Hey everybody - my tailgate is rusting up pretty bad along the top of the rear window (there's a million threads on that). My solution is to snag a new whole assembly. I'm looking for a PDF / write up on removing the whole Liftgate / Tailgate assembly, if anyone can provide that?

I've tried searching, but didn't find what I was looking for. Just wanting to know what tools I'll need, procedures(what bolts / wire connectors are where), and anything to watch out for / be careful with. I've got an 07 Limited and I'm pulling the new liftgate from an 06 Sport Edition.

I don't care much about the lock core, but want to make sure everything else transitions over as it should. P.S anyone already know if the new lift gate will fit inside of the cargo area? I need to go take my measurements.

TIA.

Not sure theres a write up, but its a pretty simple procedure. I did one on my 03 and now im looking for one to swap out my 08 rear.

as I recall off the top of my head:

Youll need a buddy first

Under the roof cover near the light in the trunk/ tailgate area is the tailgate wiring harness, Youll want to unplug this and fish the wiring out through the grommet etc.

I believe there are two sets of hinges held in with 12 mm bolts at the top. youll just unscrew the 4 bolts on the liftgate

From there youll use an open ended wrench or you may even need vice grips to loose the bolt from the end of the liftgate struts (the end that connects to the liftgate.

Once those are out, you should be free.

Swap in the new liftgate and do the reverse

If youre swapping a glass actuator or the tailgate interior cover, i can give you further instructions

Its pretty straight forward, youll just need a hand

PS:

A tailgate will fit inside tilted. Swapping out the key assembly isnt bad

@Syr4RinNC Thanks for description! The wire harness location and bolt size/count is what I was looking for. I figured it'd be a logical process, but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing small details.

Did you have to drop part of the headliner to get the harness undone?

It fitting in 4Runner is some of the best news, place I'm getting it is 2 hours away and I was running through my options on how to transport it if it didn't fit. I've replaced the lock actuator before (how I realized the rust was so bad on the inside too) so I should be good there on the panel, and I'll probably swap my newer actuator into the new-to-me liftgate

Anyone have any ideas what to do with my old hatch? Wondering if the Junkyard would take it for something for some cash.

You dont need to drop the entire headliner. Just untuck it from the molding in the middle and you'll find the wire or follow the wire from the rubber tubing as it leaves the liftgate.

I just listed my tailgate in bad shape on craigslist and sold it for $100. You could try a junk yard or scrap yard

Might want to bring some towels or old blankets to wrap the corners of the new liftgate so it doesnt scratch too much of the inside )some of the plastic molding on the sides, headliner, etc etc as you shift and move it to fit

I just did this a couple weeks ago. I followed the instructions in the repair manual (link to that is stickied on the forum). I did it by myself, and had horrible back pain for several days after, so definitely have a friend help with the removal and reinstallation!

My removal was more difficult than most because the old tailgate was horribly damaged and the rear window wouldn’t roll down far enough to access the bolts. But other than that, it was a pretty easy process!

I also had to order a new wiper arm, because the old one was completely corroded and wouldn’t come off without destroying the plastic. So might want to have one of those handy before you start.

Good luck!

So I am running into a hiccup I dont recall from last time I did one of these about 3 years ago. So coming out the tailgate/ liftgate is a group of wires that if you follow up under the headliner goes into a wiring harness.

The problem I am having this time is that off of that harness is the main branch that goes into the tailgate/lifgate, but there is a smaller branch into a white/ what appears to be some sort of CPU (ill attach a picture in a bit)

a. - what is this white box behind the dome light/ interior trunk light?

b- how is everyone wiring their new tailgate in? Are people pulling out everything and rethreading the wires where they go? are people just severing wires and then splicing them back together? or is there a clean way to remove and re-attach the tailgate/ liftgate cleanly?

My plan currently I guess is to sever this branch that goes to the white box (or try to remove them from the harness and then reseat them, which I have found to be troubleseome in the past) and then just replace the harness.

