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Broken tailgate handle part

grnxnam said:
I dont see what the big deal is... handles on 4 or 5 year old trucks break every day.  And its not just Avalanches.  If it was a $100 repair i could understand, but they're $32.67 shipped on ebay.

Aside from not accepting the idea that a four year old handle should break in the first place, the problem, at least with mine, is that it isn't really the handle.....it's a cheap ass < one cent, poorly built retaining clip on the release mechanism inside the tailgate that you can't get without buying the entire assembly. Bad QC, very annoying, and bad for business.
 
ltxi said:
(blah blah blah)..., and bad for business.
I hear people complain about their Fords, GM's, Toyota, Mercedes, etc... and you know what?  People are creatures of habit.  Lots of people are brand loyal to a fault.  Yeah, we hate/love our vehicles, but most of the ones here complaining about their Avalanche will go out and buy yet another GM product to complain about.....and yes, the next vehicle you buy, whether it be a ford, gm, toyota, mercedes or whatever will break.


(not attacking you if it sounded that way, just sharing my very unwanted opinion.)
 
My 2004 Av tailgate handle snapped in January at the airport when i was taking my luggage out of the back.  Cold weather, no abuse.  Just like everyone else.  I ordered a replacement online from The Parts Bin  (www.thepartsbin.com), part number C580711, for $33.14 plus about $10 shipping.  This part number is claimed to fit 2002-2006, 1500 or 2500, all models.  It is made by a company called Kool-Vue (imported from Taiwan--geez they sell that many Avalanche handles??!!), and was a perfect fit.  IMO the plastic handle part seems slightly more flexible or flimsy than the original, but maybe that's a good thing...  I removed the cladding on the top of the tailgate, which made it much easier to get the assembly out and back  in, and you don''t have to cut anything.  Also, i found it easier to open the gate and lay the two theaded rods into the clamps (i had marked how far they came in with a sharpie while the old assembly was in place).  The rods are easier to manipulate when  the gate is open.  The entire project took less than 30 minutes. 
 
:E: Well mine broke to day when a friend was putting in a spare trailer tire for me.
The hole handle came off in his hand, he about peed himself.  The look on his face :eek: :laugh:
Thought I would check here and see if pickups are the same and go to a u-pull,
but with the help you all put here I will just order one.
My gratitude to all :cheers:

PS:
To open I just pushed on the rod next to the clip. Do not know if this was exposed
because the hole handle came off. It will still open, close, and lock.
 
Hey, my handle is not broken but when I try to lock it with the key, the key will not turn and it has been getting worse, had it to the stealership when I had my extended warranty and jerks told me they could not duplicate and they wd-40 it or so other lubricant. Now i can lock it and I go into some crappy neighborhoods for work. So my question is do I need a lift gate handle assembly or do I just need a new lock cylinder. I appreciate any help for anyone. Thanks. I have a 2004 Z-71 with cladding.
 
Open the tailgate and remove the 2 outer torx screws near the top of the tailgate.  These hold the bezel in place that surrounds the handle and contains the key lock.  Once the screws are out, close the gate and gently pull the bottom of the bezel away. It is held in place on the lower end by plastic push-in type pins.  This should expose the entire tailgate release mechanism.

Work the lock release arm (on side where lock is) with your finger and note all the moving parts.  I don't have a picture of this.  Thoroughly apply grease (any type will do) to anything that moves.  With the bezel still off, try the key in the lock and make sure it turns freely.  A little WD40 on the lock won't hurt.

Before replacing the bezel, make sure the lock arm is in the OPEN POSITION and the key lock is also in the OPEN POSITION.  If the locking arm is in the lock position and you reattach the bezel with the lock in the open position. you ain't gonna get the gate open without removing the bezel again - which means crawling in the midgate to remove the bezel screws from the inside.  I know - I shot myself in the foot on this one. :E:

Anyway line the key lever up with the release arm and press the bezel back on so the two lower clips hold it.  Open the gate and reinstall the two screws removed earlier.

Entire job should take no more than 20 minutes.  Hope this helps.
 
Welp mine can be added to the list.  Snapped on the right side while at a K-9 trial.  :E:

Looking at Rockauto.com there are two entries.  One is for the handle itself ($14.6:cool: and the is the whole assembly ($46.79).  I understand how to get the assembly out of the tailgate (I hope) but how do you take the handle off?  Or do you have to get the whole assembly?
 
Hi - got mine @ Rockauto also.  I bought the full latch assembly.

I looked at the the $14.68 handle just now on Rockauto and I'm not sure if that is just the handle or a cheap knock off of the entire latch assembly.  But it seems quite inexpensive for the entire assembly.  They have a toll free # - give 'em a call.

My only other thought is if you are going to go through the trouble of accessing the assembly, perhaps even removing it to take out the broken handle and install the new one, then why not just replace everything with something new.

Be curious what you find out.  Thanks.
 
if you go to ebay they have tailgate handles for 35 bucks. i found it out after i called the dealer. they wanted 135 bucks for it :eek: it took about 20mins to put it on
 
As if I didn't have enough things breaking around here one of the cheap plastic clips broke on my tailgate handle.  I would order one of the cheap ones off of Amazon.com but my main computer broke and my saved password is stuck in never never land and I can't log into m preferred Amazon account.    :E:
 
My problem is a spring (I think). If I pull the tailgate handle while locked the key won't turn, only way to get it open is find the right spot with a screwdriver while turning the key or crawl thru the midgate and remove the two screws. As long as I remember "don't pull the handle unless it's unlocked" it works just fine.

