M1009 tailgate crooked?

[mdeamicis]

My tailgate sits higher on the right and the is more room betwwen the gate and bulkhead at top right and low left.

Obviously larger gap between the gate and bumper on the left side.

Close ups of the gaps between the bumper and gate at the hinges.

The gate is closer to the left bukhead at the bottom with the gap being larger at the top while on the rihht the gap is larger at the bottom.


On the rihgt side there are a few washers underneath the latch to space it far enough off the bulkhead to catch the gate.


Also, you have to close the right side with some persuasion or it will not latch due to the misalignment. The situatikn with the latch vauses a lot of chirping while closing and while driving.

I am not sure if this is related to the misalignment but there is some cracking at either end of the window opening.


Does anyone have experience with these issues? I think the misalignment is caused by one of the hinges being bent up or down. The rigjt side being bent up is my suspicion. Any suggestions on repairing the cracks? It sems like the ends are pushed down a little and it is going to be a pita to get them pulled back into place.

 

[Barrman]

You can loosen the tailgate side of the hinges and slide it over a bit. I think the truck side of the hinges can be adjusted as well. Just be real carefull because the spring steel in there will hurt you bad.

Pulling the glass out is easy as is pulling the felt. Clean the area around the cracks and weld them up. Come back with a flapper grinding disc to smooth it all out again.

The -20 TM covers pulling the hinges, aligning the tailgate and pulling the glass.

 

[cucvrus]

Check the rear cross member in the rear. I have had this happen to me once while I was 4 wheeling. The weight of the spare tire and a chain bag combined added a lot of weight over the right rear. And that lead to a bit of flex in the rear floor threshold area. I jacked it up and put and pushed on it at a friends body shop and it corrected the gap in the back. I added a reinforcement to the rear cross member and adjusted the gate, hinges and strikers. The back gate on the M1009 is a weak gate and most have been over loaded and abused over the years. The barn door set up would have been much better. But yours does not look that bad. Strip the gate out and get it welded and rebuild it with some new tracks and get everything cleaned, lubed and adjusted. The rear gate of the M1009 can be an expensive item to fix properly.

 

[mdeamicis]

Thanks Barman and CUCVRUS!

I gutted the gate a week after I bought her to fix the rollers. Ended up ordering the rollers plus extras along with seals for the gate and the front doors as well a the tracks since the felt was shot It makes sence to fix the tailgate while the guts are out. I will check out the floor and crossmember before I look into the TM for gate alignment procedures.could anyone pleas post a pick of the end of the tilgate window opening in proper comdition.It seems like some of the material has been raised or lowered do to pushing abainst the toper. When I weld it up I want it right.

 

[cucvrus]

I have some pictures of the gates I repaired over the years. I will see if I can find them. I always cut a thin piece of 12 gauge steel and stitch weld it along the top edge to get some strength back in the top at the center and the ends. I have had great success with this repair. It is not a fix all. If you are going to use the gate for a work truck it will continue to break at other places and always need repaired. The only true fix is to replace the entire gate shell with a GM gate. That seems to hold up the best. But with heavy use they will fail eventually also. I think it was a poor design as a utility truck gate. There are a lot of parts inside and the glass just adds to the issue. But it did last this long so now just some TLC and no abuse and it will last 30 more years.

 

[mdeamicis]

I like the idea of a GMC tailgate. So typical of Detroit motor bimpoes to make you upgrade if you want a real tailgate. I don't think I will ever beat on the gate itself but I despise underingineering and built in inferiority. My 4runner is pushing 200k and the electric window in the rear still works perfect and that truck has sen all weather and lots of use.

The cargo deck is mostly flat with minimal dings from gear slinging. The undercariqfe shows zero signs of stress. The gate is definitlynsiting higher on the rigjt and prety mush where it is supposed to be on the left. The bumper misalingment is independent of the tailgate.I looked rel close to where the ends wrap ar the quarter pannels ans the right sits lower. I am unsure if the pumper is supposed to have a lean to it. Like if you look at the center axis of the bumper from back to front the front is sort of pounted up 5 to 10 degrees. I can find no signs of over torque or impact anywhwre on the bumper or any of the brqckets and bolting points. I know it is going to get under my skin so I needmto figure it out. Might end up just building a low profile high clearnace bumper anyway.

 

[cucvrus]

Take the rear bumper off. There are a lot of brackets in the back that hold it on. They have a million different adjustments. Get them all adjusted slightly tighten a few and reinstall the rear bumper and adjust them until everything is in alignment. It will take some patience but I have done it several times. These trucks are not virgins they have been taken apart and put back together by guys that don't know crap from shinola. Give it a try. New bolts are nice if you can't work easily with the ones you have. Give it a try.

 

[mdeamicis]

Take the rear bumper off. There are a lot of brackets in the back that hold it on. They have a million different adjustments. Get them all adjusted slightly tighten a few and reinstall the rear bumper and adjust them until everything is in alignment. It will take some patience but I have done it several times. These trucks are not virgins they have been taken apart and put back together by guys that don't know crap from shinola. Give it a try. New bolts are nice if you can't work easily with the ones you have. Give it a try.

I can vouch for your assertion regarding the mixed bad of fruits working on military hardware. Having worked in 5 different commands from front line units to turbine rebuild facilites and even an atomic emisions spectrometrylab, I have worked with those you would rather just send home more often than not.

There is so littlerust on this bucket that the bolts are probably fine. It took me longer to get sockets on the inside bolts than to spin them of once torque was broke when I removed the pintle hitch. I doubt I will need to replace any.

Thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge. You remind me of the vw owners bible I grew up with.You should think about something like that for the various steel soldiers younseem to know so well.

 

[AFGVET]

You can loosen the tailgate side of the hinges and slide it over a bit. I think the truck side of the hinges can be adjusted as well. Just be real carefull because the spring steel in there will hurt you bad.

Pulling the glass out is easy as is pulling the felt. Clean the area around the cracks and weld them up. Come back with a flapper grinding disc to smooth it all out again.

The -20 TM covers pulling the hinges, aligning the tailgate and pulling the glass.

TM 9-2320-289-20, 20 JAN 1988 does not cover alignment of the tailgate (Army Nomenclature "Endgate")
Section 10-21. ENDGATE MAINTENANCE (M1009). This task covers: a. Removal c. Assembly b. Disassembly d. Installation
It does not cover aligning the endgate.
BUT
Thank you for referencing this TM.
While looking for how to align the endgate I came across other pearls of CUCV lore.