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K5 tailgate crack

wazzabie

wazzabie

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Does any one else have the tail gate crack on the K5 at the top near where the tailgate mount to the side of the bed? I'm thinking about cutting out this section and welding in a patch. I'm not sure if it will hold however since this is an area of high stress.
 
Yep...every single squarebody I've come across has that crack - on one or both sides of the tailgate.

Mine is busted on the passenger side.
 
simple.... :rolleyes: go pickup tailgate and a softtop with back isenglass... no more cracks...
 
Mine was cracked. I welded it. If it breaks again.... Ill weld it again :rolleyes:
 
I've got one that isn't cracked...I expect the truck did nothing but road driving it's entire life, or sat somewhere for 99% of the time.

I'd like to know if anyone who has caged or boxed the frame on their truck who is running a stock tailgate, has seen the problems go away.

The design can put a variety of stresses on that location, either with the window motor being run with the window fully up, or misalignment of the top/tailgate/latches. Do the manual window setups have the same cracking problem?

But as the tops tend to crack in the pillar in that area as well, I suspect it's frame/body movement that is causing the issue more than the tailgate design.

I was thinking of welding in reinforcing plates in that location, but will instead wait until the frame box/body swap is complete, and then pay attention to see if the cracking continues to spread.
 
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dyeager535 said:
The design can put a variety of stresses on that location, either with the window motor being run with the window fully up, or misalignment of the top/tailgate/latches. Do the manual window setups have the same cracking problem?
Click to expand...

The original tailgate on my K5 was cracked on both sides, and it was a manual window. The replacement - which was also a manual - had a small crack on the passenger side that has grown about 3/16" in the last three years.

I haul a lot of stuff with the Blazer, so the tailgate sees a lot of opening/closing.
 
Well, that rules out the electric setup causing the issue.

FWIW, I've got three tailgates, the one on the truck that gets driven constantly has far worse cracks than the two other tailgates. It isn't opened constantly, but it does get used.
 
I think the cracks are due to the repeated shutting of the tailgate. If you close and push on the tailgate, you can see the flex around those cracked areas.
 
xenomarine said:
can someone post up a picture of it? never seen this crack.... :confused: :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...


Blazertailgatecrack.jpg


It's located under the big gob of silicone, which is on top of the layers of chipping paint, and under the fine coating of moss and the film of dirt.

(BTW, this is not the recommended fix for the issue, but it works when keeping water out of your tailgate is a priority.)
 
My K5 is a manual tail gate and has the crack on the passenger side. The crack however does is not vertical as in the photo but horizontal. It is about 1-2in currently. It is small enough that now is the time to weld it I think before it get any larger.
 
I guess I have a bonus with mine! It has both sides and the middle cracked!! I think the rust pinholes in the middle helped there. I have heard that the middle can crack from pushing in just the middle to close the gate.
 
wazzabie said:
My K5 is a manual tail gate and has the crack on the passenger side. The crack however does is not vertical as in the photo but horizontal. It is about 1-2in currently. It is small enough that now is the time to weld it I think before it get any larger.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Almost all the failures I've seen in this area resulted in vertical cracks. I don't think I've ever seen one that runs horizontally.

It seems to me that the repeated opening and closing of the tailgate (over 20+ years) fatigues the metal in the area above the latch, eventually causing a break. My guess is that hauling things and/or beating on the truck doesn't help matters.
 
My original tailgate had one vertical but it wasn't on the ends...it was to the left of the latch handle and I found that when closing the tailgate that my hand would nearly always end up on that spot...
maybe it all depends on how much gusto one shuts the tailgate with and where you put your hands when pushing it? :dunno:
 
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