Quick question: how hard is it to remove the license plate bezel? I need to do that soon, as there is some sun damage on top. I need to remove it, sand it, and prime and paint to restore it to original. It’s been bugging me, and it’s cheap to fix, just time consuming.
I did not find it that hard. There are a couple of write ups and a lot of *****ing about how hard it is to remove. I was prepared for the worst but it was not bad at all. Took way less time than I thought.
I found it easier to work with the liftgate open. Before you start, drop the window 1" or so. This will help later in realigning. You will need 10mm ratchet w extension, long needle nose pliers and maybe a flat head screwdiver to help w gentle prying.
Remove rear license plate.
Remove interior grab handle. Pop cover off, then 10mm bolt
Remove plastic interior hatch cover. Start from the bottom. The top lip will push up toward the roof
Unclip the 3 connectors - easy enough but some people just let it dangle or tape it up.
Remove just the driver side interior metal panel. Lots of 10mm bolts
Remove the window motor assembly. 4, 10mm bolts. With liftgate open I found it easy to slide the assembly side to side to make room for accessing the next few steps. Someone else mentioned to only move the window assembly around from the sides so as not to get fingers caught in the gears.
Remove 2 bolts, 10mmfor the rear hatch handle, undo the linkage.
Remove 1 bolt, 10mm for the rear lock
Pop the clips - I found needle nose pliers easiest - squeeze and push. Others used small socket heads to push through.
That should be about it. Assemble in reverse. I'm probably forgetting something as this is from memory and I'm not looking at the truck.
It's not bad at all IMO.
