instructions for assembling tail- and lift gates (1 Viewer)

[hatchethead]

I just had a tail gate and lift gate come back from the painter's. They took out all the 'stuff' (cables, latches, locks, etc.) before they painted and now I have to reassemble. Are there any guides online that will help me do this? All the components for both gates are sitting in a box. Maybe I'll call it Pandora's box.

All my searches turn up instructions for cutting a lid into the tailgate. That's not what I want.

The order of doing things could effect how difficult this job is, and I'd like to learn that from someone else's mistakes and not my own.

Thanks in advance for any pointers people can share.

Jason

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Download the FSM, that should have pics and some instruction.

 

[hatchethead]

Download the FSM, that should have pics and some instruction.

Always a good piece of advice. Found the FSM on my computer, and sure enough in "Body Mechanical", starting on page BO-26 there are instructions for disassembly of the lower back door and its assembly ("reverse the instructions for disassembly").

Installation of the rear wiper arm is on BO-42.

A description of the upper back door components starts on BO-20, with the disassembly steps starting on BO-21 and reassembly being "reverse the instruction for disassembly").

 

[hatchethead]

I've completed the swap and thought I'd share the process I used. Hopefully it will be of use to others.

========

On Friday, July 8th, I was rear-ended on my way to Kennedy Meadows. This started an adventure in upper and lower gate repair that I'm sharing here for ih8mud.

On Thursday, Just 28th, I posted a question to ih8mud. I asked if anyone could point me to instructions for assembling the gate components (wiring, latches, lights, etc.). Trunk Monkey quickly replied with the advice to look at the Factory Service Manual. It should have instructions.

I quickly turned to my copy of the FSM. Sure enough, it had instructions for the assembly and disassembly of the components of the gates. I posted a thank you to ih8mud, listing the page numbers where those instructions could be found, and I turned to my gates and my box of gate guts.

It didn't take my long to understand that the FSM instructions were a bit more sparse than I was hoping for. Yes, they gave an order of assembly/disassembly that made mechanical sense, and for that the FSM's is valuable as a guide. But it lacked some detail. For example:

* it didn't talk about removing/installing the backup camera
* there were no instructions for removing clips and tabs that held the wiring into place
* it said little about the wiring itself and how it should be removed or installed in a gate
* it didn't mention the system for windshield washer fluid
* it didn't mention the third eye brake light

Being a child of the sharing internet, I decided I'd keep notes about my work and share my recommendations for how to re-gut the upper and lower gates of a 100 series. Hopefully, someone else will find it useful. (Pardon grammar and spelling errors ... this isn't meant to be publication quality.)

I had the old gates to work from. Both were still connected to my 2004 rig with all its viscera. To learn how to assemble my new gates, I disassembled my old gates, starting with the upper and moving to the lower.

Assembling my upper gate followed the guidance of the FSM.
I choose to disassemble my gates while they were in place on my rig. That process, reversed, became my process of re-gutting, described below.

Upper Gate​

Once the old guts were out of the upper gate, I removed the gate (two bolts at each hinge and two bolt at each strut) and replaced it with the new-to-me gutless upper gate. Here are the steps I took to re-gut.

