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- Thread starter Lil'John
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LC_Hamma
The Anti-Leafer
1 - plastic gear
2 - all 3 u-shaped window felts
3 - clean contacts on the electrical strip use dielectrical grease there
4 - white lithium on the large metal window gear
5 - see that the torsion bar nut isn't frozen w/ rust & works freely
2 - all 3 u-shaped window felts
3 - clean contacts on the electrical strip use dielectrical grease there
4 - white lithium on the large metal window gear
5 - see that the torsion bar nut isn't frozen w/ rust & works freely
The tailgates will rust from the inside-out when water and other debris gets inside and is trapped on the bottom (mine did that). When I was inside the tailgate I cleaned all this crud out and slathered POR15 in the bottom to stop any future rust.
x2 on replacing the plastic gear - I think there are some metal gears for sale somewhere...or were...
x2 on replacing the plastic gear - I think there are some metal gears for sale somewhere...or were...
the lock works by keeping the handle from turning the center gear. If it doesn't work, you might need a new lock. Or, if you're adventurous, you might try replacing the whole latching system with bearclaw latches. Do a search and you'll find my pics of that.
be prepared to spend some time adjusting the tailgate for good fit. dont be afraid to move the body catches *back* to tighten the tailgate. it allows the rollers to click one more time to sometimes fully seat the tailgate. weird, but it has worked for me before.
Best thing would be to remove the lower hinges, and make new nylon bushings for the lower hinge assemblies. they tighten up the tailgate, and move it up slightly making the catch system work more consistently. I havent gotten to that point on mine yet, but I will be making new bushings for sure. Cursing and heat and an impact driver are your tools of choice for trying to remove lower hinges. Body chassis manual has good descriptuion of steps required.
glass has to be all the way down. there is a little "L" braket pivot in the bottom of the tailgate that attaches to the handle to allow for opening only when the glass is fully lowered. glass must slightly depress it to allow handle to unlatch side catches.
Best thing would be to remove the lower hinges, and make new nylon bushings for the lower hinge assemblies. they tighten up the tailgate, and move it up slightly making the catch system work more consistently. I havent gotten to that point on mine yet, but I will be making new bushings for sure. Cursing and heat and an impact driver are your tools of choice for trying to remove lower hinges. Body chassis manual has good descriptuion of steps required.
glass has to be all the way down. there is a little "L" braket pivot in the bottom of the tailgate that attaches to the handle to allow for opening only when the glass is fully lowered. glass must slightly depress it to allow handle to unlatch side catches.
John, I wire brushed the hell out of the roller rails and glass holding channel.....then hit them with rustoleum rust converter....... squeezed in the rear glass into the new tailgate channel rubber and greased the roller channel and rollers with a LOT of silicone grease....they have been working well daily last several months...........Shmukster had a great write up on the tailgate mechanism workings and trouble shooting on Toy Trails a few years ago......can't seem to find the articles but they would be a great sticky thread... HTH
Lou
Lou
Also as expected, the "window all the way down to open the tailgate" linkage wasn't thereAnyone have some they want to get rid of?
Post it up on a SOR diagram and I'll see if I have one.
As for the brass gears, I can make them on a "one off" basis if you want. The last run I made was a year and a half ago and I made about 50 - 60 gears (probably enough for most '55 owners who care about their truck enough for a working rear window).
Howdy! Guess I'm not so lucky. Mine is one key for ignition, and one for all doors, including rear. Both double sided keys, but very different style. All locks look to be original and unmolested. Rig was only 10 yeassr old when I got it, and very stock. Did that change for the later years?? JohnShould be one key for all doors and ignition. My key worked on doors and ignition but not my tailgate because I got it after the fact.
Hopefully smith can rekey it
I wouldnt, I just gave mine a good cleaning, I had a hard enough time keeping the arms aligned as they kept wanting to come together.Using the picture above, should I fully disassemble 17... basically meaning the springs on the arms.
I didn't like the looks of trying to pull the springs off there so I've only done a half baked clean job on it
Good luck, I know Im happy that my rear window works, It better than the windows on the 80
This is how I think mine is as well, My ignition key didnt work on the doors, I think the door keys are double cut but in the opposide direction ...Make sense? I have my tailgate lock out, I will see if I can get it matched.