Tail Gate Removal

[swissarmychainsaw]

I know, this sounds like a dumb question, but I can't get the tailgate off.

Every truck I have owned, you simply do this:
* Remove the hangers
* Tilt Gate to about 45 degrees
* On the right side, pull towards you (which pulls out the camed "hinge")
* Then pull out the left side perpendicular to the truck.
Voila.

My 1975 Gentleman Jim, won't give it up.

I can look at the right side "hinge-pivot" and see that it's "C" shaped, but the male part (very hard to see) does not seem to be camed, or more flat on the sides than round.

The truck has been repainted. Can you even put the pivot-hinge things on the wrong sides?

What the heck am I missing???
thanks! (happy thanksgiving!)
Nick

[old Rusty C10]

someone may have replaced or altered the tailgate hinges.... you may have to see if you can get a socket in there to loosen and remove the bolts

[Oldriginal86]

There is a thread on this site that does a great job of identifying differences in tailgates. Believe the first years tailgate hinge needs to be unbolted.

[79Betty]

This should help. Contact (bigblock73) for Q&A he knows his stuff!

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=321152

[cedens]

If i remember right for the shade tree guy it was a bit of luck and uttering the magical stream of curse words till it came off, but yea roughly 45 degrees after you unhook the arms.

[tucsonjwt]

I would get a flashlight and inspection mirror on the bottom edge of the tailgate at the extreme ends and operate the tailgate as far as you can. I think the left side is a form of "ball and socket", with the ball on the tailgate and the socket on the bed pillar. The right side is a elongated "C" shaped fitting on the tailgate, and a somewhat matching rectangular fitting on the bed pillar. With the inspection mirror you should be able to see what is hanging up the tailgate. If you don't have a mirror you can get one at Harbor freight for a few dollars.

I think it is most likely that you have something stuck in one or both of the pivots (or near the pivots) which is causing the problem. I have had trouble opening/closing the tailgate in the past and found out that it was a stick stuck between the tailgate and the hardware.

The attachments on the later 81-87 trucks is the same style, but the parts are smaller on these later trucks. I don't know if you can jam an early style tailgate on the smaller fittings of a later model truck, but I suppose it could happen. The latching mechanism is also different as was previously mentioned.

[Boom]

It sounds like someone reversed the ends to discourage tailgate thieves.

[bilfman]

The tailgate on my 79 was bolted in socket hinge on both sides. Had to remove the two bolts at the bottom pivot on the box to get it off. You just have to do the one side.

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by Boom

It sounds like someone reversed the ends to discourage tailgate thieves.

Now that's an interesting idea! I recently bought a spare tailgate (80's) and couldn't install it and found that the hinge cups were mounted backwards. I didn't think the stubs could be mounted on the box backwards though. That is another issue on my list to investigate this week.