1. Put the lower part of the main wiring harness in place roughly on the interior surface of the gate, fishing the wires for the license plate lights and rear facing camera into the rectangular hole to the DS of center. (There should be a white tab on the harness that connects to the PS vertical edge of that opening.)
2. Fish all three (3) ends from the main wiring harness for the lights and camera through the DS hole. This will be important because there's a 'link protector' that needs to be fastened here, and it will cover these holes. The 'link protector' has an end that's offset back (on the DS) from the plane of connection, and that offset end reaches over the DS hole, allowing space for the wiring; the 'link protector' does not allow space for wiring if you put it through the PS hole.
3. Connect the license plate lights and camera to the wiring and secure them to the body. The license plate lights will secure themselves. The camera requires two fasteners (on my rig, their visible ends were embossed with 'IZ64-2'). Not having those fasteners, I used emblem adhesive to place the camera with the hope I could add fasteners in the future.
4. (independent step) Connect the wiring harness to the window defroster leads.
5. Fish the length of wiring from the body through the opening on the top DS of the gate down the vertical to the lower DS corner. (I used a plumber's snake.) Make the two molex connections to the rest of the wiring harness. Note that the main harness wiring sits outside the body until it reaches the hole in the DS corner.
6. (indepenedent step) Place the third-eye brake light with adhesive, feeding its wiring through the oval hols through the gate, then connecting the bolts. If you're That Type of Person, wait to place the rubber grommets until ready to finalize fastening to factory specifications. Otherwise, hand tighten the bolts and place the rubber grommets.
7. (dependent on previous step) Run the small arm of wires up the DS edge of the window and connect to the third-eye brake light.
8. Fasten the back door 'link protector' in its interior position with its two (2) bolts. The slightly offset end points to the DS.
9. Put the back door latching mechanism into place with its four exterior bolts.
10. Fasten the latch assembly into place with its three (3) exterior bolts. Put the latch handle into place.
11. Place the back door control assembly. Before placement, grease sliding surfaces with a multi-purpose grease. Place the control and connect the connectors. Affix the bolts and the connect the links.
12. Place the inside handle for the back door. Connect its locking rods to the back door latch. Affix the two bolts.
13. Attach the weather stripping.
14. Place the rear wiper motor and its link assembly. First, fasten the three link bolts, then fasten the two like bolts. Finish by connecting the connectors.
15. Place the rear wiper motor relay with its one screw.
17. Place the rear wiper arm. Start by placing the grommet followed by the arm. Fasten the nut and close the cover.
18. place the lower back door interrior garnish followed by the upper.
19. Place the interior handle bezel followed by the interior grip.

At this point, all the upper gate guts are in place. The final touches are putting the interior panels into place and hoping all the electrics work.

Lower Gate​

I started with the lower gate on a pair of saw horses. To protect my finish, I covered my horses with a moving blanket. It's a good idea to put anti-seize grease into threaded holes that will be receiving bolts in the gate and truck body (e.g., hinges, torsion bars, latches, tailgate stays), so you might as well do this now. I did.
1. Move the key assembly to the new tailgate. Slot the cylinder and its wiring through the hole from outside, and fasten the cylinder into place with the sheet metal lock. (Getting that sheet metal lock off from the original lower gate was tough. I think I ended up using a long steel punch and a rubber mallet. Getting it onto the cylinder in the new lower gate was a little easier.)
2. Place the torsion bar into the lower gate. Not that you can screw this up, but you can use the orientation of the tabs (that take the bolts) to inform how the bar should be placed. Note that the 'rectangular' bend in the torsion bar points toward the interior surface of the lower gate. Also note that the ends of the torsion bar should have rubberized sheaths. I imagine these are to eliminate metal-on-metal noise. Fasten with its four (4) bolts.
3. Affix the pair tailgate stays to truck body with T30 torx.
4. Attach lower gate to hinges.
5. Affix the tail gate stays to the gate using a T30 torx driver.
6. Connect the 'rectangular' bend in the torsion bar to the receiver on the truck body. This was a two-person job for me. I had my wife lift the lower gate while I lay under the rig, reaching up to grip the 'rectangular' bend in the bar. When the gate was near vertical, I hauled down on the bend and pulled it into place. Pretty slick and easy.
7. Pull the lower gate's wiring harness through the oval hole on the DS front end of the lowered gate. There's a seal to put into place, there, and the way the harness lays into the top surface of the lower gate is defined by shape of the metal surface. Spurs go to the gate's tail lights. A spur goes to the lock. The harness should have fasteners tape along its length that connect to holes in the gate surface.
8. Place the central latch assembly with its cables that reach toward the gate locks. Fix the latch to the gate with its two (2) screws. Might as well connect the inside handle at this point; there's a plastic spacer that gets placed before the handle, and then the handle is affixed with a single screw.
9. After applying multi-purpose grease to the rotating parts of the door locks, connect each gate lock to the latch cable by first placing the 'ball' in its socket and then pressing the cable's sheath end into the collar on the lock assembly. Once the cable is affixed to the lock assembly, secure the latch assembly to the gate body with the three (3) torx screws. Repeat for the other gate lock.

