Lift Gate (Rear Hatch) interchangability

[Vannawhite]

Heeyy Y'ALLL

My rear door wont close because I backed into something that bent it upward/backward and this had happened before by previous owners too, causing damage to the hinges and possibly connection/attachments points on door and van body.... It now sits a couple inches over the latch and wont connect/close

Should I replace with new door from the scrap yard because that door has other minor issues anyways.... are the rear hatch doors interchangeable across 86-89?


THANK YOU

[Carbonized]

The answer to both questions is Yes! The only difference is between LE and Cargo. The LE has the reverse light in a trim bar across the gate: Two big holes for the lights and ten holes for the clips in the body work. Also some Cargo came without rear wiper, so if yours is one of them and your "new" gate come with the holes for the wiper and the hole for the washer (Top) you will have to close those with some rubber plugs or the washer nozzle and wiper motor from yard (usually they do not strep the gate so they will be there)

[Carbonized]

Forgot to mention, if you are swapping the glass it's the time to take care of the classic rust spots, if any, at the bottom of the rear windshield.

[Tan Van]

every winter my hatch-window rust spots would grow and they would create rusty run marks all the way down the paint. The marks buff off with car wax.
I permanently stopped the annual "post-winter" back hatch rust-mark problem by sealing the black gasket to the glass with clear silicone. (only the bottom strip). This stopped water from living under the gasket and feeding the rust spots.

(you can also permanently seal the rust by covering it with Polyurethane exterior caulk such as "Vulkem" or "Quad" brand).

my new California '87 has no rust, and one of the first things I did was seal the glass to the gasket with clear silicone.