My 87 Ramcharger has always had somewhat of a liftgate problem since day 1 that ive owned it. Weve always ignored it and it goes away. Well the last few months the problems have been adding up and its gone from bad to worse. My liftgate will not close the way it was ment to. I figured that the hinges are bent. The liftgate itself hangs just below the floor of the vehicle and it cannot be muscled vertically. I recently put some new air shocks (Im assuming thats what their called) on it and they kept the liftgate up for a while but Ive taken both of them off so its easier to muscle the liftgate onto the latches. Also the liftgate itself has developed a 1 1/2 in. crack in the fiberclass, about where the hinge attaches to it. Is there anyway to fix the fiberglass? Also, am I correct in assuming the reason my liftgate wont shut completely is because the hinges are bent? Since both shocks are out, the liftgate just sags and is about 1/8th inch from closing because it hits the floor. The only way I can get the thing to close is by angling the darn thing and getting it to latch onto one side or the other. And, does the wire that runs into the hatch have a quick disconnect plug anywhere? Or do I have to cut and solder the wire back together if I remove the hatch? Any ideas on this one guys?

 

dont know about hinges but the strikers on mine were worn and caused the gate to hang low put new strikers on and lined up

 

i got the same prob on my 84 ramcharger.it wasn't bad till about a month or so ago. i go to close it and the latches on the side hit about half inch lower than where its supposed to go. it takes me half hour or so to make sure its closed. where do you buy the strikers for it at? they go on the side of the lift gate right? i already put new shocks on it, and the top hinge on the pass. side of the door is cracked at the top where the two meet the hinge. i was gonna try and weld it to getit back to par. when its closed you can see a half inch gap from top of roof to the top of rear hatch on pass. side, the driver side is 1/4 " or so. you can see the gap badly.

 

buddie made them for me he is a fabricator and i replaced the posts on the left and right side of the body

 

I have a 1990 the gate was rusted at the hinges (previous owner). He opened it an forced it down, that cracked the fiberglass at the hinges. I replaced that and the shocks from a junkyard for a few bucks with no problem. Kind of awkward holding the thing up there though. I think th RC's would be perfect with a tail gate/flip-up/electric window and a removeable top.

 

i went to ramchargercentral last night and a guy said that you can do two things to correct the strikers. 1.) you can pay 65.00 bucks a piece each for the strikers at the dealer, or 2.) he said that he went down to the hardware store after measuring the metal ring on the striker and bought some 3/4 " pvc and cut two pieces to fit on there to match up what was originally there. i haven't tried it , kinda skeptical about both ideas really. but i'm trying to look for another white r/c thats within a year or two of mine to steal the back and strikers from. sucks though, i have a **** load of stickers on the back, mostly for when my father passed away this year. thats why i'm building it up in his memory. thought about calling it the gunny, but for now its blindside. my own little idea i had for the strikers, was the two that are on a pickup for the tailgate, if the same size would probably work for the striker bolt itself right? i haven't looked yet, just thought of it as i was writing this. will look at it in a few hours to check when i get home. i have one other ? for ya. the vent on the roof, where the hell can i buy one of those? the guy i bought mine from screwed it all up and then siliconed it shut. i asked him about it and he said he cut it open, now it leaks when its closed or open. doesn't hurt to ask huh.