This is probably a stupid question to some of you--I hope not.

I manage a singing group that travels 50,000 to 60,000 miles per year. Last week, our Ford E150 Conversion Van blew an engine after only 50,000 miles on a rebuild. We decided not to repair it and sold it to a salvage yard 500 miles from home, renting a van to get our equipment and people home.

So, we have borrowed a 93 Bronco to use for the next few weeks until we replace the group vehicle. Our people and equipment can fit into it fine.

One thing worries me. If the motor for the rear tailgate window were to fail (or the wiring system), is there any way to open the tailgate and get our equipment out quickly to do a concert? (The window powers down in order to have accesss to the lever that opens the tailgate).

If we were to manage to get the back seat down, it is doubtful we could get the equipment through the back seat area and through the front door (it is a 2 door).

In that case, we couldn't get to the inside (or the back) of the tailgate when it is closed to try to remove a panel and get the window down somehow so the door could be opened. We would be landlocked.

If a motor fails, what is the procedure for getting the tailgate opened? And, can that only be done from the inside of the vehicle?

Someone out there must have dealt with this before and may know.

To make it foolproof, I am tempted to replace the motor with a brand new one and double-wire it so I can reach it independently with 12 volts externally if the wiring system should fail shortly before a concert.

We need to be able to get that door open. But, I hate to replace the motor on a vehicle we will probably borrow for only 30 days or less. There is a chance the other party may sell the vehicle to us and, in that case, we might buy it and use it short-term, waiting a little longer to replace our van with something newer than we can afford right now.

In that case, if we owned it with an eye on it as a back-up vehicle, I would certainly invest in a new motor.

Do the tailgate window motors fail often at 180,000 miles? What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

 

Okay, there should be a lock cylinder on the outside of the gate. If you turn it one way it opens the gate, turn it the other way the glass should slide down.

 

Either way, the same motor raises & lowers the window. Having just gone through cleaning & rebuilding the rear door/window assembly on my wife's 96 Bronco I can attest to what an intricate & temperamantal thing (the Bronco tailgate-not my wife) it can be.

You are right: In the event of motor failure there is no way short of crawling back inside the vehicle, removing the inner access panel, and disassembling the window drive mechanism which will allow the window to be lowered which would in turn allow the tailgate to be lowered. However, if the rear of the vehicle is full of your (large items) gear you would not be able to accomplish this feat.

I suppose you could cut an access into the outer skin of the tailgate and replace the motor with (or add) a crank of some type.

The Big Bronco tailgate is one of those engineering marvels that is great on the drawing board; but in the real world of dust, rain, and rust can become a real nightmare. It is perhaps one of the main reasons current production vehicles utilize hatchbacks and liftgates.

dn.

 

Yea but, what if the, or if the, and wha if the, you see what I'm saying ? You could put in a new window motor, and blow the radiator, leaving you 100 miles from your gig. Where it wouldn't matter if you could get the window down anyway. Window motors fail after X-amount of repetitions, unfortunately you can't know how often yours has been used. If it's normal in it's operation now, keep an eye on it. They don't just stop, if it starts acting funky, look into repairs. Peace, Ken

 

"They don't just stop" is the kind of info I was looking for. If I will probably get a warning first, I will wait until then and then act on it.

That seems to be good advice, Ken. I'll take it.

Thanks.

 

It'll get noisy and nasty and sqeuaky, you'll know, Ken