At this point, all the guts are in place. The job is completed with the addition of lights, followed by their access covers and the interior body mat.

If the gates need alignment, the FSM is pretty clear about how to make those adjustments. (It's mallet craft, not rocket science.)

 

[DarkPharf]

I've completed the swap and thought I'd share the process I used. Hopefully it will be of use to others.

========

On Friday, July 8th, I was rear-ended on my way to Kennedy Meadows. This started an adventure in upper and lower gate repair that I'm sharing here for ih8mud.

On Thursday, Just 28th, I posted a question to ih8mud. I asked if anyone could point me to instructions for assembling the gate components (wiring, latches, lights, etc.). Trunk Monkey quickly replied with the advice to look at the Factory Service Manual. It should have instructions.

I quickly turned to my copy of the FSM. Sure enough, it had instructions for the assembly and disassembly of the components of the gates. I posted a thank you to ih8mud, listing the page numbers where those instructions could be found, and I turned to my gates and my box of gate guts.

It didn't take my long to understand that the FSM instructions were a bit more sparse than I was hoping for. Yes, they gave an order of assembly/disassembly that made mechanical sense, and for that the FSM's is valuable as a guide. But it lacked some detail. For example:

* it didn't talk about removing/installing the backup camera
* there were no instructions for removing clips and tabs that held the wiring into place
* it said little about the wiring itself and how it should be removed or installed in a gate
* it didn't mention the system for windshield washer fluid
* it didn't mention the third eye brake light

Being a child of the sharing internet, I decided I'd keep notes about my work and share my recommendations for how to re-gut the upper and lower gates of a 100 series. Hopefully, someone else will find it useful. (Pardon grammar and spelling errors ... this isn't meant to be publication quality.)

I had the old gates to work from. Both were still connected to my 2004 rig with all its viscera. To learn how to assemble my new gates, I disassembled my old gates, starting with the upper and moving to the lower.

Assembling my upper gate followed the guidance of the FSM.
I choose to disassemble my gates while they were in place on my rig. That process, reversed, became my process of re-gutting, described below.

Upper Gate​

Once the old guts were out of the upper gate, I removed the gate (two bolts at each hinge and two bolt at each strut) and replaced it with the new-to-me gutless upper gate. Here are the steps I took to re-gut.

1. Put the lower part of the main wiring harness in place roughly on the interior surface of the gate, fishing the wires for the license plate lights and rear facing camera into the rectangular hole to the DS of center. (There should be a white tab on the harness that connects to the PS vertical edge of that opening.)
2. Fish all three (3) ends from the main wiring harness for the lights and camera through the DS hole. This will be important because there's a 'link protector' that needs to be fastened here, and it will cover these holes. The 'link protector' has an end that's offset back (on the DS) from the plane of connection, and that offset end reaches over the DS hole, allowing space for the wiring; the 'link protector' does not allow space for wiring if you put it through the PS hole.
3. Connect the license plate lights and camera to the wiring and secure them to the body. The license plate lights will secure themselves. The camera requires two fasteners (on my rig, their visible ends were embossed with 'IZ64-2'). Not having those fasteners, I used emblem adhesive to place the camera with the hope I could add fasteners in the future.
4. (independent step) Connect the wiring harness to the window defroster leads.
5. Fish the length of wiring from the body through the opening on the top DS of the gate down the vertical to the lower DS corner. (I used a plumber's snake.) Make the two molex connections to the rest of the wiring harness. Note that the main harness wiring sits outside the body until it reaches the hole in the DS corner.
6. (indepenedent step) Place the third-eye brake light with adhesive, feeding its wiring through the oval hols through the gate, then connecting the bolts. If you're That Type of Person, wait to place the rubber grommets until ready to finalize fastening to factory specifications. Otherwise, hand tighten the bolts and place the rubber grommets.
7. (dependent on previous step) Run the small arm of wires up the DS edge of the window and connect to the third-eye brake light.
8. Fasten the back door 'link protector' in its interior position with its two (2) bolts. The slightly offset end points to the DS.
9. Put the back door latching mechanism into place with its four exterior bolts.
10. Fasten the latch assembly into place with its three (3) exterior bolts. Put the latch handle into place.
11. Place the back door control assembly. Before placement, grease sliding surfaces with a multi-purpose grease. Place the control and connect the connectors. Affix the bolts and the connect the links.
12. Place the inside handle for the back door. Connect its locking rods to the back door latch. Affix the two bolts.
13. Attach the weather stripping.
14. Place the rear wiper motor and its link assembly. First, fasten the three link bolts, then fasten the two like bolts. Finish by connecting the connectors.
15. Place the rear wiper motor relay with its one screw.
17. Place the rear wiper arm. Start by placing the grommet followed by the arm. Fasten the nut and close the cover.
18. place the lower back door interrior garnish followed by the upper.
19. Place the interior handle bezel followed by the interior grip.

