Rust! liftgate rusted from inside out.
- Thread starter ScottD
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ScottD
Member
So ground the paint off and back daown to bare metal. You can see where this area had been patched with body filler and repainted. I knew it had been repainted but not sure why when I bought it.
This gives an idea of the area size and location - started poking at it and it was all the way through.
Ground down fist pass
This gives an idea of the area size and location - started poking at it and it was all the way through.
Ground down fist pass
ScottD
Member
Sprayed it with some primer so I could detect any more spots and there were a lot as you can see.
So ground some more and ended up taking the inside panel off. That is when I discovered the about 15" square piece of eith insulation or sound deading material stuck inside the body panel. What had happened is that a strip of the 1/8" thick rubbery material had seperated from the metal and was trapping moisture behind it. It is cover with a die cut sheet of thin plastic sheet.
So ground some more and ended up taking the inside panel off. That is when I discovered the about 15" square piece of eith insulation or sound deading material stuck inside the body panel. What had happened is that a strip of the 1/8" thick rubbery material had seperated from the metal and was trapping moisture behind it. It is cover with a die cut sheet of thin plastic sheet.
If it rains hard by me and I lift my tailgate up the strap on the inside is always wet... there are holes at the bottom of the gate to get rid of the water. Just like the doors. I don’t know how to stop the handle strap from getting wet though. Hope it doesn’t rust.
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ScottD
Member
So I ened up grinding more and removing a lot of rust and left many big holes.
Ended up laying fiberglass resin and cloth on the inside first and then again on the outside. I little filler to smooth things out and then paint. I just used the duplicolor stuff from the auto parts store and then clear coat, but came out fine.
Still not sure the purpose of the material that caused the problem but it sure did cause a lot of damage.
Ended up laying fiberglass resin and cloth on the inside first and then again on the outside. I little filler to smooth things out and then paint. I just used the duplicolor stuff from the auto parts store and then clear coat, but came out fine.
Still not sure the purpose of the material that caused the problem but it sure did cause a lot of damage.
yotaguy674
New member
Mine's starting to bubble in a few spots. I've been quoted about $400 for repair. Unless I find a donor lift-gate, this seems to be the best option as I cannot stand doing body work anymore!
DEF4Runner
New member
jsmith21
New member
Mines got this issue too...so are you guys just completely removing the piece of rubber that’s causing the moisture to get trapped? I had mine ground down and fixed a few years ago like above but it has come back. I didn’t think to open up the inside of the tailgate and look for causes though. Frustrating
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