1st Gen (best gen) tailgate clip repair, overhaul, beef-up, lube you lazy sods!

For some reason I'm always looking for the perfect lube, as if there is a thing, and wanted to look this up. I can't really find what you're mentioning. I'm seeing a WD40

$7 WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant with SMART STRAW SPRAYS 2 WAYS, 11 OZ

silicone spray lube (doesn't look like a gel) and a

$12 WD-40 Specialist Gel Lube with SMART STRAW SPRAYS 2 WAYS, 10 OZ

gel lube (no indication it's silicone). Which one were you referring to, or was it something entirely different?

 

I must of looked at superior and thought silicone. My apologies. But I use that wd40 gel often and it has treated me well

 

The silicone spray is great, I specifically use it on the following:

• Treadmill and elliptical units we used to have at the house, where the treadmill meets the base, and on the elliptical where the bushing meets the rails
• Stainless steel, it not only removes gunk, but it leaves the metal shiny, slick to the touch, and grease won't build up on it
• Interior detailing, it's great on automotive vinyl and plastics, although I almost exclusively use 303 Aerospace now for anything that goes in the sun
• Exterior paint, straight WD40 is good for this too, makes swirl marks and scratches disappear, can make a shit paint job look glossy in seconds
• Seat belt plastics, if you wipe the plastic slot the belt slides thru with silicone spray, the belt glides right through it

I've never used the gel. But worth noting, WD40 also makes a white lithium grease spray, with the fold-up hose, and that's what I used in my tailgate latches and stuff.

 

maybe they changed how lithium grease is now. But years ago I stopped using it because it eventually turns sticky over time. It turned into a massive issue at my dad’s power window repair shop cause regulators started busting after a year or 2. Turns out the white lithium would do the exact opposite of its job after it dries out.

I’ve stuck with silicone based products since.(or the wd40 gel)

 

All grease does the opposite when it dries out. You'll find this in any ball bearing setup, whether it's a trailer wheel, or a bike bottom bracker or headset. Old grease hardens like rosin, and becomes a nightmare, will cause pitting, support brinneling, all kinds of nasty stuff. Penetrating oil will easily dissolve it, and you can reapply. This is where PTFE would be the winner, but that's only if the metal is free of some other lubricant already.

 

Thanks for the write up. Although I replaced my latches I was still having a little difficulty opening. I've ordered some lube, and I also didn't realize mine was missing the stabilizer clips

I always assumed mine was difficult to open because a city garbage truck backed into my tailgate years ago. It seems to have pulled the two sides where each of the hinges attached about half an inch closer.


I may can use some sort of expander to push the sides back out 1/2" but I'm betting the biggest problem was lack of lube. And I'm sure the stabilizer clips will help a bit as well

 

wow i had a brainfart and ordered ONE of each. Just got home and was about to start. Few more days...

 

I have yet to open mine up, but I will be ordering parts soon. Is there a part number for the mid-bar stabilizer?

 

Right hand side of the 2nd picture in the 1st comment of this post.

 

Well shit. Look at me not looking. "Search is hard ". Thanks my guy!

 

@shifty

another big thank you. I got the mid bar stabilizers today when I still had my covers off. That rattling have been annoying the piss out of me. Already had been trying to come up with another solution since I didn't even know the stabilizer clips existed. I suspect the body shop did not replace them when they replaced the tailgate many years ago after someone backed into me

 

Tailgate looks good! You probably won't need it right away, but next time you're in there, lube up the bar and plastic at that spot so it's sliding in and out easily if not already done.

 

Already did after reading this thread and also did all of the moving hardware - handle and latches.


HUGE difference. Feels like new

 

And thanks about the tailgate. The guy took forever, but he did fantastic work and did a lot more then I had originally requested for no additional charges

I didn't paint the whole truck, but I got the hood and the roof where they were extremely oxidized and of course the new tailgate. I can't get over what a difference Feel like I'm driving a new truck when you look out over that hood

 

Parts arrived today

 

Did mine last night. Feels great now! Getting those old clips out was a pain. Ended up just destroying them with pliers until they came out. Thanks @shifty`

 

That was easy. Damn thing finally opens with one hand and one pull! I found it best to remove the latches to access the clips instead of reaching from inside. I’d like to thank LineX of Charlotte for spaying EVERYTHING



@shifty` Thank you for this thread!

 

The door handle assembly on my new 05 had a pre-existing crack in it that suddenly got worse today. I've ordered a new assembly from RockAuto (Dorman) and the parts for the interior while I was a t it. I got some popups that the pink ones don't fit anything newer than 2007, but the parts number matched. We'll see! Thanks for the guide.

 

The orange and purple parts are for 2007+ but definitely fit our trucks, and they’re way more stout than the wimpy ones ours had from the factory.

 

Everything fit my 05. The only problems were figuring out where to click the new handle assembly into place, and then getting the new end clips into place at the edges of the tailgate. They don't go in if you have the relay wire in them! Pliers helped with aligning them... just an awkward area to reach.

Thank you!

 

I'm glad this resurfaced. I may do this winter. Not sure if first gen Tacomas had the same construction, but I got by just lubing the exterior catch mechanism on its tailgate. It would get harder and harder to open and close so gradually I wouldn't really notice until it got really bad. Then I'd remember to lube it. Spray white lithium grease on each side without any disassembly, and be amazed how easily it opens and closes and kick myself for not remembering to do it sooner!

But this seems like a more durable solution.

 

I did the outer set a couple of days ago and wonder if I should replace the inner set. My master tailgater handle has fresh ones but I think they are the wimpy ones.

 

If they came with a new handle, they're at least new plastic instead of old plastic. I'd be inclined to leave them.

By the way, the tailgate "cap" does not have to come off. I couldn't get mine off as one of the plastic screw/fasteners wouldn't come out. It just kept spinning.

 

If you wedge up/lift on the fastener while backing it out, it'll come up. I find a lot of times if you just pop the center up, you don't even need to spin it, but YMMV.

 

Great write up to all that calaborated on this thread. My handle gave out on me earlier in the week and used this thread as a guideline on repairing mine. Was lucky, the local Toyota dealership had all the parts mentioned in the thread on the shelf. I’ll probably get flamed for this but couldn’t stomach the $195 for the OEM handle so I opted for the $94 Dorman down at Oreillys, I may regret it later on but it is what it is for now. I did pull the latches on both sides and cleaned them with parts cleaner, blowed them out, and lubed everything with lithium grease. It operates smooth as silk now, couldn’t believed the difference it made. Took me all of an hour to get it done, will definitely be adding this to my once a year maintenance list in regards to checking and lubing.

Thanks everyone.

 

I have Dorman tailgate handle that has been on there for 6 years. You can see it in my #48 post here. I’m not going to flame you at all. Good work.

 

Just completed my tailgate tune-up today on my 05 DC. Thanks Shifty for this great thread. I was able to get all the clips from the local stealership for less than $20 including tax. Only had to wait one day for the parts to come in. Like a few others have mentioned, removing the side latches made this very easy on my arthritic fingers for removing the clips.

 

RockAuto has several handles ranging from 8-72 bucks. Wonder if anyone has compared them.

 

This should be a “sticky”. I had a cheap Amazon Latch Assembly installed along with other repairs. Had I know what the root cause was and that there was a better fix…. I would have gone this route. I hate measuring once and cutting twice…lol