rear window, new tailgate switch from MotorCityK5 and added a new Cardone motor and tailgate regulator cable...The install videos from K5 squared were an added bonus. Works like a champ, probably never moved so fast, I was tired of watching the rear window slowly creep up and down. Best $300 investment so far.
 
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