Tailgate problems and burning smell

[nickgt6II]

After 7 years of ownership with only a couple of minor problems (strange but true😲) my GT6 II had a bad day recently. On an outing to the local car show, the fuel and temperature gauges packed up (not a big worry - probably just a loose connection). Then after we parked we opened the tailgate but then it wouldn't shut - it would only go half way down - after driving home with rope securing the tailgate I eventually got it to go right down, but it was at an angle, so the lower bottom edge was further down on one side and it wouldn't lock. It wasn't loose - both hinges were completely tightened - no play at all - after much tinkering I got it aligned at the bottom so it would lock - but the top edge sticks out by a couple of inches.

What I can't understand is how this suddenly happened - we had parked on a slightly uneven bit of land and I was wondering whether this could be enough to push the body out of true, so the rear opening is affected? But is the GT6 body/frame really that flexible?

And how can I fix it?

What's more, when we got home, there was a slight burning smell from the car.

I could see oil dripping onto the exhaust a bit further back from the gearbox, and from the video it would seem there's a bit of a leak (more than the normal built-in leakage😉), but as I said, the smell seems more rubber like and seems to come from near the rear tyres - but they don't seem unduly warm and I can't feel that they are catching on anything. 

So I was hoping for a couple of suggestions as to what could be wrong. All help gratefully received 🙂

Nick

[PeteStupps]

Fuel and temp gauges are both fed from the little voltage stabilizer gizmo attached to the back of the speedometer, in case you weren't aware, so that may be a point to start investigating.

No clue on the tailgate, other than to say parking on uneven ground shouldn't cause the problem!

Gear oil on the exhaust will give off quite a smell, which could be described as rubbery. Mine has a leak in similar location. Your rear brakes might be binding slightly and heating things up, which could be detectable after a drive, if you were particularly sniffing for it. 

[Greta]

I had a similar problem with my GT6 MKII tail gate - years ago now - I have to say after pulling all the spring mechanism out ( the suspected root cause of the problem..) ( what a weight! ) the tail gate then re- aligned simply on the hinges

-- downside on the weight saving is that ever since I've run with a tent pole as a stay to keep the tailgate up when open! ... I just couldn't seem to be able to reassemble without the twist - you could fit a modern gas strut from a motor factor

 before you actually pull the whole assembly - it could be worth checking that a wire or headlining trim has not become trapped somewhere in the spring mechanism -- it of coarse could be that fatigue has caused a coil to crack.

[RobPearce]

That oil on the exhaust has been smeared everywhere so it's hard to guess where it came from. However, it starts near the gearbox, which looks quite oily so I'd guess it's gear oil. It may just be the breather has got blocked and it's started escaping up top.

The tailgate looks like a jammed hinge and your efforts to straighten it have added some distortion to the equation. It's certainly worth taking the hinge cover off and having a look.

[nickgt6II]

Thanks very much for the input re. the gauges, oil/smell and tailgate. It's given me a few ideas as to what to do next :)