spare tire latch

[Tasty Geezer]

I want to remove my factory spare tire latch to clean it up and put a fresh coat of paint on it. Does anyone know if I unbolt the latch will the nuts or backing plate just fall inside my tailgate. Or are the bolts welded inside the tailgate? Best way to do this?

Thanks!

 

[Tasty Geezer]

they have to be welded in right?

 

[thegreatjustino]

I don't have a ton of experience wit this, but the only time I ever tried this, the piece on the inside fell when I unbolted the latch. It stopped on the tailgate handle, so I just took that off and fished it out. Not sure if it was supposed to do that or if they were welded from the factory and the welds failed somehow.

 

[helo-mech]

Mine were not welded. They fell down into the tailgate. Let me go thru my pictures and see if I can remember how I got it to work. I do remember having to come up with some ingenuity.

 

[helo-mech]

If I remember right I took the spare tire latch off with the tailgate down. This kept the nuts/plate (can't remember which it was) in place. I also took the tab that stops the liftgate off. It seems that I ended up drilling and extra hole in under the liftgate tab to hold something with a magnet when I put it all back together.

Sorry if this does not help. It is confusing to me when I read it and I kinda know what I mean.

 

[dgold_881]

I just did it on mine and its not factory welded. I lightly tacked a piece of wire to the backing plate so I could hold it up long enough to start the bolts. I worked the wire back and forth a couple of times and it snapped right off. Worked great for me!

 

[Tasty Geezer]

Ok...makes sense not to just unbolt it then...I guess I will clean it up attached and mask around it to paint it...Thanks for the info!

 

[Tasty Geezer]

dgold_881....a welder is on my wishlist!!!

 

[Steve83]

I just pulled the handle out enough to reach in & place the nuts on the bolts when I replaced Frank's recently.

.

 

[airbur]

Who is Frank?

 

[Steve83]

A guy I went to HS with, and whose eB I built.

 

[Vragor]

I took one bolt out, then found a longer bolt to put back in its place. While keeping pressure on the longer bolt I removed the 2nd bolt. I swung the plate out of the way and put the 2nd bolt back in and tightened it. Then took the long bolt out and put the original short bolt it.

Worked on the latch, then reversed the process to put it back, all without having to get inside the tailgate.

 

[ksbronco75]

Im about to do this project as soon as i get mine back from paint. The only problem is i have to start it off by taking the backing plate and latch off my dads old bronco. Not really looking forward to the task but Ernie at Tomsbroncoparts gave me the number of a guy to help you get through the process. Here this is to help ya out: Please give Lonnie a call at 1800-749-5028. best of luck an let me know how it works. ill start after Turkey day

 

[ksbronco75]

I just did this task yesterday. Its actually not very hard. Lay the tailgate down. Get Your 4 screws out and the two bolts on the inside of the tailgate to get the latch out. Then you'll have two rodes for the tailgate latches still attached. There are two little pins youll have to pull with some needle nose pliers. and your tailgate latch will come right out. To remove the spare tire latch unscrew the two bolts with tailgate still down. Once youve removed the screws just jockey the backing plate over to the hole with the screw driver and voila its out. Somes they can get stuck on the back and a little bump with a rubber mallet can bust em loose or if you have to big of hands you can use a magnet with a thin cloth or paper towel to move the plate into the hole. it literally took me 10 minutes to do so dont let that stop you from taking if off to paint it. Good luck