rear hatch wont stay closed!!

[devildoy45]

my 95 explorer has a small problem. the hatch wont stay shut. it closes and opens, but does it whenever it wants. ive been using a motor cycle strap to keep it closed. i think its the latches on either side of the hatch that are bad, but i dont see how they would stop working. should i just replace them? tia

 

[Eneurb]

They shouldn't just unlatch by themselves. What you've probably got is a rusted up rear latch control. The rear latch control is right in the center of the liftgate on the inside. It contains the lock actuator and all the rods and levers that operate the latches for the rear glass and liftgate. The reason that I think it's the control is that it seems odd that both latches would fail at the same time.

 

[Blee1099]

After you shut it can you hear or tell the latch is engaging? If not check your latch. I suspect either your latch is catching or you need it adjusted. Moving to the general explorations forum, this doesn't seem to be an emergency situation like being stuck on the side of the road.

 

[MONMIX]

soak them with some WD-40 and latch them by hand with a screwdriver.

Just a guess but sounds like they are just binding up.

 

[Sport4x4]

sometimes my handle that opens it will get stuck, but it will shut, just not latch. so, check to make sure the handle is comming back after you open it

 

[devildoy45]

btw, one of my hydrolic lifts is missing and i was told that is causing the tailgate to be offcentered and is causing them to not latch properly. i can shut the tailgate, and it appears to be fine, but if you tug on it hard enough, it pops right open. and if i drive with it, a few bumps will put the "door ajar" light on.