Tailgate pull to open

MikeBMW · February 26, 2023

I can understand that from being in the North for the first 25 years of my life.
As I mentioned, I miss it, but only a bit.
Still, my Mom lives in Colorado and I love visiting for the incredible vistas.
I'm a bit jealous of those who can walk outside, take a drive, and enjoy the mountain views.
I suppose, however, we are digressing from the topic but I don't mind.
Thanks for all of your input.
I'll update soon!

Skeeter McSkeet · February 28, 2023

On 2/25/2023 at 11:20 PM, MikeBMW said:

I'll have to recheck my order but I think I have each one on the way soon.
Thanks, Jim!

Mike, where are you sourcing parts? I placed an order for a few of these items and was told they require special ordering and will hopefully be ready soon. I went through tasca as they had a thermal bypass valve in stock that I needed. Turns out they had none of it in stock, and the TBV is on backorder so I cancelled that part of it... May have time to cancel the rest of the order and get all of this at once..

On 2/25/2023 at 11:11 PM, JimCost2014 said:

All right, now I get it. There was a member who replaced this before, and now I remember why he took out his taillight.

You need number 5, maybe 4 to be safe, and probably not 3, maybe just to be safe? They all are connected, but through the bed of the truck, and the diagram does not show that. So, 2 and 3 are accessible inside the bed, then 4 and 5 are inside the fender well.

Thanks Jim!! I was looking at that metal piece the bushing goes in and thought it may be an issue too. I think I'll try and order these and see where it gets me. I ordered all the bushings but no idea when they may get here. Luckily it still closes fairly easy, its just the going down that is tough.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Skeeter McSkeet

Skeeter McSkeet · February 28, 2023

deleted..duplicate post

Edited February 28, 2023 by Skeeter McSkeet
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Skeeter McSkeet · February 28, 2023

deleted....another duplicate....fat thumbed this post button apparently

Edited February 28, 2023 by Skeeter McSkeet
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Skeeter McSkeet · February 28, 2023

deleted....duplicate....will try life again tomorrow, my goodness LOL!!

Edited February 28, 2023 by Skeeter McSkeet
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JimCost2014 · February 28, 2023

21 minutes ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

Mike, where are you sourcing parts? I placed an order for a few of these items and was told they require special ordering and will hopefully be ready soon. I went through tasca as they had a thermal bypass valve in stock that I needed. Turns out they had none of it in stock, and the TBV is on backorder so I cancelled that part of it... May have time to cancel the rest of the order and get all of this at once..

Thanks Jim!! I was looking at that metal piece the bushing goes in and thought it may be an issue too. I think I'll try and order these and see where it gets me. I ordered all the bushings but no idea when they may get here. Luckily it still closes fairly easy, its just the going down that is tough.

Number #3

JimCost2014 · February 28, 2023

24 minutes ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

Mike, where are you sourcing parts? I placed an order for a few of these items and was told they require special ordering and will hopefully be ready soon. I went through tasca as they had a thermal bypass valve in stock that I needed. Turns out they had none of it in stock, and the TBV is on backorder so I cancelled that part of it... May have time to cancel the rest of the order and get all of this at once..

Thanks Jim!! I was looking at that metal piece the bushing goes in and thought it may be an issue too. I think I'll try and order these and see where it gets me. I ordered all the bushings but no idea when they may get here. Luckily it still closes fairly easy, its just the going down that is tough.

Number #5

JimCost2014 · February 28, 2023

Number #2

Edited February 28, 2023 by JimCost2014

JimCost2014 · February 28, 2023

Number #4

MikeBMW · March 1, 2023

5 hours ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

Mike, where are you sourcing parts?

I usually go to GM Parts Direct ( https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/ ) for miscellaneous parts and part number identification.
It's a bit higher in price but I always seem to be able to get what I order within a week or two.
If I can find a part available somewhere else, and it's at a lower price, while still being genuine GM, I'll buy elsewhere.

