1992 Eddie Bauer Aerostar. The rear liftgate is not closing.

I just picked up a '92 Eddie Bauer . As the title says, the rear liftgate just started not latching...which is a pretty big problem as I use the van for band equipment.

The two 'claws' inside the latch mechanism move freely back and forth - the left one, when depressed completely by hand, does shut the overhead lights off.

I put a little black grease on the latch mechanism and gently shut the tailgate to see where it's hitting the striker. The grease mark is smack in the middle of the striker, which is where I think it ought to be.

Most of the searching I've done indicates that I should just keep hitting it with WD40. I have given the latch mechanism several applications and it has not helped.

I did notice that the last time I opened the gate, the handle was a little difficult...

Anyone?

The latch mechanism is similar to the one which is used on the sliding door, except the one for the hatch has an extra switch for the dome light. Some models use the same one for the sliding door such as my 1989 Eddie Bauer model. Check to see if the spring popped out of place. This is a common issue for the sliding door but not so common when it's used for locking the hatch.

I tackled this project today.

The spring that's inside the interior door panel was in place, much to my chagrin. I got my Torx bits out and removed the latch mechanism itself, unplugging the electrical connector for the dome lights.

Once I had the latch out, it was clear to see that Ford didn't really expect the part to be taken apart and serviced. However, I am a stubborn Polack, and decided to start tearing it apart, electrical bits first. I had to put the latch in a vise and use a big screwdriver to start prying the piece apart as it was press-fit/riveted together. It finally came apart in two pieces - the case itself, with all the moving parts, and a flat metal plate that was pressed on. This piece was a bit mangled from all the prying.

Although nothing was apparently broken at first, I started looking at the way all the pieces fit together and what pieces did what. It looked like there was a few problems. At first, I noticed that the spring that helps push the release arm back into locking position had come undone (but was not broken). I removed this spring and did more research. After that, I noticed that the arm itself was very difficult to move. Finally, it appeared that the arm that connects to the rod that goes up to the handle (not sure what this is called or how to describe it) was actually knocked out of place and was not triggering the latch/unlatch operation as designed.

The first order of business was to return some normal movement to the arm. I soaked the latch in penetrating oil for about 20 minutes and then heated. Of course, the penetrating oil caught on fire. I just let it burn off as there wasn't that much. I then sprayed it again with penetrating oil and let it soak for a few minutes.

This gave me time to start flattening out the flat cover for the latch mechanism in the vise. After I had it close, I pieced it back together and, on my workbench, used a punch and BFH to get it back together.

Just like in the Haynes manual, installation was pretty much reverse of removal, except I used hex head bolts because who in the HELL actually likes Torx bits?

Of course, I didn't take pictures so this writeup is useless.

Take a look at the thread on the sliding door latch: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268000

Good information, for sure.

I may spend tomorrow morning at the local boneyard grabbing a couple extra latches. The sliding door does require a pretty good slam to get it latched.

So hey, here's a little update.

After tearing apart the rear liftgate latch and fixing it, I had no problems with it until a couple weeks ago. Then it started again, so I decided to take a trip out to the local Pull-A-Part to see if I could find any similar parts that might work.

Turns out the '98ish Explorer rear liftgate latches are almost an exact match. Nice thing about these is that they're installed with hex-head bolts so they're a breeze to remove (and there's two latches per liftgate = BONUS!)

The only difference in the parts is that the arm that comes off of the latch is longer on the Explorer latch than the Aerostar one. Not a big deal at all; simply grind down the arm on your new latch so it's the same length as the original, drill a new hole, and you're back in business!

According to eBay, parts interchange applies to the '98-01 models...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/98-01-FORD-...99|Model:Explorer&hash=item4af1270df3&vxp=mtr

I looked at the link to EBay, and saw the Explorer latch which looks different than the Aerostar latch. The arm is more centered, and appears to be moving in a different direction. Did you take a side by side photo comparison?

BrooklynBay said:

I looked at the link to EBay, and saw the Explorer latch which looks different than the Aerostar latch. The arm is more centered, and appears to be moving in a different direction. Did you take a side by side photo comparison?

Click to expand...

I did not take a picture of it side-by-side...but it's bolted in place and working, so...it must be close enough! The arm on the Explorer one moves in the same fashion and is the same angle as the rear liftgate latch. The arm is just longer.

I have an extra one up at my dad's shop; when I get around to machining the extra latch, I'll take a picture of it next to the Aerostar latch.

As promised, side by sides of a modified Explorer latch next to a stock Aerostar latch:







It works perfectly so far.

(Remember, the Aerostar latch is defective, hence the different angle on the arm)