Having a few problems with my top tailgate. One side opens and closes just fine but the other refuses to close.
I don't think its anything fouling the tailgate and stopping it closing as even with the bottom open that side seems to hit the aperture but won't latch. Also this side won't stay in the closed position when I manually push the latch.
I could just change the latch but sadly the lower screw is badly corroded and will need "help" to come out.
What exactly does the adjustment on the opening rods do? Moving the locknuts and the long hex bolt doesn't seem to do anything but maybe I'm missing something. Also the lock cover, behind the handle, seems to have rivets not screws so that won't come off either.
I think the latch is fubared so will need to be changed but I'll be very happy if someone knows different.

Have you tried moving the striker plate??

Yes, fiddled with that, pulled it forward as far as possible. The hatch seems to push home but the catch won't take - there seems to be no closed position

Locking mechanism seized? Rod corroded? Bummer to get in at, unless there's a few rusty holes to allow you to get at the rods. Possibly even get a pair of long nose pliers on it to run it back and forth to free it up more after a healthy squirt of WD .

Mines was similar to this, I also found the rubber seal at the bottom of the top tail gait was fouling slightly on the bottom gate. Good luck!!

I've had that problem a few times. IIRC you'll need a BIG can of WD40. Drill out the rivets so you can get to the lock rods and adjusters, you can put the cover back with self tappers or use pop rivets. Soak all of the mechanism in WD (or similar) then I'm afraid it is a case of trial and error to get the adjustment right but you need to make sure all of the locking mechanism moves freely.

If the screws holding the latches are iffy just be careful - I can't remember what size they are but they are countersunk set screws - Try an impact driver or perhaps a little heat to loosen them.

Lastly, check that the strikers are secure, whilst they aren't supposed to move it is always worth checking, you might also be able to get a small (very small) amount of adjustment out of them by backing off the fixing and then doing it up again while moving the striker in the desired direction.

One last thing to check is the alignment of the lower tailgate, if this is not right the top tailgate may struggle to latch correctly - have you tried closing the top tailgate with the lower tailgate open? Also check the security of the rubber seal across the bottom of the top tail gate, if it is not secure it may be causing an alignment problem. HTH

adjusting the nuts a nd the hex rods doesnt nee much at all to go from working to not working, well thats what I found on my old 4 door.

fett said:

adjusting the nuts a nd the hex rods doesnt nee much at all to go from working to not working, well thats what I found on my old 4 door.

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You're not alone on that one I know!