Tailgate Stuck Closed '76 C20

John L · February 23, 2011

My tailgate is stuck in the closed position. The handle will pull out with force but does nothing to release the tailgate locks.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

kind regards,

John

txab · February 23, 2011

You can pry back the locking pins on both sides at the same time. You have to find the right tool to get in there. Once open, you'll see where you can remove the locking mechanism from both sides. You'll have to see what is broken. Clips for the lock rods probably broke or came off.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?page=30

John L · February 24, 2011

You can pry back the locking pins on both sides at the same time. You have to find the right tool to get in there. Once open, you'll see where you can remove the locking mechanism from both sides. You'll have to see what is broken. Clips for the lock rods probably broke or came off.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?page=30

Thanks, I'll try that. Is that on each side of the tailgate and would you be prying the end of the box away from the edge of the tailgate?

If so I'll have to remove the pipe rack otherwise it won't move.

John

txab · February 24, 2011

No you'll be moving the latch bolt pin on parts 8 or 9. Just like you would with a door knob on your house, You need to get the pin retracted to clear the receiver. Should be able to look from above at the gap between the gate and bed. You can pull the screws for the handle and see if you can grab hold of the lock rods and pull to open the gate. I've never done it by the handle. I always was able to pry the latch bolt pin far enough to get it to pop loose

John L · February 27, 2011

No you'll be moving the latch bolt pin on parts 8 or 9. Just like you would with a door knob on your house, You need to get the pin retracted to clear the receiver. Should be able to look from above at the gap between the gate and bed. You can pull the screws for the handle and see if you can grab hold of the lock rods and pull to open the gate. I've never done it by the handle. I always was able to pry the latch bolt pin far enough to get it to pop loose

I got them to move in a bit but not enough to clear. I tried first from the back of the tailgate. I'll try again from the front of the tailgate and push against the latch bolt pin. I think I'll try from the the handle side too. It's already messed up because while trying to open the gate it popped all the way up and now seems to do nothing while either all the way in or all the way up. This is frustrating.

John

00Silverado4x4 · February 27, 2011

May not work for your truck but on my old '76 I just unbolted & removed the handle in the middle of the tailgate. Then I just grabbed the rods with needlenose pliers & all was good. I had one side that broke away from handle. Now if the rods are disconnected from the outside edges this may be a little more tricky, but not impossible.

John L · February 28, 2011

May not work for your truck but on my old '76 I just unbolted & removed the handle in the middle of the tailgate. Then I just grabbed the rods with needlenose pliers & all was good. I had one side that broke away from handle. Now if the rods are disconnected from the outside edges this may be a little more tricky, but not impossible.

I finally got the tailgate down yesterday after a great deal "how to" experimentation. I unbolted the handle but just could not figure out how to remove it. I had to tap the right hand rod with a screwdriver and hammer a few times for it to work the right latch, then reach up past the handle with a thin pry bar to lever the left one open. So, that means they are not disconnected from the latches.

Question for you: How in the world do you remove that handle system? I'm certain the rods have to be removed while its still in the tailgate and there just doesn't seem to be enough room to do any of it. The rod for the left side is so high up into the tailgate that you can just barely see it let along do anything to remove it.

Any easy solution?

Thanks for your help. Wish I had diagram of the internals to that system.

John

00Silverado4x4 · February 28, 2011

It's been a few years since I switched out the tailgate on mine but I remember I unbolted the assembly from the inside of the tailgate. Then it was a matter of fitting my fat fingers into the opening to disconnect the connecting rods. My tailgate was pretty well rotted out so it more fell apart then taken apart. However a little patience, few good curses, avoid using the hammer & it shouldn't be to bad of a task. You might be able to go to a dealer and have them pull up a breakdown diagram, if real lucky maybe one of the techs here has one handy. Sorry I'm not more helpful.

John L · March 1, 2011

It's been a few years since I switched out the tailgate on mine but I remember I unbolted the assembly from the inside of the tailgate. Then it was a matter of fitting my fat fingers into the opening to disconnect the connecting rods. My tailgate was pretty well rotted out so it more fell apart then taken apart. However a little patience, few good curses, avoid using the hammer & it shouldn't be to bad of a task. You might be able to go to a dealer and have them pull up a breakdown diagram, if real lucky maybe one of the techs here has one handy. Sorry I'm not more helpful.

Thanks for your help. I'll look more closely at it. I really had a hard time imagining how you got those rods off the handle. I took the tailgate off the truck and can turn it upside down and sideways if I need to. I'll also post a more specific question here on the "how to" section.

kind regards,

John

John L · March 1, 2011

It's been a few years since I switched out the tailgate on mine but I remember I unbolted the assembly from the inside of the tailgate. Then it was a matter of fitting my fat fingers into the opening to disconnect the connecting rods. My tailgate was pretty well rotted out so it more fell apart then taken apart. However a little patience, few good curses, avoid using the hammer & it shouldn't be to bad of a task. You might be able to go to a dealer and have them pull up a breakdown diagram, if real lucky maybe one of the techs here has one handy. Sorry I'm not more helpful.

No Chevy dealer on the island here. Just a Toyota dealer that does some GM repairs.

00Silverado4x4 · March 1, 2011

I did find a breakdown on LMC Truck's website, it's probably not the best. However, if you need to replace any parts they are a pretty good choice, especially for those hard to find parts.

txab · March 1, 2011

I did find a breakdown on LMC Truck's website, it's probably not the best. However, if you need to replace any parts they are a pretty good choice, especially for those hard to find parts.

Link for LMC is referenced here. Also link to his other thread

John L · March 2, 2011

I did find a breakdown on LMC Truck's website, it's probably not the best. However, if you need to replace any parts they are a pretty good choice, especially for those hard to find parts.

Thanks I needed that.

kind regards,

John

txab · March 2, 2011

Here's a pic of the handle.

John L · March 2, 2011

Here's a pic of the handle.

Thanks. That looks just like it only I was looking at it upside down. In this photo on the right side of the black arm there is a little tab up near the right top bolt hole. That tab is missing from mine. Might have worn or broken off. I'll bet that's why mine doesn't work.

John