Aluminum upper tailgate kit

[leadoff]

Has anyone installed the do-it-yourself aluminum upper tailgate kit? How did it go?

Tim
1990 RRC

[exiledrebel]

Tim
Your question may have answered itself by now, but I installed this kit about three years ago. My short answer is - if you can afford the completed kit, go that route. If that's not in the budget, the kit works well enough, but it takes some time to cut the glass out of the old frame and then to insert and seal it into the new frame. You will have to do it in sections, i.e., one frame piece at a time while ensuring each piece fits together without interference.

Take care with your defroster wires on the glass. They are easy to scratch through, opening the circuit and rendering the defroster inoperable. On mine, the liftgate didn't immediately fit the latch mechanism on the sides. It took some fiddling and fitting to get it all lined up. YMMV of course.
Greg

[leadoff]

Thanks Greg: I haven't done this yet, so your info is great. Did you have a problem getting the top hinge screws out? I'm worried I will order the kit and break the original glass stripping it from the old frame. Did it take more than two people to refit the upper tailgate onto the hinges? And how did it look & function when you were "done?"