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Tailgate loose when closed

Discussion in '1st Gen Tundras (2000-2006)' started by bajaphile, Aug 19, 2019.

  1. Aug 19, 2019 at 9:56 AM
    #1
    bajaphile

    bajaphile [OP] New Member

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    Icon Coilovers, Icon AALs, JBA headers, 285/75r16 BFG KO2s
    I'm sure this has been answered before...

    When I close my tailgate it moves a good 0.125" on both sides. Is there an adjustment or part to replace to fix? Rattles a bit too much for my liking on dirt.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Aug 19, 2019 at 10:01 AM
    #2
    FirstGenVol

    FirstGenVol Brake Czar

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    I asked this question as well and was told no. Mine doesn't rattle but only 1 of my cables has tension when I lower it. The consensus is that my tailgate is "bent". I'm curious to hear what others have to say about yours. Sorry I'm not more help.
     
  3. Aug 19, 2019 at 10:13 AM
    #3
    Casper421

    Casper421 Toyota RidgeTrac driver!

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    You could take the tailgate off and reinstall, see if it settles better. If everything is still secure and latches properly, I’d recommend sealing the tailgate. Firmed up my tailgate but I didn’t have any movement either.
     
    The Black Mamba likes this.
  4. Aug 19, 2019 at 10:17 AM
    #4
    FirstGenVol

    FirstGenVol Brake Czar

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    What do mean by this Chris? What did you seal it with?
     
  5. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:09 AM
    #5
    Casper421

    Casper421 Toyota RidgeTrac driver!

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  6. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:13 AM
    #6
    SC T100

    SC T100 New Member

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    Rancho Quicklift/RS9000XLs, Rancho rear 1.5" blocks with RS9000XL shocks in rear, SuspensionMAXX extended sway bar links.
    It could be that the hinge bushings are shot. OEMs are about $43 each I think.
     
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  7. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:25 AM
    #7
    Festerw

    Festerw New Member

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    Moves as in up/down or in/out? There may be some adjustment available in the latch/striker to account for the in/out movement but I'm not 100% on that.
     
  8. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:35 AM
    #8
    FirstGenVol

    FirstGenVol Brake Czar

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  9. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:42 AM
    #9
    MistrRoboto

    MistrRoboto '17 MGM SR5 TRD CrewMax

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    I noticed one side of mine didn't sit as tight as the other. Turns out the bracket on the bed, whatever its called, has a few milimeters of play you can adjust.

    Sounds odd, but moving it backwards from the truck those few milimeters actually fixed the issue. Prior to the adjustment, the latch on that side wasn't able to loop over the second catch point. Worth playing with that in either direction depending on your issue.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Aug 19, 2019 at 11:49 AM
    #10
    Darkness

    Darkness Allergic to white

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    I did pretty much what @MistrRoboto said. Loosen the bolts that hold those square loops, push them forward towards the cab just a bit and hold it there, then tighten bolts back down. Close tailgate, see if it works. I did that a little bit on each side and it got rid of my rattle.

    Try both directions, if it isn't catching then go back like Robot did. Mine was catching but had slop.
     
  11. Aug 19, 2019 at 1:07 PM
    #11
    because_wumbo-truck

    because_wumbo-truck TTC#036 & 1st Degenerate

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    I need to look into this as well. My passenger side of the tail gate never feels secure when closed.
     
  12. Aug 19, 2019 at 1:25 PM
    #12
    MistrRoboto

    MistrRoboto '17 MGM SR5 TRD CrewMax

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    You can kind of hear it happening. Slowly close the tailgate. It will latch once on both sides (loud click). Then push further until you hear another click. With mine, that second click was only on the passenger side, never the drivers. Moving the catch backwards allowed the drivers side to start making that second click... fully latching.
     
    Dustydawg89 and 15whtrd like this.
  13. Aug 19, 2019 at 5:01 PM
    #13
    bajaphile

    bajaphile [OP] New Member

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    Thanks for the replies guys. I'll report back my findings.
     
  14. Aug 19, 2019 at 5:42 PM
    #14
    ricsha

    ricsha One is none, two is one.

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    MrRoboto is exactly right. On my 2019 Limited, the Right, passenger, side was not secure until I adjusted it. Tried moving it in, wrong direction; had to move it out quite a bit to get tight lock-up. Now if I could just get my passenger door to close as tightly, I'd be happy!
     
  15. Aug 20, 2019 at 3:26 AM
    #15
    because_wumbo-truck

    because_wumbo-truck TTC#036 & 1st Degenerate

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    Take it back...
     
  16. Aug 24, 2019 at 1:06 PM
    #16
    Professional Hand Model

    Professional Hand Model A.K.A ‘Golden Hands’

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    Waste of money.

    Here is a better way for pennies. Fuze caulk a couple rubber washers in place over top of the existing bumpers. I did these last year and they are holding nicely. There is a fine line on these tail gates where the slight play becomes too much back pressure and leads to the gate handle mechanism breaking because of said pressure.

    The latch readjust mention earlier seems like a good idea as well, but my bolts were seized so I went the pictured route.

    Another good idea mentioned is removing the gate and adding a boat load of grease into the gate pivot slots (not to be confused with the pictured grease ball on the strike latch). This prevents rust and does firm up the gate a little for some reason.

    My gate has only latched on one post on each side where the grease ball is located since new. It had slightly play in the gate but no noise prior to washer add. I did this for grins just to remove the little play that was there. Two washers was too many (put harmful back pressure). One washer was the sweet spot.


    upload_2019-8-24_15-52-29.jpg
     
    bajaphile[OP] likes this.

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