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Tailgate Cable Snapped

G

got_change

GUEST
my 2002 z-71 snapped the cable on the left side, that supports the tailgate.

i had climbed up from the rear bumper, to walk thru the bed, to clean the clad.

luckily the right side held, so the tailgate didn't drop all the way down.

kinda just letting you all know, to watch for this, and attatched a pic of snapped cable, it looks like it rusted out.
 

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got_change said:
kinda just letting you all know, to watch for this, and attatched a pic of snapped cable, it looks like it rusted out.
Click to expand...

You can't back the Avalanche that far down the boat ramp. ;) ;)

All kidding aside, there was probably a small crack in the sheath, and a little salt got in there. Glad to hear you and the gate are OK. Now, I gotta go check mine out.
 
I thought I had seen a discussion on this before, but couldn't find it using the search engine. I normally haul a dirt bike with my tailgate down until yesterday when standing on the tailgate, prior to unloading, both of the tailgate cables snapped and dropped the gate onto the rear bumper. Has anyone had any problems with this? Should these cables be replaced at a certain interval? Thanks for any input....
 
hey beast, maybe its just me and you, but i found my tailgate cable was ..rusted, and snapped.

after only a little more than 1 year.

i have, pulled the tailgate off 15 or 20 times, but dont really know why it rusted.

have you got new cables under warranty yet?
i havent had the time to go back to dealer yet

hey av bro, when the tailgate dropped, did it get hurt,on the the bumper or hitch??

i put my little hot rod scooter in the bed, and have had to leave gate down, cause bike is a few inches too long to fit, and have tailgate close.

i found that its easier to roll bike into bed, with tailgate off, and leave tailgate at home, when taking bike in av, and put ramp over top of bumper, instead of tailgate!!

ride on av brother!!!
 
I had this problem on my 97 Silverado, the cables were replaced under warranty, I discovered that when the tailgate is up (closed) the cable ends are also pointing up which in turn lets water in both ends of the cable, since the cover is plastic it will hold the water that accumulates at the bottom of the loop. When I got my 2002 Ave. the first thing I did was fill the ends where they are crimped to the loops with silicone. P.S. you must dry out cables before doing this or you will seal water in tube :cool:
 
Both of my cables were rusted....I was thinking of dipping the new ones in the stuff made to rubberize tool ends or something. I hate that I can't trust the things anymore though! May need to go back to the solid bar types that Ford used to use.
 
Hi, I am new here and this is my first post.
I sure hope some one can help me with this problem.
My husband bought me a 2002 AV last year.....to be exact 13 months ago....I really love it, but my first major problem has happened to me......over the weekend my tailgate cables broke and the down went the tailgate......it was scratched, and some metal was bent on the tailgate, my manufactor warrenty has expired by 800 miles when this happened. I think GM should go ahead and fix my truck!!!!

I went to my nearest dealership and the manager did not give me the time of day....So I called the safety dept of GM and told them what happened, he was real quick on getting on the problem I should be receiving a phone call back tomorrow for the out come of this.

Should GM pay for this????

I just thank GOD!!!!!!! that my kid was not standing or sitting on the tailgate when it broke! He could have been hurt very badly.
Has any one had this problem?
If not MAKE sure you have your cables checked!!!!!!

Sheila
 
I agree! They should and probley will fix it for you, I don't think they want any safety issues.

Butch
 
I do believ the cable broke for someone else on here in their warranty period.....Please do a search...

If the tailgate was up all the way the cable do not hold it closed......for some if they do not shut the tailgate hard enough then while driving it will fall and I beleive this is when have had some cables broken but this waqs due to the tailgate not being firmly shut......

Does GM have to pay for it? .....If I was GM I dunno...have to see everything ya know

What metal was bent as the tailgate is made from a plastic?
 
I'm glad to hear that nobody was hurt!

This has been discussed before. So that we can keep related information together, and to make it easier to find all related information, please continue this discussion at the existing topic: tailgate cable snapped

-- SS
 
Hello, Just got my used Avalanche last week and one of the cables snapped already, looked rusted to me too. Has anyone found a bulletproof replacement? Maybe something in stainless cable?

