Sticky liftgate handle

[Dave Kilgore]

Hey guys. First post here, but I can't count all the helpful threads I've read so here's hoping somebody has an answer for mine too.

The pull style handle that opens my rear hatch keeps sticking in the open position, so that I have to jam the handle back down before I can successfully close the hatch. I can see a little yellow plastic tab getting stuck between the handle itself and the hole it's supposed to go in. No idea how to get this to stop getting stuck.

Any advice or experience with this issue?

 

[Dave Kilgore]

Just to be clear, my truck is a 99 xlt four door.

 

[poker4me007]

Here's a pic of the back side of your handle. Most likely a rusty lock with the linkage (could be bent) going to the plastic fastener going to the lift handle and giving you problems, or a broken spring on the handle .
Either way you probably have to take it apart and see what going on in there.
Do you have a key lock on the door handle?
If so with the red straw try spraying something like WD40 in there, to free it up.
Hope this helps.

 

[Dave Kilgore]

Hey, thanks for the pic. No key lock, and the spring works great when the plastic thing doesn't get hung up. But I'll dig into it and see what's going on in there and update when I do.

 

[CDW6212R]

My Mountaineer did that about 10 years ago. I lubricated everything in the whole latch system, and it has worked perfectly for the last 75k miles.

Spray the latches themselves on both side of the hatch, with WD40 or PB Blaster, to clean them. Spray what you can of the center mechanism. I removed the interior trim to get at the inner parts better, and bought a new mechanism thinking it might be a future need. Finish by spraying the parts with a white lithium grease. Be careful of over spray, and wipe around the latches etc, the run off. That should solve the problem for another lifetime. Regards,

 

[Dave Kilgore]

Cool thanks! I actually have a can of white lithium laying around. I'll let you know how it works out