liftgate rattle

[Big Slim]

my liftgate bangs and rattles like crazy and driving me nuts. how do we get the play out of it so it doesnt rattle?
all i see is the 2 screws on each side. i guess the rubber is suppose to keep it from bouncing? looks like my top is only latching on one side. that side has a perfect gap and the other side gets bigger as it goes lower. then too much gap for the latch.

 

[lars]

It's a little subtle. Does your tailgate still have the anti-theft post installed? And the stainless cover that it mates into on the liftgate? If not, get one. If so, track down a piece of adhesive-lined heat shrink and use a heat gun to glue it to the post. You'll likely have to adjust the position of the post to center it in the slot in the liftgate after that.

Make sure that when it's closed, the gap between the liftgate and the top is equal on both sides. Note that the screws holding the latches in place on either side can hit the lfitgate when things wiggle around (cue anti theft post above) and if one side is contacting or almost contacting, it will rattle against the top when driving around. I used a crowbar, not kidding, to open the gap on one side, along with said heat shrink.

The rods connecting the handle to the latches can rattle. It's tedious to disassemble everything, but I did, and then slid yet more adhesive lined heat shrink over the rods and shrunk it into place.

Finally, grease, oil, lube all latches so everything closes properly.

In other words, in my experience anyway, there is no smoking gun in general. I did all of the above. I hate, hate, hate rattles. They still rear their ugly heads occasionally, but usually I can overcome them with spray oil.

 

[Speedrdr]

If you’re not opposed to spending some $$ on the tailgate (all kidding aside) there’s a quiet kit that replaces the ‘rattling’ parts. Maybe I saw that on WH site.

 

[gnpenning]

Lars gave you some likely areas.

Don't overlook the supports for both the hatch and tailgate when open as well.

 

[Big Slim]

So heatshrink on the opposite side of the seal?

 

[Big Slim]

i found that the springs in the latches are worn out and loose. so i pulled them out, PITA, and stretched them out so they have a little compression installed. no more rattle there.

 

[lars]

So heatshrink on the opposite side of the seal?

I didn't apply any heat shrink at the latch ends. What I did do was completely disassemble both the liftgate and tailgate latch assemblies, and run long (coupla feet or so) pieces of heat shrink along the pushrods for the respective latches. It's kind of like putting your finger on a guitar string, it stops it from vibrating.

And note what gnpenning wrote. The liftgate and tailgate support arms can create their own orchestra of rattles. OEM, there were bumpers to silence both. I have them on my Bronco and have replaced all of them a couple of times over the years. Dennis Carpenter among others sells the rubber bits.

 

[armynavy17]

If you haven't already, you can replace the stock tail gate support arms with wires like on newer truck tail gates. I'll have to check what the application was, but there is some you can pull from the junk yard for cheap that are the right length.

 

[Big Slim]

Ok. i have replaced the tailgate hinge with the polyurethane ones and have the gas struts on the liftgate. i could not for the life of me get the tailgate cables to install, the latch was in the way. i did already have some heat shrink on the end of tailgate linkages to fit the ltaches better and keep those from rattling. i added a large washer behind the left ctach to bring it out so it will catch. will see if any of this helps.

 

[toddz69]

i could not for the life of me get the tailgate cables to install, the latch was in the way.

I couldn't ever figure out how to install those on my truck either. I tried versions from several different vendors and ended up returning them all.

Todd Z.

 

[reamer]

the cables "install" up-side down on the post then you rotate them 180

 

[chuckyb]

Similar to the heat shrink, I used plasti-dip on the rods and also on the springs and internals…it made a big difference.

Regarding the tailgate cables…they are tricky. I have tried a couple of options and found the James Duff to be the best.

 

[lars]

Similar to the heat shrink, I used plasti-dip on the rods and also on the springs and internals…it made a big difference.

Regarding the tailgate cables…they are tricky. I have tried a couple of options and found the James Duff to be the best.

Plasti-Dip. Great idea! I'd completely forgotten about that stuff.

 

[Big Slim]

between the liftgate latch and pull rod where the roll pin goes in there is slop due to having to move, and it is still making some noise when i hit the top. but some reduction has been made. how long does the plasti-dip last?

 

[chuckyb]

between the liftgate latch and pull rod where the roll pin goes in there is slop due to having to move, and it is still making some noise when i hit the top. but some reduction has been made. how long does the plasti-dip last?

Plasti-dip is good stuff. I think if you clean the parts good beforehand it should last a lifetime inside your lift gate. The first time I tried it, I did two dips with the lift rod ends, but it was too thick and I had to cut it off and start over. One dip will probably make it thick enough but still able to function. My lift gate handle now has a snug feel to it when I open and close it, but all the internals seem to move around just fine and it latches up nicely each time. I can’t stand the rattles and this is much better.

 

[reamer]

I just did the removal of the side latches... There is only 1 way to do this, and it can get ugly... First is disconnect the long-rods from the center handle assembly, That in itself can be a pain to re-install.
Now remove the 2 small inspection plates, (right and left) You must remove the TWO roll pins on each side. Now if your thinking I'll just tap them out, Wrong! the pins are longer that they need to be and will just bottom out before they clear the rod and latch,...Now, What would you be if you were attached to another object by an incline plane wrapped helically around an axis? That's right SCREWED.

You must remove the pins by pulling up on them to remove them, here's a tip Find some wire where the OD is slightly smaller than the ID of the pin, stuff it in the pin and now clamp on to the pin and twist and pull.
Once both pins are removed slide the long rod out of the way and pull the latch tab out of the assembly. Now lift the rear of the latch assembly and out it comes!
It's another battle getting the pins back in during assembly.

 

[MikeCon]

my liftgate bangs and rattles like crazy and driving me nuts. how do we get the play out of it so it doesnt rattle?
all i see is the 2 screws on each side. i guess the rubber is suppose to keep it from bouncing? looks like my top is only latching on one side. that side has a perfect gap and the other side gets bigger as it goes lower. then too much gap for the latch.

Everything can be purchased in a kit.think I got mine at Toms.Been a while. Cheap and easy.works fine . Bunch of little parts that screw on.

 

[Big Slim]

The original round rubber bumpers did not do anything with the gas shocks. So I added a plate to the lower shock mounts to attach the bumpers to. Added some washers to get spacing right. Seems to help keep latches snug. Have not driven with it yet but hitting the lift gate there is much less noise.