Gen 2 tailgate ?

[swampbuck08]

I have a 1990 ranger and the tailgate hanlde does not pull the ears back any more. I have looked and can not figure out how to get in to repair it. Any help would be great.

 

[adsm08]

Pop the plate off the interior and see if things are working inside.

 

[thisfords4u]

mine was doing this also. I lubed the snot out of it and has been working great now for 2 yrs. Otherwise there are 2 bolts from inside the bed holding the handle on, then each rod has a plastic keeper holding the rods to each side in place, be careful not to brake these, dont know if you can still get them. If I rmember correctly you then need to remove the 2 bolts on each side of the gate to remove the latch and rod together. hope this helps.

 

[swampbuck08]

Thanks guys I will check it out tommarrow.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Pop the plate off the interior and see if things are working inside.

no plate on first/second gen tailgates, just a couple bolts.

I need to get mine working again too...

 

[ZMan]

unfortunately, you will have to get the tailgate open to repair it. Use a big flathead screwdriver and work the latches lose one side at a time.

You will then have to disconnect the rods from the handle, you will see a yellow plastic clip on the handle inside the tailgate, pop the clip off the rod and you will be able to disconnect the rod. Everthing unbolts and comes out of the tailgate from there.

From there, you can either get a new handle, or do what I did, I'll try to explain it, I have no pics so hopefully its understandable for you.

I took the rods out of the tailgate. The end that attaches to the latches is a big U. What I did was add some weld beads to the inside of the U shape, basically making the rods shorter. This made my tailgate open like brand new.

 

[Gary101386]

when i got my 89, the handle was pulled out and seized. i started PB blasting the hell out of it. i finally got the passenger side releasing so i popped the latch open with a large screw driver. once i got the tail gate down i lubed the hell out of that latch working it in and out... now it works flawlessly and it required no dis assembly...

 

[LIMA BEAN]

Yea lube the piss out of it. Here is a pic of the guts, you can see it better if you go to LMC truck.

 

[swampbuck08]

Thanks guys I going to try pb blaster first and go from there