Mort's 76 FJ55 (4 Viewers)

[mtnmort]

• Thought they posted it was late. Here you go.
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[mtnmort]

I still have a few things left to finish.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Chit yeah, that will work. Good thinking!

 

[mtnmort]

My tailgate handle never had the spring on it. Is there a spring that you guys are using to replace the factory one? Any suggestions?

I installed the handle and it works. That's a relief. I'll try to paint it in the next couple of days and get it installed. It'll be nice to get the tailgate finished up.

 

[PabloCruise]

I may have fixed my tailgate handle. I got the plasma cutter and cut out the arms for the handle and grinded them down to the original shape. Then used a small piece of metal and welded them together. After that i ground out the handle to clearance for the metal piece connecting the arms. Once it fit into the other part of the handle I drilled it and counter sank the holes. I'll use 6-32 machine screws to connect the two and if it works I'll use panel bond and the screws. Then I'll sand blast it and cover the screws with putty and paint it. I'm hoping it'll work and be a long term fix until someone starts selling the handle.

Pretty cool idea! Better than nothing.

I do not know what people do about the spring when missing...

 

[mtnmort]

I painted the handle today. It works well. It's just a tiny bit misaligned but you can't tell unless you look close at it. I'm not a fan of the silver though. I think I'm going to paint it black like the license plate lights.

 

[scrapdaddy]

That sure turned out nice! I vote black to match. Truly some good thinking.

 

[mtnmort]

That sure turned out nice! I vote black to match. Truly some good thinking.

Thanks. I'm glad it worked. It really wasn't that difficult either. Just a bit time consuming. If I had it to do over again I was thinking I would have drilled the holes more consistent and bucked aviation rivers and left it chromed. I think the brass would look good with the chrome.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Looks great!
There are also some crazy strong adhesives these days, may not even need to drill V2.0?

 

[mtnmort]

 

[scrapdaddy]

Looks great, you did a good job!

 

[bobm]

More pics

 

[mtnmort]

I'm hoping to get pictures of it being put together in the next couple of weeks if I don't go out of town for work. I just need to finish some wiring and the turbo before I put the fenders on.

 

[mtnmort]

Rear window. I got it all in and it seems like it's bound up. When I separate the glass from the mechanism I can pull it in and out without much effort. Also when I try to roll it up with the mechanism it goes really slow then there's a click and it stops. Do these motors get weak but not stop working outright? Any suggestions on what to do? Separate from each other they seem to work fine and I have a ground directly to the tailgate bypassing the safety switch.

 

[bobm]

Check with Ron and Pablo. If the window rubber is in use silicone spray on channels.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Sounds like it's not aligned right. Make sure the glass is tracking correct from front to back (the tracks on each side are adjustable) and make sure the gear arms are meshed together correct, so the glass goes up straight not cocked. If either one of those are off it will bind. Have you taken the motor gears apart and cleaned the old grease out and checked the plastic gear? Like Bob said, I too use dry silicone spray in the tracks, works good. Funky job to mess with, good luck.

 

[mtnmort]

I messed with the tailgate assembly. I removed the motor and cleaned it again and used a small amount of grease when reassembling it. I have replaced the original gear with a new brass gear. When I tightened the plate that holds the gear in, the motor doesn't turn the gear. I loosened up the screws on the back of it and it turns but doesn't have much power. And when put back into the assembly it moves slowly without the window attached. I saw that there are brushes on the motor. Has anyone here rebuilt the motor. I searched but couldn't find a thread on it.

 

[bobm]

Brass gear have a machined recess for the plate?

 

[mtnmort]

It didnt. Maybe there needs to be. I'll look at it again. Thanks

 

[scrapdaddy]

The metal cover plate wouldn't fit right if the gear didn't have the recess in it because the cover has the same indent...Here you can see the groove in the left gear, stock in middle and another gear without the groove on the right. The cover will fit down in the groove when flipped over.