New Liftgate for the 06 Yaris

[06YarisRS]

A couple years ago, I picked up a used liftgate at a scrapyard. It came off an '08 LE, I believe. The liftgate was spared the ravages of Canadian winters as the car went to the boneyard very early in its life. As such, it is in absolute mint condition from a damage and rust perspective. All the seams and as new as the day it left the factory with no bubbling of the seam sealer. The previous owner must have had the car well rustproofed as there was an oily substance covering the inside of the liftgate and dripping out of the drain holes.

Although the clearcoat is peeling badly, there isn't so much as a scratch in the paint anywhere. It will require a complete deep sanding, epoxy primer, base coat and clear coat. Fortunately, I still have about 1/2 quart of the same base coat I painted the car with, so the match should be perfect. I will have to remove the aftermarket liftgate spoiler from the current liftgate and mount it on the new one. I will paint the items separately though, then reinstall.

Prior to purchase, the liftgate currently on the car had sustained an impact and I repaired it with fiberglass and bondo. It came out alright, but the car, IMO, deserves better. I will look to source a new liftgate gasket too.

I will document the process in this thread.

I started with the backside of the liftgate. I will not bother to paint the inner skin as that will all be covered, of course, with the plastic panel.

Parts and harness removal.



Degreasing



Harnesses coming out



Mostly everything removed





Ready for paint. I'll paint this side tomorrow, then prep and paint the other side the following day.