TomCat_Ford
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- January 24, 2009
- Messages
- 210
- Reaction score
- 0
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 98 Explorer
When I was in the process of fitting some taillight guards to my '98 Explorer Sport, I found that the rear tailgate gap is too tight on the drivers side. I had the same issue when I installed some guards on a '96, so I am assuming that this is fairly common.
With that said, I recall having difficulties adjusting the tailgate on the '96. I seem to recall loosening a couple of bolts to adjust it, but something got bent in the process, making the door impossible to close. It took a lot of adjusting to get it back into it's original position. Now that was several years ago when I did that, so I don't recall exactly what I did or if I loosened up too many bolts causing it to become completely out of whack.
My question is this: how do I adjust the tailgate so that there is less of a gap on the passenger side and a larger gap on the drivers side. How many bolts hold the tailgate on? What is the best way to go about removing the tailgate (I noticed some rust trying to develop on the bottom inside of the tailgate, so I want to nip that in the butt before it takes hold)?
Thanks.
With that said, I recall having difficulties adjusting the tailgate on the '96. I seem to recall loosening a couple of bolts to adjust it, but something got bent in the process, making the door impossible to close. It took a lot of adjusting to get it back into it's original position. Now that was several years ago when I did that, so I don't recall exactly what I did or if I loosened up too many bolts causing it to become completely out of whack.
My question is this: how do I adjust the tailgate so that there is less of a gap on the passenger side and a larger gap on the drivers side. How many bolts hold the tailgate on? What is the best way to go about removing the tailgate (I noticed some rust trying to develop on the bottom inside of the tailgate, so I want to nip that in the butt before it takes hold)?
Thanks.
