badmix
1/2 ton status
First off, im horrible at body work. Ive used a gallon of puddy one time to fill in a 1/2 dollar size hole. lol. Anyways, this is the only bad spot on my whole truck. Its on the tailgate and the metal is ripped it looks like.
CK5
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How should I go about fixing this (tailgate crack rust)?
- Thread starter badmix
- Start date
MattK
1/2 ton status
clean it up and weld would be the best fix. mine was doing that and i just went and got a truck tailgate after the window quit.
SLOK5
1/2 ton status
Grind it down to metal. Drill a small hole at the bottom of the crack, wled it up, grind it down...apply filler as needed.....prime...paint.
badmix
1/2 ton status
yeah I figured the small hole would help take the pressure off the metal and prevent further cracking. The welding option isnt one right now. When and if I ever yank the badges and repaint then ill have a shop weld up all the holes. But for now Id like to do a semi permanent fix. Ill drill the lil hole, grind it down and see where I end up. It looks kinda like this is a skin and under it is more metal.
I'd pull the glass and the weatherstrip.
Place a piece of 18 Ga steel under the crack, then MIG weld.
Place a piece of 18 Ga steel under the crack, then MIG weld.
GruntHunter
1/2 ton status
Mine did the same thing. My body guy tried to patch it before he painted it but when he was adjusting the tailgate to close easier it cracked out again. It did the same thing on both sides. I blamed it on the previous owner having an aftermarket exterior spare tire carrier mounted on it and thought it was just plain old metal fatigue. I dropped it back off with him on Monday and he's going to weld it up and repaint it.
Oh yeah, I'm replacing the window seals so he pulled the old one and is not putting the new one in until after he repaints it.
You can just see the bracket on the top edge of the tailgate and the two on the corners in the old photos. I almost left the top one on. It was handy to use as an anchor for a bungee cord I used to steady my hitch carrier when it's flipped up :-)
Oh yeah, I'm replacing the window seals so he pulled the old one and is not putting the new one in until after he repaints it.
You can just see the bracket on the top edge of the tailgate and the two on the corners in the old photos. I almost left the top one on. It was handy to use as an anchor for a bungee cord I used to steady my hitch carrier when it's flipped up :-)
Ive seen this time and time again on blazers,I agree on grinding and welding,not sure the small hole is of any consequence. Be carefull when grinding not to make the metal too thin, the crack is from the stress of twisting and will def. have to be welded. anything else will crack.Backing it up with some metal is a good idea,just remember to treat the backside with some rustproofing when done.Try setting the welder on a piece of scrap the same thickness as always penetration is everything.
