dent in tailgate - easier to fix, or swap and paint?

I've got a dent in the lower left corner of my 96 RMW's tailgate. The tailgate shape being what it is, it's really multiple interrelated wrinkles covering an area of about 6"x6" above the RM chrome molding. It's not real deep, but deep enough to interfere with the rods such that fold-down mode is not working (I haven't taken offthe interior panel to investigage yet).

Regardless of how far I would go DIY in the sequence of straightening, filling and painting before turning it over to a bodyshop, I have this horror image of far too much filler etc. and badly matched paint (though it's LAB, not too tough I hope).


Alternatively, I have a potential spare gate:
I have this other 96 RMW with terrible rust problems especially in the rear, but the tailgate and hinge area is in really good condition except for one rusty surface scratch. Though I'd hate to paint over a good factory coat of MAB (blue that's so pearly it sparkles red and green close-up), I'm pondering putting this gate on the good RMW to replace the dented one, and paint it all to match.


Assuming that painting this whole panel (with no direct neighbors to mismatch...) is no big deal, is swapping the gate and getting it aligned etc. possibly worse than making the dented well-adjusted gate look pretty?

First and foremost a disclaimer: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BODYWORK..... and I have the test panels to prove it.

If you are going to paint it anyway, swap out the tailgates. Less work.



WELCOME to the forum! Don't forget to introduce yourself in the "introductions" section...

Only speaking about the alignment issue:

I had to replace the hinges on the tailgate to make it work right. The factory service manual has excellent instructions for getting the tailgate aligned. The instructions are a few pages long, so they aren't something that can be easily explained on the internet. But they're easy to do.

I seem to recall that removing the tailgate is a simple matter of forcing the safety interlocks with a screwdriver.

watch out for that spring though!!!! I almost got killed by that thing when it let loose. Seriously,
it shot 30 feet and put a dent in a steel building.

Sprocket wrote:

watch out for that spring though!!!! I almost got killed by that thing when it let loose. Seriously,
it shot 30 feet and put a dent in a steel building.

If you remove it with the gate open as a door, it has no tension on it, and is easy to remove. With the gate opened down, it is a scary thing, and it can hurt you. Experience tells me this.

4 lights,
You may not have to do an alignment with the replacement gate. If you do not move the hinge on the gate, it should still be alligned properly. Unbolt the hinges from inside the body, and move the entire unit to the other car. It is probably easier to change gates, than fixing the bent one. Once you are running again, you can take your time and experiment with the bent one.

Depending on how good the local Vo-tech school is, they may unbend it for almost nothing. I have had a good experience locally. It took a while, but they did an excellent job. The other side is that it really does not matter if they do a good job, because you can get another gate if you have to for the rustbucket. There is a red one in a junk yard here in FL, on a 94, so it would work. You would be advised to get one locally, because shipping is expensive.

It took the lower hinge off that car in the salvage yard since mine was popping when opened to the side, and I've yet to put in on my car.

I didn't know about the dangerous spring issue....guess that's lucky since I pulled the hinge off the junker with the gate down and not to the side. Glad it didn't pop off...

When I install this hinge I guess I'll try to do it with the door open to the side....if the gate can just hang off the upper hinge when I pull the lower one off....

Projects! I've been procastinating about doing this for a while....

81X11 wrote:

It took the lower hinge off that car in the salvage yard since mine was popping when opened to the side, and I've yet to put in on my car.

I didn't know about the dangerous spring issue....guess that's lucky since I pulled the hinge off the junker with the gate down and not to the side. Glad it didn't pop off...

When I install this hinge I guess I'll try to do it with the door open to the side....if the gate can just hang off the upper hinge when I pull the lower one off....

Projects! I've been procastinating about doing this for a while....

Since you unevently pulled it with the gate down, the best way to install the new one is with the gate down. The spring and the cable will hold the gate from falling while you swap hinges. Install the gate side of the "new" hinge first, aligning it as close to where the old one was as possible, and tighten the bolts. Install the nuts on the inside of the car and leave them a little loose, then carefully shut the gate. When it latches on the top, it should be aligned, and you can tighten the lower hinge nuts from inside the car (enter through the side door or have someone inside the car when closing the gate). The spring is trapped by a metal loop, and can not come off (I am sure someone can get it to come off, but it would require deliberate effort) while you are manipulating the gate.

Back to this problem finally...

Nick Danger wrote:

I seem to recall that removing the tailgate is a simple matter of forcing the safety interlocks with a screwdriver.

Fred Kiehl wrote:

Sprocket wrote:

watch out for that spring though!!!! I almost got killed by that thing when it let loose. Seriously,
it shot 30 feet and put a dent in a steel building.

If you remove it with the gate open as a door, it has no tension on it, and is easy to remove. With the gate opened down, it is a scary thing, and it can hurt you. Experience tells me this.

Since I guess I have to open it one way, close that way's latch with a screwdriver, and then open it the other way -
Do I open it as a door, fake-close it, then open it down?
Or do I open it down, fake-close it, then open it as a door?

thanks...

If you are going to replace the gate, the easiest way is to unbolt it from the door sill (body side) at the "door" hinges, and unlatch it as a door. You remove the hinges with the door, and install the hinges from the donor car with the donor door.

First, remove the spring, and the wiring. With the gate closed, unbolt (nuts) the "door" hinges. Open the gate as a door, and you can then just swap gates (doors). When installing the "new" gate, put the hinge studs in the jam, make the nuts finger tight, and carefully latch it to the "door" latch. It should align on the latch side, then it is just a matter of aligning the top with the driver side, and getting the same gap on both sides, before you tighten the nuts on the "door" hinge side. Finally put the wiring back in, and attach the spring with it open as a door. You may have to adjust the latching mechanism per the FSM, but it will probably work with little or no adjustment

Fred Kiehl wrote:

If you are going to replace the gate, the easiest way is to unbolt it from the "door" hinges, and unlatch it as a door.

First, remove the spring, and the wiring. With the gate closed, unbolt (nuts) the "door" hinges. Open the gate as a door, and you can then just swap gates (doors). When installing the "new" gate, put the hinge studs in the jam, make the nuts finger tight, and carefully latch it to the "door" latch. It should align on the latch side, then it is just a matter of aligning the top with the driver side, and getting the same gap on both sides, before you tighten the nuts on the "door" hinge side. Finally put the wiring back in, and attach the spring with it open as a door. You may have to adjust the latching mechanism per the FSM, but it will probably work with little or no adjustment

I thought it was easiest to do unlatched from both hinges, since it avoids the unbolting of the 'door' hinge. I take it the above is actually easier than that because it avoids juggling the latch statuses and (I just remembered) the difficult angle that unlatching both hinges would cause?

I have removed a gate, and I have deduced that the easiest way is the one mentioned above, especially if you are installing a different gate. I does save a lot of fiddling around with the latches, and the hinges are pretty much aligned for the new gate. The only thing you have to watch out for is that the lower hinge can rotate sort of like it is on a ball joint, because it can move two directions. I would suggest two people to install the gate, but a single person should be able to do it. Put a piece of thin carpet on the bumper cover to protect from scuffs and gouges, and to allow you to slide the gate around while installing it.

4 lights needs no intro,. just a pic of his mercedes? head lights,.

Nick