When Is A Leaky Midgate Not A Leaky Midgate?

[ehahn]

When the midgate is only half closed.

It rained here pretty heavily on Saturday, so on Sunday I decided to see whether I had any problems with the drainage.

To my horror, found the driver's side floor carpet wet in the back, adjacent to the midgate, and some drops on the plastic part of the midgate just adjacent. Grumble grumble grumble.

So, I folded down the seats and started to look for places to adjust the striker on the midgate closure, and I found that the midgate wasn't closed all the way (it was half-latched, sort of like the hood after you release it from the inside.

If it's half latched, then the weatherstripping which diverts the water into the rail drains won't work properly, and water will drip along the inside of the midgate.

Moral of the story? Always close the midgate with a firm shove, from the middle. And make sure that you get both the crossbar-to-midgate and crossbar-to-body strikers completely closed.

ed

 

[shafman1]

I'm glad to hear that's all it was. Good deal!!!

 

[davidw55]

This sounds really close to the problem with the tailgate coming open during operation!

As Ed pointed out there is a moral to this, whether you're talking about the midgate or the tailgate, CLOSE THEM HARD!!! This ain't (sorry for the grammer) no wimpy vehicle, it's meant to be treated like a rock..I mean a truck...

 

[wrchism]

The midgate also rattles in a rather annoying fashion if not closed tightly.

When I got my truck - no rattles. After I played with the midgate - it rattled. The solution - be sure to close it tightly (avoiding leaks is also a good thing!)

 

[NJAV]

I just developed this problem rather not the midgate but the tailgate....I consistently slam it shut and after about a day and a half of rain I noticed beads of water everywhere on my bulkheads......

 

[wfbarto]

It would probably help to have the tailgate open when firmly closing the midgate so that the air displaced in the closing process has an easy escape route. I would bet that this will greatly help in getting the midgate closed securely every time. Just a thought!

I think this is one reason why we need to slam the tailgate so hard to get it closed properly while the bed covers are on and the midgate is closed.

 

[shafman1]

I have to disagree. ?I've opened and closed my mid-gate quite a few times with the tailgate shut. ?It doesn't leak. ?I also don't have to slam my tail gate any harder than I slam one of the doors. ?If you have to slam either one then they need to be adjusted. ?I remember some at the dealership where I had to slam super hard to get them to latch. ?There is a TSB on the tailgate. ?I haven't seen one on the midgate, but I would still get it fixed. ?I shut my mid-gate from the center. ?Don't talk yourselves into thinking that slamming the heck out of something is normal operation. ?It's not, and it won't leak when it's adjusted right either. ? ?I'm just trying to give helpful advice so please don't take offense to this. ?

 

[NJAV]

no offense taken....problem=problem fixed

 

[ygmn]

I never have had to slam either gate shut just a nice firm shut. If you watch when shutting the tailgate the covers will lift up a bit ecspecially the rear seal with the tailgate. Kinda neat.

 

[ehahn]

I have to disagree. ?I've opened and closed my mid-gate quite a few times with the tailgate shut. ?It doesn't leak. ?I also don't have to slam my tail gate any harder than I slam one of the doors. ?If you have to slam either one then they need to be adjusted...

Agreed - in my case, prior to this revelation, I had usually closed the midgate while standing outside the vehicle on the pax side, and just kind of gently pushed it into place - I thought that if it latched, it was shut.

I don't have to slam the midgate shut - just make sure I'm sitting on the rear seats, and pushing firmly from the middle. I now will also visually check to make sure that the two "flaps" which cover the striker on the midgate are flush against the crossbar.

It has made a difference - previously, when putting the whole gate down with the window out, I remember the crossbar sitting kind of wobbly on the midgate. Now, it is nice and firmly attached.

Finally - trivia! - there is a little black button just to the left of the window alignment arrow, in the channel where the window sits. If you have the window out, and just want to lower the midgate leaving the crossbar in place, press your finger on the button in the channel and rotate the latch - voila!

ed

 

[WS6Y2K]

I figured this out last week. I had a bunch of spools in the back and had to take out the window and lower the midgate. When I was done I closed the midgate and put the window back in. For some reason I wanted to open the midgate with the window on and it would not open. It felt like it was broken. I thought great first trip to the dealer. I took the window out and tried to open it and it opened with out a problem. That is when I saw the little black button .If your window does not seat fully the midgate will not open. Plus your window will leak from the lower bottom.

Finally - trivia! ?- there is a little black button just to the left of the window alignment arrow, in the channel where the window sits. ?If you have the window out, and just want to lower the midgate leaving the crossbar in place, press your finger on the button in the channel and rotate the latch - voila!

ed