[Stitch's 95]

I picked up an ok tailgate from a junk yard for my 95. Its banged up but working and complete.

It is just starting to spot at the bottom. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to stop or atleast slow the rust. I know its rusting from the inside. I need to pull the window to change the lock cylinder and clean up the wiring. I'd like to do something about the rust at the same time.

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[miesk5]

Stitch's 95,
Yo Stitch,
I bought the 96 Bronco's 1/4 panel patch panels from MILL SUPPLY, Cleveland, OH
Their 95 body parts On-line Store site is 1995 Ford Bronco Tailgates | Mill Supply, Inc.

They were primed and of 18 gauge steel - exact fit around wheel well arch and packaged very well for shipping.
I ordered it on 6 JUN 2011 @ 1225 hours and received on 8 JUN 2011 !!!
S & H cost for both from Cleveland, OH to NJ was $12.xx

I use rust buster after removing rust to prevent further deterioration.

Inspect glass weatherstrip for grime, lack of lubrication. Clean ws with water/Dawn mixture, then clean water.

Ford recommends, "Use Silicone Lubricant C0AZ-19553-AA (jelly) or D7AZ-19553-AA (spray) or equivalent meeting Ford specification ESR-M13P4-A on the door and window weatherstrips whenever necessary. Silicone lubricant helps avoid weatherstrip squeaks and retards excess weatherstrip wear from chafing between the glass and the weatherstrip. It also helps to retain glass alignment by reducing friction between the glass frame and the rubber weatherstrip.
miesk5 note, test the silicone on a regular styrofoam cup first; if the cup gets funky or melts, then the can or tube contans oil, a regular occurrence now, esp if from China.

More tg lube info:
Use Multi-Purpose Grease or equivalent meeting Ford specifications ESR-M1C159-A and ESB-M1C106-B to lubricate door and tailgate hinges. Apply an even coat to all hinge pivot points as outlined in the maintenance schedules or when a binding or squeaking condition occurs..." I bought a can of Motorcraft Multi-Purpose Grease @ Advance Auto

I use DuPont™ Non-Stick Dry Film Lubricant with Teflon™ on the flocked edges that hug the glass.

"Take off the TG access cover and spray Tri-Flow in the tracks on either side so the regulator toggles slide up and down easy" by our late friend here JKossarides.

"The best grease for the slides & tracks is PTFE". by Steve83 )BANNED[

Is window regulator rusted badly? If so, clean & lube it with multi purpose grease.

Are Glass rollers ok?

 

[robbz28]

If its already coming through the paint like that then it's probably too late to treat that area, you'll probably have to cut and replace at this point. It's likely the rust is underneath the area where the outer skin is folded over the inner shell as well. The patch panel above is an option, but if you're not experienced with replacing sheet metal or have the means to, it may be cheaper to just get a new tailgate and then treat it for the future.

You may can take what you got and then blast that area (preferably soda blast) but if you don't get ALL of the rust out, it will come back sooner than you think. If there is enough metal left after you blast you may could do a fiberglass patch on the inside then use a skim of filler on the outside. Or just cut it out and replace as mentioned above.

Wish i had better news for you.

 

[jermil01]

That's not terrible, at least the lip of the tailgate looks ok..I'd open up the access panel to see just how bad it is.. when you clean it up, if you find its all the way through the metal, you can either cut it out as @robbz28 advised, or I believe they still make panel that you can use to cover it after dealing with the rust..I would blast the rust out from the inside, treat with a rust inhibitor and then spray over it..this is a lot easier to do with the glass out and the tailgate removed from the Bronco..I was lucky when I did mine, my tailgate had been gutted years ago..To keep it from happening again, you'll want to make sure the rear window sweep is in good shape, clear out and clogged drain holes and also check the moisture barrier that goes in the tailgate is there..You could also spray a light coating of lubricant on the inside lower portion of the tailgate..

 

[weasel-like animal]

I've done hours of research on this, the best thing you can do (from what I've read) is apply a heavy lanolin-based rust preventer like Fluid-Flim or Woolwax, or go with a heavy duty preventer like cosmoline (RP-342 is a popular spray option on Amazon). There are many anecdotal accounts of these products halting all additional rust, and even slowly dissolving existing rust. I just watched a review on YouTube suggesting that the new Blaster Surface Shield product is excellent too. I should clarify that you have to do this from the inside, to a clean and dry panel cavity. Be sure to get it into the pinch welds and nooks and crannies.

 

[robbz28]

I've done hours of research on this, the best thing you can do (from what I've read) is apply a heavy lanolin-based rust preventer like Fluid-Flim or Woolwax, or go with a heavy duty preventer like cosmoline (RP-342 is a popular spray option on Amazon). There are many anecdotal accounts of these products halting all additional rust, and even slowly dissolving existing rust. I just watched a review on YouTube suggesting that the new Blaster Surface Shield product is excellent too. I should clarify that you have to do this from the inside, to a clean and dry panel cavity. Be sure to get it into the pinch welds and nooks and crannies.