Thanks,

John
02 Z66
 
Sounds like an issue...Mine snapped a couple months ago-replace 'em on warranty, though the service rep had never seen that happen before. Here in Arizona, didn't think rust would be an issue. They did look corroded though. Looked curiously like a corroded battery cable. (?) Some kinda weird static charge building up from the pro tec tailgate? Sounds far fetched, but it really did look more like corrosion than rust. I have to admit that it's comforting to hear that it's happend to others-it was hard on the ego when the only weight on the tailgate was mine!
 
Hmmm.. My left-side tail cable snapped this weekend. Was moving my daughter back to college campus and just leaned on it (gate down) for a breather - I nearly had a heart attack when it popped. Thank God the right side cable held.

The cable material didn't seem to be metal at all, it looked like a black composite material instead, otherwise it was a corrosion unlike any I've ever seen before. I didn't see any shiny metal.

Originally an AZ vehicle now in north Texas, rust isn't a primary problem in either region - so I'm confused what would cause complete failure in such a short period.

I'm kind of curious to determine what caused it. If it had something to do with rust, then it may be related to the cable letting water in when the gate is up (as another member posted). The gate has never supported anything heavier than my 6' x 200 lb self.

Are there any replacements better than those from the dealer?
 
Congelado said:
In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves, "Whoa". The Av tailgate is one of the heaviest around...
Click to expand...

what he said. good thing you did not hurt yourself. or even worse, you could have snapped the other side hitting the tailgate on the bumper possibly. :8: ???
 
I have now replaced both of my cables, passenger side went over the 4th of July weekend with 3 people on it while in motion (back woods trail (reaaal slow ;)) and the other last weekend, first was replaced by dealer but I am now over the 36k and they now claim they would not do it anyway because it is a "trim" piece and not covered under warranty :eek:
Anyhow both showed serious signs of corrosion (no shiny cable left at all) on either cable and this is a Texas truck so it has never seen salt. Must be a manufacturing issue..
I would also be interested in a stainless cable if one exists.
 
this scares me a bunch....wonder if their is any way to inspect
 
ygmn said:
this scares me a bunch....wonder if their is any way to inspect
Click to expand...
Jump up and down on the open tailgate?
scared.gif



Sorry about, couldn't resist. >:D

I think I'm okay... for now. At last week's GTG, I and a couple others, were sitting on my tailgate with no ill effects. With me sitting on it, that's a testament to their strength. :rolleyes:

Still, being in an area where they use a lot of salt, corrosion is a concern...
scared.gif


-- SS
 
;D ;D ;D ;D Typical GM/Chevrolet. Something like this should not break, not after 1 year. But, both of mine did. Good luck on finding an aftermarket replacement that is the correct length. I was not about to buy another one from GM to fail in another year. Interesting that GM is running a quality ad campaign, I saved my broken cables and are going to FED EX them to the head honcho of GM/Chevrolet and tell him what I think of their quality. Also going to take a picture of my front gold bowtie that is coming apart. Quality. Yea, right. My Avalanche is long out of warranty, but this is BS that things like the cables snap, the gold flakes off, etc. Is this just a symptom of minor things or is the transmission going to fall off from a bad bolt.
 
ShapeShifter said:
ygmn said:
this scares me a bunch....wonder if their is any way to inspect
Click to expand...
Jump up and down on the open tailgate?
scared.gif



Sorry about, couldn't resist. >:D

I think I'm okay... for now. At last week's GTG, I and a couple others, were sitting on my tailgate with no ill effects. With me sitting on it, that's a testament to their strength. :rolleyes:

Still, being in an area where they use a lot of salt, corrosion is a concern...
scared.gif


-- SS
Click to expand...


Yuck yuck ....ah wise guy....nyuck nyuck nyuck (best 3 stooges impersonation)
 
kz5bw5 said:
Also going to take a picture of my front gold bowtie that is coming apart. Quality. Yea, right. My Avalanche is long out of warranty, but this is BS that things like the cables snap, the gold flakes off, etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah - my gold bowtie is all messed up too.

But this cable thing is really scaring me. I spent a lot of time walking and sitting on the open tailgate this weekend. I guess Chevy won't do a recall until someone falls and gets seriously hurt because of a busted cable.

Are these tailgate cables any different than the ones on the Silverado?
 
ygmn said:
this scares me a bunch....wonder if their is any way to inspect
Click to expand...
A visual insp should suffice. I will replace at the first sign of fraying or visible damage such as pinching.

Pinching girls, good. Pinching cables, bad :2:
 
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