best course of action for rear tailgate water/mud
 

2nd Gen 4runner. My locks were super stiff so I took the rear door panel out to grease things up. I discovered it was caked in mud. In fact if I have the tailgate closed/up it is down right a nasty murky pool of mud settled at the bottom. It has been raining the past couple of weeks so i decided to park her in the garage. She has been slowly draining. I suspect there is plenty of mud backing up the drain holes (if there are any). Anyway, I intend on doing a deep cleaning in there and coating it with por15 after it dries. Is removing my rear window the only way to get in there? I'm hoping I can remove the window and not the entire motor/rails/locking mechanism. Thoughts?

Also, what is the trick to rolling up the window with the tailgate down. I tried tricking the system by pushing both latches in but all I get is a beeping sound and no movement. I must be missing one piece of the equation.

There are drain holes in your tail gate. I have not been into a 2nd gen runner tail gate in quite a while but with the rear cover off and a wet vac, you might be able to get the mud cleaned out and then flush it to get the rest of the stuff out. I use wheel bearing grease on my tracks and rollers to try and protect the metal from rusting on the lift mechanisim. A good cleaning of the drain holes should let the moisture out and prevent some rust.

Shop Vac! Why didn't i think of that?? Thanks!

with the two latch mechanisms tripped i have no problem on my 94 using the key. the up/down switch on the center console wouldn't work for me when trying it