BroncoII4x4.com Forum

Recently the interior lights on my 88 B-II started coming on when the doors and hatch were closed. I finally traced it to the switch controlled by the hatch. The hatch itself seems to have changed its relationship to the switch. It no longer closes tightly enough to press on the switch. I can adjust the striker, but that doesn't do it. Looking at the hatch from the side, it is out further on the left side than on the right. Is there another way to adjust this door? The upper hinge only raises and lowers the hatch. It is the fiberglass hatch.

Sorry I cannot help you with that problem, but I have a problem with my rear hatch as well. The latch pin mounted on the body on the left has lost it's plastic cover or whatever that material was. The actual latch on the door hangs up on this pin when I open the door, and I have tried to adjust the position of the pin but it will not move to where it needs to be to stop this from happening. Firstly, can I screw this pin right out without loosing the nut iside the body? That way I could grab one from a junk yard that still has the plastic cover on it. Secondly, does the latch on the hatch adjust if I loosen the screws on that, to make it hit the pin in the right spot? Just thought of that as I sat here. Vehicle is in the smog shop so I cannot pop outside and try that.

you can move them in&out&up&down. hows the rear body mounts??

the latch pin can come off(same as the door ones),the lock itself, i dont think so

To both replies:
The body mounts may be worn. I'll have to check that. The only adjustment for the hatch that I can see aside from the striker, is where the hinges attach to the hatch. They only allow up and down movement. What other adjustment is there for the hinge?

About the striker: I took mine off and put a piece of tubing on to replace the missing plastic. You can't buy the plastic without the pin, and they're about $25 each. I have the same problem wiht the strikers on the doors of my '82 F150, but that just causes rattling like the door is fallling off, and I only notice it when I'm driving in the woods or plowing snow. Kind of comforting to have some noise other than "whoosh" to listen to.

At advanced auto they have a complete striker plastic set for only like 5 bucks I think. They also have the strikers themselves there for not much maybe 20 bucks if that. I dont have a problem with the alignment being off I dont think, but all the plastic things have broken off, Im going to buy that plastic kit before too long, Its starting to mess up the lock on the hatch cause its metal hitting metal everytime i close it.

Another thing, my hatch light switch is so worn out it doesnt turn the light on anymore, Idk if it ever did since I bought it. Im not too worried about it though, I can always turn on the rear light with that button thats right there

Joeyy, on my 88 the switch was always a sometime thing. I would almost always have to jiggle it when I had the hatch open, to make it work. I replaced it (Federated Auto Parts) for $10.00. That one operates the same way. Since I've had the newer problem (not turning off), I've just pulled the switch and use the one incorporated with the dash-lights rotary. I'd just like it to work, because when I have a machine that's supposed to do something, I like it to do it. I have a few more mechanical bits to replace/repair, and then it's body and paint time. Love this truck!

you can buy the plastic bushings 4 pack two long two shorter my 87 b11 takes only long ones for doors and hatch advance auto 5 bucks for bushing pack whole pin w bushing only 8-9 bucks doors hatch 7$ trick is pin wont come out of large stop washer simply slit plastic bushing and slipped over pin works great doors hatch close like new might have to re-adjust pin small pipe wrench quick foolproof 5 minutes a door all rattles stopped thought was going deaf for a sec love my machine ford man for 45 yrs

I picked up a pack of the bushings for $3.95 at AUtoZone earlier this week. Haven't had time to put them on yet, what with the snow, my 82 F-150 catching fire and burning up the clutch plate, and my wood pile needing attention. It's sunny and warmer today, so I might get all of that done!

Well I have unscrewed my pins and put some small bits of garden hose on them to replace the plastic that was all brittle and broken. That works for a while. The large washer does come off the pin but you have to screw it off. It is actually threaded onto the pin. My problem still remains, being the striker hits the pin on the left side in the wrong place and I cannot move the pin enough to fix it. The actual latch on the hatch door does not move at all. It is fixed in the one place, so the only adjustment I can see is the small amount that one can get at the pin on the body of the vehicle. Oh well! I at least got the thing smogged so I have plates and I'm okay for two years until it needs smogging again. Had to take the gas tank off and clean it out cause it was very rusty inside after the vehicle sat for many years.That was not fun but I managed in the end.

Thanks all. The problem with the hatch (and the doors, as well) has been resolved. I installed the new plastic pieces and (miraculously) the light switch works and the hatch aligns correctly. I guess, being fiberglass, it bends to fit! And the driver's door no longer rattles! All for less than $4.00. Now I need to buy another set for the truck. Those little pieces of plastic solve a lot of problems.

take off the tail light loosen pin metal clip might be rusted on I have a lot of adj play on my 87 also i think there is some adjustments you can make on the two top hinges bodyside let me know results thanks

[quote="zookeyknee"]take off the tail light loosen pin metal clip might be rusted on I have a lot of adj play on my 87 also i think there is some adjustments you can make on the two top hinges bodyside let me know results thanks[/quote]

As it turns out, the hatch on my '88 now lines up perfectly. All I had to do was replace the bushings on the strikers and set them to the original position. The Fiberglass hatch conforms more easily than a steel door would, I guess. The problem with the bushings, however, is that the after-market packages (AutoZone, Federated, or any other reseller) only contain two long and two short. All four of the Bronco's and both of the door strikers on my '82 F-150 (all fell apart this winter) take the long ones. I'm experimenting now with gluing short one together and then trimming the result to size. The top hinges, as far as I have been able to tell, can adjust up-and-down alignment, but not in-out.

Now I cannot even open my hatch. The latch just turns round and round after I insert the key, and does absolutely nothing! I managed to get the inside trim off the hatch and removed the glass latch so I can now manually open the glass without using key or latch. Not sure what to do with the stupid latch, or even if I can get it off the door while the door is still in the closed position. Oh well, that's life as I experience it most of the time lol. btw I have quite a bit of movement on the two pins/strikers so the big washer inside is not rusted in place. And the door fits perfectly with the hinges just where they are so I don't want to start moving them and getting the door out of alignment.