The tailgate will not open on my 2000 Dodge Caravan when I pull the outside handle.
There is no resistance at all when I pull on the handle so I'm guessing some sort of linkage is broken.

I had to climb into the back of the van, pull the vinyl siding off and pull on the latch mechanism to get it open.

How do I remove the handle mechanism to see if there is anything broken inside?

 

This is a picture of the hatch handle. It's hard to see from the front view but the rod that goes to the lock actuator (1) slides a piece back and forth on the handle itself. That gets all rusty and sticks so the actuator can't unlock the door. You can try lubing it but I have had no luck with it. But replacing the handle is also a huge pain in the butt. It is retained by the one nut shown, it is a fiber piece over a metal nut. It will be rusted on and won't come off. Good times

 

Thanks for the quick reply :-)
Does the fiber piece over the metal nut pull off?
Do you remove that somehow or do you use a deep socket that fits over the fiber piece and onto the nut?

What does rod #3 do?
I removed it from the handle mechanism (it was just pressed into a clip).
Even with this rod removed the plunger on the actuator seemed to be jammed and wouldn't fully extend when I pushed the key button to unlock. I can push the key button to lock and the actuator will retract the plunger - but when I push the unlock button I have to give it a helping hand by pulling on the actuator rod to get it to fully extend to the unlocked position.

I saw a replacement handle online for about $14 and was thinking of replacing the whole thing? I don't have the key for the tailgate lock so might as well replace that also.

 

3 is the rod that goes to the latch to open the door. The fiber piece is the nut, I think it's a 10mm. It is molded around the metal piece with the threads so when you try to remove it, it breaks free from the metal piece. Maybe you'll get lucky and it will come off. If you're going to replace the handle, make sure you get a replacement nut too.

 

Thanks Tizzy - I sprayed it good with WD-40 and letting it sit - maybe I'll get lucky :-)