I appreciate any thoughts or suggestions

I guess I can just remove the harness from the white box, which im still not sure what it is and so ill have the main wires coming out of the tailgate and that'll split into two wiring harnesses.

Here are pics in case anyone was interested

Attached Images

   

I'm trying to do a hatch swap as well and also noticed this. My fear was that this box is somehow related to RSCA or SRS systems.

I'm trying to put an 04-ish hatch on an 08, and I'm now committed to swapping the harness between the two. unfortunately that also means removing both spoilers to disconnect from the 3rd brake light.

Edit: forgot to mention, the one connector that the two harnesses share does appear to be pinned differently, so I really wasnt comfortable just trying it out to see if it works. it may not be an issue for a newer hatch going into an older t4r, but I dont want to risk upsetting the airbag system.... at least until I get a rav4 steering wheel.

Update in case it helps anyone, this is what I posted in a different thread about tailgate swaps:

I finished my swap!

For my process, step one was to pull the harness out of the one I'm installing. pulled it out pretty easily, but with a lot of wiggling, with a wire coathanger hooked around the last blue plug. The spoiler needs to be removed to get it out.

Remove the spoiler on the broken hatch, pull the harness out of the door (did not need to disconnect from under the headliner for this part) Disconnect sprayer nozzle (i used a pair of surgical clamps to keep the cleaner from running out).

Have a friend support the hatch while you disconnect the struts and undo the 4 nuts holding the hinges onto the rest of the car. Do the reverse for mounting the new hatch. use the coathanger to pull the harness through the new hatch and reassemble.

I transplanted the body match handle cover, newish button, newish license plate lights, and lock cylinder. I havent decided what spoiler I prefer so I'm holding on to both at the moment.

In trying to find a way to reassure myself that this would work as expected, I saw that the door controller is the same part number, so everything after the door controller seems the same year-to-year. the wiring that goes to the mystery box under the headliner seems to lead back into the body harness instead of to the door controller, for anyone interested.

I replaced my rear hatch this past weekend with one I found from a wrecker.

Pretty straightforward on reinstallation except that it is not perfectly lined up. The gap between gate and body on the upper driver side is about 4mm whereas the passenger side is about 2mm. Played around with loosening/tightenign/pushing/manipulating the struts, latch, hinge bolts to get the liftgate to move and no combination could budge it. Not a big deal but not perfect.

The thing that I am concerned about is when it is closing, it sounds like the motor is working a little harder to suck the gate into the body. Conversely, when opening it, it sounds like it is under tension when it releases. Again, not perfect but I am concerned that the motor might burn itself out working a little harder.

I don't know if the door is warped from the previous vehicle (mine hasn't been in an accident but should be straight and true?) or is there some other way to ensure it is going in at the right angle and aspect.

Anyone run into this before and offer up any tips?

TIA

Forgot to circle back, but I did end up picking up the liftgate a while ago. Just haven't taken the time to put it on. The bad is that it was listed as an OEM backup camera, but it was really an aftermarket.

So now I'll have to swap my wire harness(I think?), the OEM camera, and a the trim piece to retain my OEM camera. I'm just mad bc the PO drilled a hole behind the license plate to run the wiring, so now I gotta figure out how to fill it, any suggestions? I'm thinking a rubber plug and some grease?



Also, the liftgate fits in the 4Runner easily for any who wondered

What'd you pay for the tailgate? I'm seeing prices around $550-750 locally

I might get some body filler and primer over it.

But yea - youll have to swap your camera and all the wiring, unless you can find some sort of adapter for the wiring.

Let me know if you have any questions/ issues - i did the whole tailgate swap for the second time a few weekends ago.

I think 550-750 are fair prices

I paid $500 from a junk yard in NY and now $500 again from a private seller in NC.

Youll definitely see listings up to $1000, but try to get as close to $500 as you can

I paid $450, he was asking $550 originally but I got him down since the camera was aftermarket and not OEM

Thanks for the clarification