Anyone have a trick to repairing or replacing the weather stripping on the tailgate of a 1985 Mercury Colony Park? I’ve tried all sorts of things but still leaks along top edge. Any advice on where to find a replacement hatch handle will also be greatly appreciated. Jason
Those handles in complete condition are getting harder and harder to find. If yours broke off, you can use a pair of needle-nose Vise-Grips to grab it and be able to open it from the outside. As for the seal, I'm willing to bet the left side hinges are a bit worn (usually the bottom one). You can loosen the lower hinge bolts and slip in shims to raise the tailgate right end. Usually, when it's that worn, people lift the tailgate by the outside handle to get it to shut, and it eventually breaks. I'm willing to bet shimming will help both problems; it did on my '83 CP. And I had replaced the tailgate.
Thanks. There is still enough of the handle left at the pin that I can push in, vice grips would make it easier though. You’re right about something with the hinges on the tailgate. I messed around with them for a while and raised the posts on the frame to get the door to open and lock again. Shims definitely sound worth a try.
What I did was I used a stack of 2X8's and a floor jack, and lifted the right side just enough to take the weight off before loosening the lower bolts on the tailgate.
Jasrz. Welcome to the Forum. Nice ‘85 Colony Park. I have two ‘83’s. I’m in the southwest and believe it or not some of these still show up and our picknpull. I’ll keep and out and see if I can harvest a handle and mechanism.
Wow, thanks for the welcome and looking out! Let me know. I love this Colony Park. Was my aunt’s in Florida. Brought it up to PA last summer.
What part of Pa. are you from? I was born and raised in Potter Co. Oh buy the way WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!.....Longroofs Rule!
Here is an auction for one. The auction is done, but it lists the part number in there to work with (D9AZ-74430A70) https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1979-1989-Mercury-Colony-Park-Station-Wagon-Tailgate-Handle-D9AZ-74430A70-/164176424704?hash=item2639ad6f00:g:fsIAAOSwHy5enYFi&nma=true&si=fb%2Be%2FqhKF9swjZ0JQtQX3i04o%2Bk%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 You can try Greene Sales or any of the other obsolete Ford parts places to see if anyone has one. And then there is this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Mercu...469621?hash=item26375b06b5:g:mPcAAOSwGIReekBV
Kevin- Thanks again! Handle worked great! Silver- lifted the tailgate a bit more and a big storm just came through. No leaks!
Could you imagine car companies allowing those gaps today? My 85 CP didn't leak but the gap was awesome
Yeah, my '74 Ranchero Squire's windows didn't seal because the seals were dried out and had shrunk. So I applied camper tape to the seals, trimmed to fit, and the seals were restored. If you needed to seal the back window, using camper tape may do it until you find a new seal.
