Tailgate frozen in place. Any suggestions?

[poorfarm]

I recently bought a 91 GW for my son. It will be his first vehicle. It had been sitting for 6 months or so, before we bought it. The rear window moves up and down ok, but we can't get the tailgate open. I have removed the inspection cover and can see the linkage connected to the release handle moving properly, but the cams at each end won't rotate. We have lubricated them several times over the past couple of weeks, but that hasn't helped. I have tried kicking on each side as he holds the release lever up, but it still doesn't budge. Any tips/tricks on how to solve this problem will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[andy d]

the pivots on the ends of the latch arms are bound up. try this. at the top corners of the tail gate are 2 phillips head screws about 2" apart. loosen them up and slide them inboard. re- tighten them and then try to open the latch. one side should open. if it does , then move the remaining latch outboard, tighten and try again. when (if) you get the gate open, the next step is to remove the window and the dew wipe. then undoing the latch arms and removing them. so you can lube the joints in the latch arms. its a PITA job , one that i have had to do to every wag ive had. all the accesories on a wag have to used regularly or they will bind up. this is especiall y true of the windows and the 4 wd .

[JeepBountyHunter]

Big PITA, and now would be the time to consider a Manual window conversion from www.bjsoffroad.com (http://www.bjsoffroad.com)

Originally posted by andy d:
the pivots on the ends of the latch arms are bound up. try this. at the top corners of the tail gate are 2 phillips head screws about 2" apart. loosen them up and slide them inboard. re- tighten them and then try to open the latch. one side should open. if it does , then move the remaining latch outboard, tighten and try again. when (if) you get the gate open, the next step is to remove the window and the dew wipe. then undoing the latch arms and removing them. so you can lube the joints in the latch arms. its a PITA job , one that i have had to do to every wag ive had. all the accesories on a wag have to used regularly or they will bind up. this is especiall y true of the windows and the 4 wd .

[poorfarm]

Thanks for the info folks, I will try that this weekend.