There’s a lot of products that can seal or stop rust, but you first have to clean it up. Need to remove any loose scale that is present. I used some OSPHO on the rust under my cowl and it turned the rust into a hard black surface that I then was able to seal.

If you get it all cleaned up and cleaned out you could use some Bed liner inside the bottom of the tailgate. We started using it on our battery trays on our tractors on the farm and it nearly eliminated rotted out trays from leaky batteries.


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[Stitch's 95]

It looks decent inside, but does need a good cleaning. I knew when I found it that it that it needed a little tlc, but it is exponentially better than what came in the bronco.

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[Stitch's 95]

There’s a lot of products that can seal or stop rust, but you first have to clean it up. Need to remove any loose scale that is present. I used some OSPHO on the rust under my cowl and it turned the rust into a hard black surface that I then was able to seal.

If you get it all cleaned up and cleaned out you could use some Bed liner inside the bottom of the tailgate. We started using it on our battery trays on our tractors on the farm and it nearly eliminated rotted out trays from leaky batteries.


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I will admit, that is the solution I am looking for. I had looked at the skins before as a solution for my original tailgate. At the end of the day it was just too far gone. Some of the support structure inside my original tailgate and the torsion bar was also broken. I found this one for less than what I have seen the inner covers sell for.

If I have to reskin it, I will, but I want to finish the floor repairs and replace the quater panels first. My welding has gotten alot better, but so far everything i have done will be hidden. I also plan to replace the quaters with the entire pieces.

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[SRWillis]

While you're in there, look the torsion bar brackets over for rust and protect them as well. If they let go, the window will be shattered.

 

[Stitch's 95]

Thank you all for the replies and sorry for my scattered responses. I am just now setting down to read all if the replies in greater detail.

@miesk5 thank you for your reply. The guts of the tailgate are in decent shape. I do believe the rust is limited to the layered parts of the metal, but the regulator could use some paint. I will clean the parts as you recommend but I also plan to replace most of the rubber after I get the quarters done. I'm not sure it's the best way to do it but I'm trying get as far as I can before I make any big purchases.

Funny story, I ended up with my 88 because I was after the tailgate from it. It doesn't have any rust at all on it but untill I got the transmission and title fixed, I didnt want to start buying parts for this one. Now that those are fixed, those parts are off limits, and I will start buying things as funds allow. Ideally, I would get everything on one big LMC order to save the shipping. I have looked as mill supply. Best I can tell, they are the closest supplier to me, and would likely have the lowest shipping if I break the orders up.

@robbz28 thank you. I am afraid that you and miesk are right that I will need to reskin it. I really don't want to, but I will if that's what it's going to take. If it wasnt so banged up, I would be a little more eager to skin it.



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[Stitch's 95]

That's not terrible, at least the lip of the tailgate looks ok..I'd open up the access panel to see just how bad it is.. when you clean it up, if you find its all the way through the metal, you can either cut it out as @robbz28 advised, or I believe they still make panel that you can use to cover it after dealing with the rust..I would blast the rust out from the inside, treat with a rust inhibitor and then spray over it..this is a lot easier to do with the glass out and the tailgate removed from the Bronco..I was lucky when I did mine, my tailgate had been gutted years ago..To keep it from happening again, you'll want to make sure the rear window sweep is in good shape, clear out and clogged drain holes and also check the moisture barrier that goes in the tailgate is there..You could also spray a light coating of lubricant on the inside lower portion of the tailgate..

Most of the ones I see around here just put a piece of diamand plate over the holes. I definitely dont want to do that. The lip does look ok. This is atleast the second tailgate from the bronco I took it from. My guess is that it was immaculate when the PO bought it and they used it for a farm truck. When I cleaned it out, it was full of what seemed like sawdust, which may be what started it rusting. I'll scrub it out well and go from there. I agree that at a minimum I need to get some rust prevention down in that seam.

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[robbz28]

You should also probably replace your window sweeps, those get dry rotted and cracked and the water sneaks in instead of shedding off.

You could bite the bullet and save a lot of headache and get a new one from LMC for 300 bucks. Mine is sitting on sawhorses right now ready for reassembly.

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[Stitch's 95]

You should also probably replace your window sweeps, those get dry rotted and cracked and the water sneaks in instead of shedding off.

You could bite the bullet and save a lot of headache and get a new one from LMC for 300 bucks. Mine is sitting on sawhorses right now ready for reassembly.

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I do need to replace the window sweeps. What's on there is the best I have seen but does have a few cracks.

Yea I was looking at those from LMC. You may right. If I know that's what I will do, I could put it until everything else was fixed.

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[miesk5]

Yo Stitch,
MiIL Supply etc have the lower TG patch panel

 

[GetBent4x4]

woolwax soak the bottom inside portion and the rust will stay the same for a long time.

 

[Stitch's 95]

woolwax soak the bottom inside portion and the rust will stay the same for a long time.

I will try that. I know that I will eventually need a new tailgate, but I'm trying to buy myself some time. This restoration is going well but it is has really eclipsed what I expected.

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