At this point, all the upper gate guts are in place. The final touches are putting the interior panels into place and hoping all the electrics work.

Lower Gate​

I started with the lower gate on a pair of saw horses. To protect my finish, I covered my horses with a moving blanket. It's a good idea to put anti-seize grease into threaded holes that will be receiving bolts in the gate and truck body (e.g., hinges, torsion bars, latches, tailgate stays), so you might as well do this now. I did.
1. Move the key assembly to the new tailgate. Slot the cylinder and its wiring through the hole from outside, and fasten the cylinder into place with the sheet metal lock. (Getting that sheet metal lock off from the original lower gate was tough. I think I ended up using a long steel punch and a rubber mallet. Getting it onto the cylinder in the new lower gate was a little easier.)
2. Place the torsion bar into the lower gate. Not that you can screw this up, but you can use the orientation of the tabs (that take the bolts) to inform how the bar should be placed. Note that the 'rectangular' bend in the torsion bar points toward the interior surface of the lower gate. Also note that the ends of the torsion bar should have rubberized sheaths. I imagine these are to eliminate metal-on-metal noise. Fasten with its four (4) bolts.
3. Affix the pair tailgate stays to truck body with T30 torx.
4. Attach lower gate to hinges.
5. Affix the tail gate stays to the gate using a T30 torx driver.
6. Connect the 'rectangular' bend in the torsion bar to the receiver on the truck body. This was a two-person job for me. I had my wife lift the lower gate while I lay under the rig, reaching up to grip the 'rectangular' bend in the bar. When the gate was near vertical, I hauled down on the bend and pulled it into place. Pretty slick and easy.
7. Pull the lower gate's wiring harness through the oval hole on the DS front end of the lowered gate. There's a seal to put into place, there, and the way the harness lays into the top surface of the lower gate is defined by shape of the metal surface. Spurs go to the gate's tail lights. A spur goes to the lock. The harness should have fasteners tape along its length that connect to holes in the gate surface.
8. Place the central latch assembly with its cables that reach toward the gate locks. Fix the latch to the gate with its two (2) screws. Might as well connect the inside handle at this point; there's a plastic spacer that gets placed before the handle, and then the handle is affixed with a single screw.
9. After applying multi-purpose grease to the rotating parts of the door locks, connect each gate lock to the latch cable by first placing the 'ball' in its socket and then pressing the cable's sheath end into the collar on the lock assembly. Once the cable is affixed to the lock assembly, secure the latch assembly to the gate body with the three (3) torx screws. Repeat for the other gate lock.

At this point, all the guts are in place. The job is completed with the addition of lights, followed by their access covers and the interior body mat.

If the gates need alignment, the FSM is pretty clear about how to make those adjustments. (It's mallet craft, not rocket science.)

Does the lower gate torsion bar go under the metal tab on the rear sill? Or does it sit cradled in the tab?

 

[hatchethead]

Does the lower gate torsion bar go under the metal tab on the rear sill? Or does it sit cradled in the tab?

Sorry, dude. I don't have the sill and stuff pictured in my mind. But I do remember figuring this out myself and realizing that the torsion bar fits in the way that creates a TON of force upward on the tailgate. I hope that helps. (And I hope I'm remembering this correctly.)