Access to tailgate panel

[Supergia]

I have an 05 4Rnr. I had a Lyft decal taped on the inside of the back window and rolled down the window. When I rolled it up the decal and the tape was gone. It is now inside the tailgate. The window works perfectly but I would like to get it out to avoid and problems with it getting in the mechanism. How would I do that? Thanks.

 

[lightfreak]

Pry off the square cover around the tailgate strap, there's a screw inside, remove it. Then pry at the edges of the panel along the bottom and sides (don't pry along the top). A plastic panel removal tool will come in handy, you can use a plastic spatula if you don't have one.
Panel is only held in with body clips which are re-useable. Once all the clips are released , slide the panel towards the hatch window and should come right off.

There's a vapor barrier inside the rear hatch which can be peeled back and re-sealed when you're done.

 

[ray k]

Pry off the square cover around the tailgate strap, there's a screw inside, remove it. Then pry at the edges of the panel along the bottom and sides (don't pry along the top). A plastic panel removal tool will come in handy, you can use a plastic spatula if you don't have one.
Panel is only held in with body clips which are re-useable. Once all the clips are released , slide the panel towards the hatch window and should come right off.

There's a vapor barrier inside the rear hatch which can be peeled back and re-sealed when you're done.

Also try not to get the tar-like adhesive holding the plastic sheet on anything! It's not the end of the world...just a pain to clean up.

 

[IanB]

I have what sounds like some small pebbles in the tailgate body, I can hear them rolling around when I raise the tailgate over my head, small thing but annoying me. I'm going to open it up and try and get them out of there!

 

[08TxRunner]

I have what sounds like some small pebbles in the tailgate body, I can hear them rolling around when I raise the tailgate over my head, small thing but annoying me. I'm going to open it up and try and get them out of there!

It's the soundproofing that's dried up and fallen to the bottom. Scrape the rest of it off the inside of the tailgate and shop vac it.

 

[IanB]

It's the soundproofing that's dried up and fallen to the bottom. Scrape the rest of it off the inside of the tailgate and shop vac it.

That would make more sense, as I was really scratching my head as to how pebbles would get in there!

 

[Ed_C]

It's the soundproofing that's dried up and fallen to the bottom. Scrape the rest of it off the inside of the tailgate and shop vac it.

That dried up soundproofing also acts as a sponge and holds moisture in between it and the sheetmetal, my tailgate had a rusty area right where the soundproofing was. Definitely good advice removing that crap while you have the tailgate apart.

 

[08TxRunner]

It actually sounds like broken glass when you open/close the tailgate. That's what got me investigating to begin with.

 

[lightfreak]

It actually sounds like broken glass when you open/close the tailgate. That's what got me investigating to begin with.

Did your back glass explode before or perhaps happened with a previous owner? Common problem in these trucks due to the defroster contacts corroding and overheating. Maybe they didn’t clean it out properly when it was replaced.

 

[08TxRunner]

Well no. I said it sounds like broken glass, not that I found broken glass.