MikeBMW · March 12, 2023

Update on my experience with the tailgate.
I bought the new hinge and dampener and plastic bushing, seemed to make a difference, still not soft open.
I thought about the torque rod and ordered one.
Well, I inadvertently bought one for the previous model years, but it took me a long time to figure that out, way longer than a sane person would do.
I spent an hour trying to make it work, then, I looked at my old one and the diameter of the torque shafts were different.
My original one had a larger diameter and that's why I could never tighten the incorrect one for torque and tailgate lowering.
Anyway, I reinstalled the original torque shaft, tightened it back up, and, now, it's back to like new! In the interim, I ordered another, thinking my original one was failing, somehow.
I dunno why, but it seems removing it and reinstalling it brought it back to life?
Well, I have two torque tailgate rods now, one for the K2s and one for whatever generation that was prior.
I'm gonna go bang my head up against the wall for a bit...

Edited March 13, 2023 by MikeBMW
grammar

Skeeter McSkeet · March 24, 2023

On 3/12/2023 at 6:10 AM, MikeBMW said:

Update on my experience with the tailgate.
I bought the new hinge and dampener and plastic bushing, seemed to make a difference, still not soft open.
I thought about the torque rod and ordered one.
Well, I inadvertently bought one for the previous model years, but it took me a long time to figure that out, way longer than a sane person would do.
I spent an hour trying to make it work, then, I looked at my old one and the diameter of the torque shafts were different.
My original one had a larger diameter and that's why I could never tighten the incorrect one for torque and tailgate lowering.
Anyway, I reinstalled the original torque shaft, tightened it back up, and, now, it's back to like new! In the interim, I ordered another, thinking my original one was failing, somehow.
I dunno why, but it seems removing it and reinstalling it brought it back to life?
Well, I have two torque tailgate rods now, one for the K2s and one for whatever generation that was prior.
I'm gonna go bang my head up against the wall for a bit...

Thanks for the update!! I just got the parts last weekend and have yet to install, I did not get the rod though. Amidst researching this, I feel like I saw someone recommended taking that rod out and cleaning it up. Might need to do that while I replace the other parts.

MikeBMW · March 25, 2023

11 hours ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

Thanks for the update!! I just got the parts last weekend and have yet to install, I did not get the rod though. Amidst researching this, I feel like I saw someone recommended taking that rod out and cleaning it up. Might need to do that while I replace the other parts.

It seemed to me the rod just needed to be removed and reset.
There was no cleaning involved as, other than some dust, it was fine (refer to the previous pics.)
Once I realized I had the wrong part, I replaced the old one and, quite frankly, it operated as well as the new one I installed.
To summarize, I would recommend removing and replacing the old torque rod before purchasing a new one. Still, the tailgate does need to be removed and set vertically for a proper fitment. A bit of a pain doing it by one's self.
OK, time to go back and reintroduce my head to the wall again ...

Skeeter McSkeet · March 27, 2023

On 3/24/2023 at 10:05 PM, MikeBMW said:

It seemed to me the rod just needed to be removed and reset.
There was no cleaning involved as, other than some dust, it was fine (refer to the previous pics.)
Once I realized I had the wrong part, I replaced the old one and, quite frankly, it operated as well as the new one I installed.
To summarize, I would recommend removing and replacing the old torque rod before purchasing a new one. Still, the tailgate does need to be removed and set vertically for a proper fitment. A bit of a pain doing it by one's self.
OK, time to go back and reintroduce my head to the wall again ...

So I pulled the gate yesterday afternoon but got nothing replaced. How in the world do you get the rod out? Is it the bolts on the bottom of the tailgate? I didn't investigate too much as I thought this would be a quick thing to accomplish while draining oil in my mower. Long story short, I just put the tailgate back on and headed to the yard haha.

MikeBMW · March 28, 2023

7 hours ago, Skeeter McSkeet said:

So I pulled the gate yesterday afternoon but got nothing replaced. How in the world do you get the rod out? Is it the bolts on the bottom of the tailgate? I didn't investigate too much as I thought this would be a quick thing to accomplish while draining oil in my mower. Long story short, I just put the tailgate back on and headed to the yard haha.

There is one bolt on the bottom of the tailgate on the passenger side. You would need to loosen it to allow the rod to be removed - then it just slides out.
Re-insertion is a bit of a trick and why the tailgate should be oriented vertically, on its side.
There is an access hole to aid in manual alignment.
Just be sure it's seated properly in the hole on the passenger side, and oriented correctly (there is an arrow on the rod bushing driver side end indicating such).
Re-installing the tailgate requires it to be lifted to a near vertical position to align the rod end on the driver side and then moving to 45 degrees to get the plastic bushing aligned with the hinge on the passenger side.

Edited March 28, 2023 by MikeBMW