It's been like this for a year or two, it's like an anti theft device. If someone tries to open my locked tailgate I'll know because the key won't turn until I "fix" it again. I haven't heard of anyone with a similar lock/latch problem.
 
Man just when I thought I had rock bottom for crappy days things only got worse!  :E:  Just tried to take out the three torx screws to remove the handle and two of them stripped out on the first try!!!!!!! Apparently the lock tite was stronger than the screws themselves.  How the hell am I going to get these little bastards out now??
 
These screws have a head on them so try locking a pair of vice grips on them real tight.  Once you got a super tight bite, try to back off the screws using the vice grips.  Vice grips has saved my bacon more than once when the screw head was stripped or the bolt head was rounded, or broken off leaving just a stubby sticking out.

Option 2: if you have a rotary (Dremel) tool, with a small cutting wheel make a slice across the head of the screw as deep as you can go without cutting into the tailgate surface.  Then use a standard screw driver (in the slot you just made) to back the screw out. 
 
Dads04Z71 said:
These screws have a head on them so try locking a pair of vice grips on them real tight.  Once you got a super tight bite, try to back off the screws using the vice grips.  Vice grips has saved my bacon more than once when the screw head was stripped or the bolt head was rounded, or broken off leaving just a stubby sticking out.

Option 2: if you have a rotary (Dremel) tool, with a small cutting wheel make a slice across the head of the screw as deep as you can go without cutting into the tailgate surface.  Then use a standard screw driver (in the slot you just made) to back the screw out. 

Thanks for the help.  Got all the screws off but now its time to replace them.  I need to replace the bolts for the bezel as well as I think they were on the bumper when I just left.   :E:  This  :pjust isn't my week



Edit: Does anyone know the part numbers for these bolts? After looking at bolts at Home Depot I'd rather stick with bolts I know fit and won't compond this problem any further. 
 
As for finding a replacement - take one of the old bolts, find a nut that threads on to it easily.  Then take the nut to your Hardware Store of your choice and find a bolt (philips, torx, etc.) that the nut threads on easily.  That will ensure you got the correct thread size.

If you can't find one of the old bezel screws, remove one of the the screws that holds the latch handle assemble in place.  If I recall these are longer but they are the same thread size.  Find a nut that fits it then replace the latch assembly screw.

Alternative....if you got a box of bolts laying around, find one that threads into the bezel easily.  That is the thread size. If it is the correct length (see below) you home free.  If not, find a nut that fits the screw that fitted the bezel and take it to your Hardware Store. 

As for the length, I just removed one bezel screw from my 04 Avalanche and the exact length, excluding the head, is 2 13/16".  You can probably get away using a 2 3/4" or 2 7/8" length.

Hope this helps.


 
Thanks for all the help on this thread, I replaced the broken tailgate handle on my 2004 Avalanche with a new one today. Probably took 45 minutes, next time 15.

Craig Cleasby
South WIndsor, CT
2004 Avalanche Z71
 
Hey guys,
I have an 02 with a newly broken handle.  All of the instructions for removing the "handle" seem to actually be for removing the "assembly".  My question is, how do you remove just the actual handle?  Seems that there are 2 pins that hold the handle in place, but I don't know how to take those off.  Any ideas?

BTW, this is my first post, but I have a member for a few years and I want to say thank you all for all of the great advise I have found on this site....CUDOS!
 
Hi - not sure on how to just remove the handle but more importantly, I don't think you can purchase it alone, it comes only as part of the entire latch assembly.  So if you do figure out on how to remove it, first make sure you have another handle in hand (no pun intended).
 
Thanks for the reply.  I will take a look at it tonight and see if it does.  According to Rock Auto, you can buy just the handle for $14, but there is no picture to see exactly what comes with it.
 
Anyone have a problem with the plastic clips not holding?  I have tried everything but the clips pop off every three or four times of opening the tailgate.  one of the clips actually broke.
 
All - I just replaced my tailgate handle as well.  All said and done it took about 1 hour.  I expect it will take less the next time I have to replace this part.

Here are a few items I would suggest (my Avalanche is a 2005).  

- I did follow all the steps which shaneamy28 posted in the last page.  
- I also made a small cut in the fiberglass which is blocking the tailgate handle from easy removal.  I really dont see how anyone can replace a bad handle without cutting this piece off.  It really serves no purpose
- Be sure to use the original OEM "clips" which hold the tailgate bars in place.  The new tailgate which I bough on Amazon had some very poor clips..The OEM clips are much better and only take minutes to change out.
- Be sure and use some string to hold the tailgate bars in place.
- Dont worry if the tailgate closes when you are replacing this part.  This happened to me several times but you can just push the tailgate bars in (towards the taillights to re-open)
- Be careful about the replacement handles for sale on eBay.  My first one was bad and the springs did not work as expected.  Of course this is every hard to tell without the original part side-by-side.  I ended up buying one from Amazon and it worked great (minus the poor clips. which I just re-used from the failed handle).

 
Before opening the tailgate, gently but firmly push against the top while lifting the handle. Doing it that way each time, will take the pressure off of the latches and the handle, therefore lessening the chance of it breaking. By pushing in on the top of the tailgate as the handle is lifted you will feel almost no resistance on the handle. Hope this helps.
 
This is very frustrating.  My handle broke last night and when it broke, the blue clip on the right side broke as well and the rod fell down.  Any ideas how to get the gate open now??  This sucks.
 
on the parts listed looks like none of them have keyholes?or i just missed something?mine didnt break but like the other post ,the lock wont turn.i tried the wd-40 trick and it didnt work.anyone knows where can i get a handle that has key hole?
 
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