I love (all 4) of my B wagons, but after they are 20 plus years old, a lot of the hardware that is not accessible begins to work poorly. This is particularly true of the tailgate glass. The tailgate glass on my 1990 Estate was the first one I tackled, and this was because I was finally going to replace the glass wiper strip that had disintegrated. The tailgate glass still moved up and down, but was obviously labored and slow. By the time I was done with this, it mores so fast, it's almost a guillotine! And, the hinges were both in need of attention, as the tailgate had sagged, and did not close well. The process: Open the tailgate by swinging it open then: 1. strip the entire tailgate (be sure to disconnect the battery first). Don't drill out the rivets for the lock motor and for the window regulator, unless they are loose. Leave these components attached to the tailgate. 2. be sure to mark all the parts so you know where they go when you go to re-assemble. Take pictures of any assembly to aid in re-assembly. 3. Remove the tailgate - you'll need a helper to support the tailgate while you unbolt the hinges. 3. Clean everything. Remove all the old dried up grease from the glass roller channels - one at the bottom of the glass, and the other bolts to the passenger inside panel on the tailgate. 4. Unbolt the lower hinge from the rear pillar. You have to remove the inside trim on the left and an unpainted access panel to access the nuts. 5. The upper hinge/latch can be lifted off. There is no adjustment for the play in the roller to the latch catch. You can lightly bend the hing/latch frame locally to restore minimal clearance to the vertical roller. You will need a press to do this, the steel frame is very thick metal. 6. The lower hinge has a pin and two bushing that should be replaced. The pin is staked together - you have to grind the stakes to remove the pin. The original bushing were plastic, but I replaced them with standard Fisher Body bronze door hinge bushings - they fit perfectly. Again, grease the bushings and pins upon re-assembly. 7. Lubricate everything that moves using grease. I like to use marine waterproof grease, but white lithium is OK too. Be sure to reach inside the tailgate and spread a coating of grease on both sides of the sector gear on the window regulator. Lubricate the center pivot for the X on the regulator. 8. Remove the upper and lower latches on the passenger side, clean the old grease and re lubricate all points of contact and motion. 9. Now reassemble the tailgate. You'll be amazed at how well it will work when you are done. This job will probably take you 2 days or so, but it is worth it.
Man! That's a great post. That can't be a Michigan rustbelt wagon, is it? No rust anywhere, near the hardware. Very nice tutorial. wixom (David) did a nice tutorial on Buick Clamshell tailgates last summer.
When I replaced the weatherstrip in the 1981 Caprice wagon, I gave everything a good squirt of lubricant - importantly, the hinges in the control arm which had gotten stiff. Once the glass was adjusted left-right, it operated 100 pct better. Less work than your full rebuild, but a pretty good result.
tailgate rebuild You are right - it didn't come from Michigan. I found this cherry in Maryland, and it had almost no corrosion. The chrome was not perfect as an older Custom Cruiser I got from California. I think any humidity eventually degrades the chrome. So, I didn't mention this in the post, but I also took the CHMSL apart, and the tailgate door handle apart, and had them rechromed. They look great now. Now, I have to rechrome the rear bumper. I am so pleased with how nicely a properly adjusted/fitted/cleaned, and lubricated tailgate closes. I now have 3 more wagons to do this to. But first, back to the 1990 Buick and do the same thing to the front side doors. The power windows are way too slow!
Very helpful, thanks. Maybe you have had some experience with my posted question regarding the stereo/dash removal?
Ford ltd 1977 stationwagon Hi,can somebody help me to find a TAILGATE WINDOW REGULATOR, that's the system,mechanism inside the door for to open the window- my emailadres is : spin@skynet.be many thanks Freddy
