Tailgate not shutting fully

[Rust Bucket]

Evening

Fitted a replacement tailgate and I can't get it to shut properly, its sticks out slightly on the left hand side and hard to shut. I have adjusted the rubber stops at the bottom to no avail. any advise?

Michael

[Plasticman]

first remove the rubber stops for now, then try?
still no good, ok now lower the lid and observe closely , just as the catch starts to engage ,what is the lid trying to do , it will be either errring to the left or right.
loosen the striker plate on the slam panal and move it in the direction the lid was trying to move,
repeat above untill it seems central.
assumimng you can now close it how is it stuck out and where, a picky would be great and dont say your too busy,its dark its wet camera broke ,, oh sorry your not the guy on ebay that dont want to send me picks
also as its a new lid to you there is adjustment at the top . also brute twisting as weel but onlty when all, else is done,

see how you go, you coulkd also remove the slam panal striker and this will remove a variable , take the main peripheral seal off as this too has an effect,
dam sight quicker to do thenm write
mm

[Rust Bucket]

Had a quick look today, its seems when you close the door, the bottom right hand corner is going to hit the rear quater panel on the van, I assume i will have to adjust the hinges, would i have to loosen the bolts that attach to the body of the van, or the door itself.

Hope that makes sense

thanks
Michael

[Plasticman]

picky would be good to see what the other side is doing as its resting against the os 1/4.
but remove the tailgate struts first then we can see what its really doing, without working against them, (only 2 clips)
but there is a reaqsonnable ammount of adjustment in the hinges, work out what plane you need to go to and move accordingly
mm

[Rust Bucket]

cheers bud, had a go at the weekend, I managed to get it lined up so its equal at both ends, but no amount of moving the brackets and adjusting the hinges will get it to close properly, i'll try removing the locking mechanism and get a few pics up at the weekend to see if its that.

thanks for the help

Michael