Rear window stuck shut, rear door not closed completely

[Popoagie]

I have a 1995 Ford Bronco XL. One day I went out and saw that the rear door was not completely shut, but the rear window was up. I don't know if my teenager didn't shut the door completely before closing the window, but usually the window wouldn't go up if the door wasn't completely shut. There was someone in the neighborhood breaking into cars and stealing things, but there is no evidence of that happening--no paint scratched or indication anything was pried with a tool.

I haven't been able to get the door completely shut, but it's almost shut. And, the switch for the rear window does nothing when I try to open the window. I've been told this could cost a lot of money to get fixed, and I'd like to try to fix it myself instead. My honor student teen and I are pretty handy as he makes robots from scratch (no kits) and I've fixed a lot of things at our home, but we're not mechanics and I'd love to get some feedback before we get started. I need to get this fixed as we've tried to get things into the front and have scratched up the back of the front seats and had to pass up on things we were given or wanted to buy.

How could this have happened?

What are the likely fixes?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Krafty]

Hey there could be a couple of things going on here.

First off does the key switch for the window in the tailgate not work as well as the switch on the dash?

Second check the fuses on the fuse panel.

Third it could be the safety switch in the tailgate that keeps the window from moving when the tailgate is open,( more likely the case)

So what you have to do it open up the panel on the inside of the tailgate, there should be two sets of wires here one for the window and one for the switch. if you can see well enough with a flash light then try to get the switch out ( it should be behind the handle of the tailgate on the inside of the tailgate shell) if you can activate it then the window should work, if not then you will have to cut the wires and wire them together to override the switch to make the window go down. leave enough wire at the switch to re connect it later if you want it .I left mine out.

now with the window down you should be able to figure out why the tailgate won't close all the way which is what made the safety switch go off so the window wouldn't move. now I have an 81 and the tailgate latch mechanism in mine got rusted up so I had to take it out and clean it up. once again its on the inside panel of the tailgate, all you have to do it unbolt it and take the connector off to the handle, then the two connectors to either side of the tailgate to the latches and it should come right out.

Hopefully I helped

 

[Seabronc]

The safety switch was moved from the tailgate handle to the left latch by 1983. If you can't get the window to go down by pushing the left side of the tail gate firmly against the truck while turning the key, then you will have to remove the access panel. The connector on the latch is a little difficult to get off, but doable. Once you have it off, put a jumper between the two contacts. Then try operating the window. If it works then you can determine why the latch itself doesn't work.

Open the tailgate, and close the jaws of the latch, then try operating it by pulling on the door handle in the center of the tailgate. If they open and close freely then check the position of the striker and see if it shows evidence of having shifted. If it has been shifted, you will see where it was originally from the marks on the mounting surface, using a T50 or T55 Torx wrench loosen it and reposition it to where it was originally and tighten it.

If it doesn't operate freely then you have a little work ahead of you. First try loading the latch up with something like PB Blaster, (I say PB blaster because it works better than WD40 on rusted parts). After it has set a few minutes start working the latch parts, numerous times to help it work in. If this method works, count your blessings, because the next step is a bit of work. The best thing to do with a rusty sticking latch mechanism is to remove it and use a product like "Evapo Rust" to soak the parts which will completely remove the rust and then lubricate and replace them in the tailgate. This requires getting at the entire latch mechanism, (you can not get the latches and operating mechanism out without removing the glass). This will give you a long term solution to the latch problems.

That procedure is for another post if you need to go that far.

Good luck,

 

[miesk5]

Great advice, as usual!

 

[Popoagie]

Thanks for the detailed advice, guys! I've been driving around way too long with it this way. I doubt I have all the right tools to do this, so I'm going to print this out and take it with me to a potluck tomorrow held out in the country where they do have all the right tools and see what happens. Hey, I gotta do what I gotta do. I really appreciate your input. I'll let you know what happens.

 

[POTTER]

Thanks for the detailed advice, guys! I've been driving around way too long with it this way. I doubt I have all the right tools to do this, so I'm going to print this out and take it with me to a potluck tomorrow held out in the country where they do have all the right tools and see what happens. Hey, I gotta do what I gotta do. I really appreciate your input. I'll let you know what happens.

If you can get the window down and the gate open, the first I would do is check the striker bushings...I just had this problem and have to replace the bushings....put the window down like normal and then it would not go back up when I shut the gate. checked the bushings and one of them has a serious groove in it from years of wear....I spun it a bit and now it allows the striker in the tailgate to open correctly and trip the 'safety' in the panel. Window closes....

just trying to help...let us know what you find out.

 

[Seabronc]

If you can get the window down and the gate open, the first I would do is check the striker bushings...I just had this problem and have to replace the bushings....put the window down like normal and then it would not go back up when I shut the gate. checked the bushings and one of them has a serious groove in it from years of wear....I spun it a bit and now it allows the striker in the tailgate to open correctly and trip the 'safety' in the panel. Window closes....
just trying to help...let us know what you find out.

Good one, I forgot to mention the bushing.