1st Generation Tailgate Swap

[WPG93]

Hey guys,

So I bought an '88 not too long ago and have since fallen in love with the first gens quirks. Unfortunately though it's tailgate is rusted through and too fragile for me to comfortably open so I've just been using the window to load/unload. I'm wondering if second gen tailgates might be compatible? I'm not having much luck finding a first gen tailgate in good health. Any other advice on tailgate swapping is appreciated.

Cheers,
WPG93

 

[OzSurf]

Unfortunately, I don't think the 2nd gen tailgates are the same. The only other tailgate I've seen swapped onto a 1st gen 4runner, is a pickup tailgate, and I know that requires some cutting/welding to be done, and you obviously lose the window (fine if you've got a softopper).

 

[Dropzone]

Unfortunately, I don't think the 2nd gen tailgates are the same. The only other tailgate I've seen swapped onto a 1st gen 4runner, is a pickup tailgate, and I know that requires some cutting/welding to be done, and you obviously lose the window (fine if you've got a softopper).

you are correct, they are not interchangeable.


be prepared to pay a bit for a complete rust free tailgate. it is usually the guts(tracks, actuator etc) that rust out before the tailgate itself.

 

[WPG93]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! I have a hard top so I'm in a little jam there. Good to know they aren't cross-compatible. The internals of my tailgate work fine, window rolls down and up strong and all that, just the tailgate itself is dying. Sounds like it will be a difficult thing to find though, since first generation runners are very scarce up here. I picked this one up for 1000 and it has a strong engine and manual transmission in it so I'm pretty happy so far.

 

[OzSurf]

Might work out cheaper to get it repaired?

 

[lltweed4]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! I have a hard top so I'm in a little jam there. Good to know they aren't cross-compatible. The internals of my tailgate work fine, window rolls down and up strong and all that, just the tailgate itself is dying. Sounds like it will be a difficult thing to find though, since first generation runners are very scarce up here. I picked this one up for 1000 and it has a strong engine and manual transmission in it so I'm pretty happy so far.

I got a Softopper soft top for sale if interested