Thread: top tail gate catches

That's not a tailgate, it's an "ex tailgate or dead tailgate" to paraphrase Monty Python.
Although it costs several tanks of petrol, IMHO you would be best to get an alloy one from UK. Then you would never have rust again from the snow sitting on the glass and seeping through.

Just for the OZs who may still have a good tailgate, a bead of windscreen sealant along the bottom and up the sides of the glass will stop a lot of the water getting in. My 92 tailgate was still pretty good when I sold it at 21 years old, except for a little rust in the channel that holds the rubber seal. I use dto renew the sealant every few years.
Constant vigilance and spraying some lanox around regularly helps.
The tailgate is folded metal so if you see a rust bubble , drill it out and spray inhibitor in the hole to get inside and then seal with sealant.

Regards Philip A

So! Here's an update on this: After yet another trip with my tailgate giving me the proverbials by popping open, I decided to just tackle it! I think I can say with some confidence that without the impact driver it would not have happened. Those countersunk screws were rusted in to the point that one of them was partially corroded away My main concern was that I may either shatter the glass or break the frame. In the event, I used an ordinary claw hammer (every engineer has one LOL) and whacked away as hard as I dared. I did pre-soak with WD40. It took a bit of effort but finally managed to tease them out. So, fitted the new latches. The adjustment was a bit of trial and error, but I am now confident that the next time I hit the corrugations I won't be concerned that my esky is about to disappear out the back of the truck!

Congratulations , you will now be fine for another 15 years.

The next time you use your impact driver will be to loosen the screws on the handbrake drum or on door strikers.

You don't use them often but when you need it you really need it.
Regards Philip A