Help, I have had it with my tailgate!!!

[91GWag]

Had my Rig for about a year now, finally getting it closer to where I want it. Went today to try to open the tailgate( I have never been able to open it) PBlasterd it as best I could with the back panel off and the window up.

It seems to be frozen on the drivers side. The passengers side will release fine but the drivers side won't budge.

I tried pushing against it while trying to open it with no luck. I was tempted to push on it with my legs from the inside, but was afraid something would break <leg or gate>.

Where do I go from here? I noticed there is a bolt with a nut on the inside frame of the gate, about 3/4 the way up, It looks like about the right height for the striker. If I loosened this do you think it might help.

HELP!

Thanks :mad:

[coolram]

You might try removing the gate carpet and the access panel to see if both latch arms are moving when you lift up on the handle.The bolts your'e speaking of I think are for alignment.The only way you would see the striker itself is with the gate open.Your idea of bumping it from the inside is good,just have someone on the outside to keep it from bouncing in the event it opens.

[andy d]

remove the carpet panel. onthe upper corners should be 2 screw heads about 2" apart. loosen the left set and move them in the slots outboard. that should give you the max release. if that doesnt work,loosen them and move them inboard. that should do it.once the gate is open the best thing to do is to take out the glass and the dew wipe. then remove the latch arms and free up and lube the latch pivots. you want the handle to be free enough to return when you release it. its a PITA job, last time i did it it it killed a saturday.