99 e320 tailgate won't open
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 2
Likes: 1
1999 E320 wagon
99 e320 tailgate won't open
I have a 99 E320 wagon. The tailgate will not open. First it took a few tries pulling up on the exterior handle before it would open. I noticed one of the two bolts holding the latch within the tailgate was loose. Tightened it and solved problem, since then it loosened itself and now is missing. I was out of state when that happened so no time to fix then. Now it seems the other bolt has become loose and is creating some slack thus when you pull the handle up to open the tailgate it won't unlatch. I can't remove the inside panel with it closed and yes I tried using the inside release. I'm to the point of cutting a hole in the sheet metal behind the license plate to hopefully be able to pull on the linkage. My questions are; Is there another way? Am I on the right track? If I cut how big of an area? I've added a picture and hopefully I can cut along the white likes I drew if I have to go this way! It then gets repaired and hidden behind the license plate.
