I need to rplace my rear brake light bulb on my 89 bronco, but since my rear window is broke in the up position i cannot open the back tail gate, the 2 screws on the outside of the tail lamp , are they the only 2 that make the taillamp come off or are there others once you open the tailgate? i tried unscrewing the 2 but it seems like its still being held by other screws so i didnt wanna pull to hard and break it.

 

yes there are 2 more you can only get to with the tailgate down.

From the inside of the truck you should be able to remove the access panel on the inside of the tailgate, reach in there CAREFULLY and manually push the window down.

 

ive had the access panel off before and tried to pull down on the window but didnt seem like it would budge, but i barely pulled on it, will it actually move by just pulling on it?

 

No, it won't. The motor that runs the rear glass has a worm gear drive the will not allow it to move without power to the motor. You will either have to solve the window problem or break the taillamp assembly. If the window has just quit moving make certain the gate is latched on the driver's side tightly. the safety interlock switch is linked to the driver's side latch and without it being fully latched the window won't move. Check the Red Link in my signature for more links to article and tips on how to repair tailgate/glass problems.

 

ok, help me with understanding the rear door & window on the bronco?, i mean this is a fairly new truck to me and have never owned one before and it was broke when i bought it and i mainly bought it for the plow purposes but have found myself wanting to drop the rear tail gate more and more and especially with needing to replace the bulb now, theres no way of opening the door from the outside right?, what is the key hole for on the outside? does the window have to be completely down to drop the tailgate or just like a 1/4 or 1/2 way?

 

You can get the window to come down from inside the truck with the inspection cover removed and a few other things taken apart but its a better idea to try and get the window motor working since to operate the glass like it should requires the motor be operational. The tumbler assembly (keyhole) in the gate is a keyswitch that controls the window. If the window won't move by using the dash-mounted switch try using this one. You may just have a circuit breaker with a problem. The window must be all the way down to open the gate. There is a safety catch at the bottom of the gate that the lower edge of the window activates when it reaches its full-down position. This allows the interior release handle to work the latches. The driver's side latch has a safety interlock switch that disables the window unless the latch is fully engaged. This prevents you from being able to raise or lower the window with the gate open and risk destroying the glass. If the latch does not fully engage the window will not move. You can try pushing on the driver's side of the gate while you work the keyswitch if you suspect the safety interlock in the latch is not engaging.

If all else fails, you can pull the inspection cover off the inside of the tailgate and remove a few screws, brackets etc. and lower the window VERY CAREFULLY by hand but it is a tedious process. If you want or need the details send me a PM and I'll eleborate further.

 

ok, thanks!