"tailgate" rust - what did y'all do?

[heiff]

Hi, I am the proud new owner of a 93 LWB, and it's blessedly free of rust - except for the tailgate. And well, not exactly the tailgate, more like where the fenders wrap around the tailgate opening next to the tail lamps. I suspect it's rusting from the inside out due to water leaking in through the tail lamp assemblies.

Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, what did you do to correct the problem? I'm still at the point where some sanding, rust neutralizer, and aerosol touch up paint would do the trick, but I imagine I'll need to waxoyl the cavities beneath the tail lamps in order to stop the rust from returning.

I have a *small* amount of rust on the upper tailgate - is there anything that can be done to curb its spread?

[AAXD]

Your best bet for saving the upper liftgate is to do a full on attack now. Don't wait. Mine was fine when I got the truck and I kept putting it off and now there is hardly anything left of it. It went from rock solid to gone in 3 years. Anyway, you should start by pulling off the taillight pod and lock mechanism. The rubber seal comes off next, and is held on with some rivets. Once you have it removed, you can remove the upper strips next to the glass on the inside and start rustproofing. They rust from the inside out and there really isn't any way to get inside the bottom edge, so a healthy dose of waxoyl inside should protect it for a long time. RRC upper liftgates will rust out eventually, unless galvanised. Your best bet would be to take corrective measures now and give your liftgate an extended life, when when it starts to go, replace it with aluminum and be done once and for all. If the steel liftgate gets too rusty you will have problems with the locking mechanism and taillight. If you have rust in the rear corners, chances are you have rust under the tailgate on the body crossmember as well. These parts are all replaceable so it's not the end of the world. You can get inside the corner pieces by removing the taillights, so you can probably stop most rust from spreading. if your truck has lamp guards, beware that the holes for the threaded inserts can rust out and eventually the guard can fall out or be pulled off easily. RRC's are becoming increasingly cannabilised so there is a healthy stock of replacement body parts around. The best advice I can give would be to take action sooner rather than later. Hope all goes well. If you find any tricks to fixing the rust, please post them as I am about to go through my 93 as well and try to preserve it.

[OkieRover]

Same with mine on the top gate. We are going to get in for the other lower gate and flares rust some time this year. I've got 6 or 7 places that if I dont do something soon I fell it will be unsaveable.

[Mayor]

Does anyone know if just the latch part is available(see pic), for the upper tailgate?
This is the only rust I have. Yes, I know I should replace the whole frame

Thanks,

J

1995RRC

[heiff]

thanks for the advice! now I know what I'll need to do this summer when things dry out a bit.

Mayor - I checked my parts manual, but I can't find the actual latch anywhere in the diagram (which does seem kind of odd). Maybe someone else will know.

[paul_willis]

It is definitely available, but relatively exprensive at £20 ($35 US), I bought one last week here in the UK from <http://www.mm-4x4.co.uk/>. It wasn't on the site but I filled in their form and described the part I needed.

[Mayor]

Rovers North is charging a bit more. I've got one on the way.