I posted a couple of weeks ago about missing parts in the tailgate locking assembly on my '05 LE CC. Thanks to everyone's input, I was able to locate the correct parts and get them installed, and now the lock is working.
I have however recently come accross yet another problem with my tailgate, again in the handle/lock assembly (bent hinge problems, locking mechanism problems, handle assembly problems, can I really have anymore problems with my tailgate?!). Please see the attached picture of the inside of the handle machanism (again, stolen from another thread). The arrow is pointing to the part of the machanism that I'm having the problem with. It's the part that bolts down on the plate that slides back and forth, locking or unlocking the tailgate. From what I can tell, this part (part with the nut on top) is just pressed fit into the plastic on the handle assembly. Mine isn't in there tight at all, and starts to pop out from time to time, causing the unlatching mechanism not to work, meaning the tailgate won't open. I'm not sure why this is happening, but I'm assuming the plastic that it's pressed into has worn slightly over the years, and it's just no longer a tight fit the way it's supposed to be. It's an easy temporary fix each time because it just needs to be pushed back in, however it's a major pain in the *** because I need to take the tailgate apart each time to do it.
Is anyone else having this problem? And if so, how do you fix it (preferrably without having to replace the whole handle assembly)? I've tried coating the piece that gets pressed in with silicone and then pressing it in and letting it dry, hoping that it would hold. It did hold for a few weeks, however the other day it popped out again. Anyone have any ideas?
JB Weld, on plastic (the part that's being pressed in is metal, but it's being pressed into plastic)? Does that work? Plus that would make it permanent. Would I need to ever get it out again for any reason?
IDK if that would melt the plastic or not. I'll have to check all the ways to use it when I go to work today. We sell it, so I'll check and see if it is safe for plastic...
Someone else on here might chime in with a better idea though, or so I'd hope.
I had a problem with mine close to what you are describing. I tried gluing, larger diameter bolt, but nothing was a long term fix except replacing the entire black plastic assembly.
If you lock and unlock your tailgate a lot, that will become a problem too as the lock cyl. will begin to just fall out and you cant lock/unlock it.
IMO, save yourself some frustration and just purchase a new plastic (black, well, er dark gray) assembly and be done with it.
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06 nismo, White, Stock mostly, retrax Pro bed cover custom pipe rack. I thought I had purchased JUST what I wanted...UNTIL I CAME TO CLUBFRONTIER.
Replacing the plastic handle assembly would fix the problem and it's something I'm considering, but it's $100 for that part (even more here in Canada), so I was just looking for a more cost concious solution. Plus, over time, the same thing will happen to the new part as it starts to wear out. Just a dumb design I guess. Thanks for the input though, at least I'm not the only one experiencing this problem.
And on the JB Weld site it says it will bond "iron, steel, copper, aluminum, brass, bronze, pewter, porcelain, ceramic, marble, glass, PVC & ABS, concrete, fiberglass, wood, fabric, paper -- just about any porous and non-porous material". No mention of plastic, but I guess plastic is probably included in the "just about any porous and non-porous material". I guess it's worth a try. The worst that can happen is that it doesn't work, or I ruin the black plastic handle assembly and I'll have to replace it, which was going to be my last resort anyways.
I don't think you'll have a problem putting it on the plastic piece. I've had friends use it on just about anything without any problems. Hopefully you get it figured out one way or another.
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