Wagon Tailgate question

[meteor]

I've been trying to find an answer to this question for a long time...hoping a wagon owner can help me out (maybe someone who has a tailgate in pieces or at least able to look inside a tailgate).

ok, there are two sliding latches (pins) on the top edge of the tailgate, when you pull the tailgate handle part way it should pop open the upper liftgate right?

when I pull my handle, only the passenger side pin/latch drops down. the pin/latch on my driver side is not connected to the tailgate handle operation, it doesn't move - which does not allow the upper liftgate to pop open.

the two latch assemblies inside the tailgate are different and I'm trying to figure out if that was stock. If it is stock, I can't figure out how it is supposed to work.

To open my liftgate I need to pull open my tailgate, this is putting wear on my driver side pin/latch and little striker plate on the liftgate - I imagine it will be very hard to replace these with good pieces.

thanks in advance.

fyi - my shop manual only shows the passenger latch assembly and doesn't mention anything about the driver side being different.

[bagboy]

That's how my 57 wag .is I have to lift  handel up to relese rear window   

[johns2000]

Same here.

[CDN.SD]

IIRC Both outboard units should be a mirror image of one another. You didn't possibly put one from your Ranchero on that side did you? Although I'd suspect that they would be missing the pin altogether.

They are "driven" by a solid shaft on the inboard handle, so I imagine that the problem is either the tubes and clips that go from the inboard handle to the outer releases, or with a wrong, or improperly adjusted outboard latch.

There is a fine thread adjusting locknut on the bottom of the outboard latches to change the amount of travel of the upper latch pins.

My first guess would be the tubes and clips, as they aren't that great. I had one break while doing disassembly, and was planning to make replacements from heavy wall hydraulic tubing. If your tailgate latch on that side is working tho, it must be in the outboard liftgate latch itself as they are both driven from the same tubes.

Hope that helps.

[meteor]

Thanks Guys.

CDN.SD...if both latch assemblies are supposed to be the same, then that is my problem as mine are not. Take a look at the pics below to see what I mean, these photos were taken in the wagon when I got it.

The driver side assembly has a pin with the spring, but no adjusting nut, just a hex head. I will have to modify this whole assembly somehow to get it working. I don't know how or why this would have been changed, it's not even a ranchero assembly as those ones did not have any pins in them at all.

thanks for the help.

[CDN.SD]

The lower pic is the correct one. (at least that's what the ones I have here look like.)

My plan (before the owner of the car I was working on died) was to modify the latches and have the window pins operated by electric solenoids.

I was planning to use Ford PM starter solenoids, and make up brackets and adapt them to pull straight down on the adjusting nuts on each side. I was also planning to move the handle assembly inside, so the procedure for opening the rear would be to pop the glass with a remote, and then reach in and open the gate with the internal latch. You don't need the latter part of the plan, but the first part might be something to consider.

Door opening solenoids, the kind used for shaved handle cars would work easier, the only reason I had for using the Ford solenoids was price and availability.