How-To: DYI Replacing your rear liftgate lock assembly 3rd gen

[4RunnerCali]

This is a short tutorial on how to replace your lock assembly. The lock assembly part number is 6935035020.
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Price was $118.61 + shipping. Got it in two days. Ordered from: Toyota Parts Direct - Your Online Store For Toyota Parts

What happened? My latch got jammed up because of a lame coworker. Long story short, he was the one who messed it up. It was stuck backwards and there was no way to get it unjammed.
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So I purchased the new one below:
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This is a pretty simple install. Pop off the back plastic door panel off of the liftgate. Lift upward to remove from the glass. Use a 10mm socket to take off of 8 or so sockets. Do not forget to take off the plastic cover for the rear handle and remove the 10mm bolt from there or you may damage your liftgate door panel.
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Once those are exposed, make sure to support the metal plate which has some wiring attached to it. I used a simple bungee cord for support. A friend will do too.

Now you will want to disconnect the wiring and the tension cable. Make sure to note the the cable has a small hook where you remove from (it pops in easily) but this is hook provides enough tension so your door will actually lock and unlock. If you forget it, you will end up closing your door and locking the door shut.
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Once wiring and cable are removed, it should look like this:
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Loosely tighten down the three 10mm bolts of the lock assembly.
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This is another hook where you also run the cable portion of the lock assembly through it.
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Once done, test it before you wrap it all up by closing the liftgate.
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Next up, make sure that all of your clips are in place and secure. Also make sure it fits snugly to the glass.
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If you have done everything, you should be home free.
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If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Nice DIY. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and post it. Hopefully Brian SD will see it and add it as a sticky tutorial.

 

[4RunnerCali]

Thanks and much appreciated. I plan on doing photos and perhaps some videos for all of my projects from here on out. This forum is a great knowledge base of information and I want to contribute to all of the 4Runner enthusiasts to help each other out.

 

[maclean216]

Mine just broke today. Thanks for the write up.

 

[AZ4Running]

I have a power lock motor for the rear hatch if anyone needs one.

 

[4RunnerCali]

Mine just broke today. Thanks for the write up.

No problem. It is a real simple process. Just make sure to not forget the tension clip. I forgot and then closed the door and it wouldn't open. So I had to take it apart again from the inside, which was not fun.

 

[Diesel_Dog]

Thanks for writing this up. Mine broke earlier this week. Parts are on order.

 

[So Many Roads]

I needed to replace mine & ended up with two. If anyone needs one let me know, willing to sell a used one in good condition for $25 + shipping. Shoot me a PM.

If your rear hatch light (interior light in back) doesn't work, or only works periodically, this is the part that you'll need to replace. That's why I replaced mine. Now the light functions properly.

 

[peeeeetey]

My lock pushed thu where the key can't reach it. any how to's for getting to the problem? is the cylinder mounted in plastic or metal? I have not explored this problem yet.

 

[phattyduck]

My lock pushed thu where the key can't reach it. any how to's for getting to the problem? is the cylinder mounted in plastic or metal? I have not explored this problem yet.

It is mounted to the plastic of the license plate surround. The mounting point is fairly weak and breaks with age (and when fighting dirty/stiff lock components internally).

There are two sizes of license plate surrounds (early style and late style). Either repair yours or get a replacement. It removes from the inside after pulling the interior trim off and removing a few 10mm nuts and squeezing a few clips.

-Charlie