I'm new to this truck (1994 f350) so I'm not sure how the meachnism works. The tailgate is stuck in the closed position. I removed the inside panel and see that the rods are moving when the handle is raised. I also took a pair of pliers and squeezed the mechanism together to ensure it was released as far as it would go. The tailgate still won't open. Any thoughts on how I can get this opened?....thanks

 

I'd hit all the moving parts that you can see with penetrating oil. Usually it seems that they end up sticking open and they wont latch, not closed like you have. If you see both rods moving, the the problem may be where the tailgate latches to the bed, which is gonna be hard to get to.

Can you confirm if both sides are sticking or just one side?

 

Not. Sure on this one. I'll open mine up tomorrow and look at it.

 

It seems like both sides are stuck. There's no real play on either side. I'll try to get some penetrating oil sprayed inside. A picture of the latch where it catches would help......thanks

 

You might want to try looking at the hinge at the bottom, maybe lifting up on the gate, pushing, pulling while trying to open it. On mine, the one bushing on the hinge was totally gone, making the tailgate really difficult to open. Had to jump up on the bumper and pull up on the handle pretty hard to get it to unlatch. I got a new bushing for it, and all is well.

 

Tried lifting while someone pulled on the handle, no luck.

 

A little bit of hot wrench will get it unstuck!

-Wes

 

Little bit of cutting in half and going to the junkyard is what I'd end up doin... But there are 3 trucks out there the same color as mine..