I bought an "08 LTZ with over 175,000 miles on it. It appears that it has had some minor impact to the right rear bumper in the past. When I open the tailgate, the pivot on the passenger side is so loose it bumps and clunks. On closer inspection, it looks like there is some sort of bushing material that is badly worn or broken away. Has anyone else had to deal with this? If so, can I get by with an inexpensive DIY home remedy? Should I take it to a body shop or Chevy dealer? Or do you think I should just ignore it? Sincere thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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Tailgate pivot bushings ?
- Thread starter Hoot Al
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Just won a 4 year fight with my tailgate a few weeks ago. Had about 30 sheets of subfloor slide out of my bed in a steep driveway. Bent a little bit of everything involved: hinges/pivots, quarter panels, substructure where quarter panels attach, tailgate, etc. At first, gate would not close. Once I got it to latch, there was a gap between it and panel #3 that curved out to about 3/4" in the middle. It took about an hour of looking it over and talking it over with a friend who owns a body shop(twice); and then about 10-12hrs (over 4 yrs) of prying, bending, beating, cursing and body line/gap matching on my own to get everything back where it started. My bushings were/are pretty worn and part of the lip on one is missing but obviously weren't my biggest issue. Main concern was secure latching and proper sealing.
The bushing material is some type of plastic/vinyl. In a half-effort search, I did not find them in new/unused condition online....... I rolled the dice based off of a review on Jeffazon in which some dude stated "they fit his Chevy truck perfectly" and spent $7.xx on a set that were being sold for a Dodge, but looked identical to ours. Turns out they are the same shape, but not same diameter and do not fit the 2011 Chevy Avalanche.
Take it to Body Shop or Dealer? (IMHO) Neither, unless it's rattling and driving you nuts while driving, not secure, or leaking bad enough to affect cargo? or the previous body damage is severe and the root cause of your problem? I recommend spending a little time looking it over closely, look at the gaps between the tailgate and taillights on both sides, between the hinges/pivots and the quarter panels, between tailgate and panel #3, tailgate and bumper etc. If any are significantly different between the driver and pass sides and you feel it could be affecting tailgate bushings; then I would try and find a smaller Body shop or a "Body Repairman" to consult. Bigger the Shop bigger the cost......and there are other issues with these vehicles that are of much more importance you may encounter. I'd save my money where I could, just in case
But you could def call a Body Shop or (even better) a BS Supply Store or a Dealer and check on getting new ones?
My DIY remedy was to hit them lightly with a brass bristled wheel on a dremel and give friction surfaces a shot of white lithium grease
Please let me know if you find replacement bushings, after all the time I've put into this fight over last 4yrs I'm currently not planning on scheduling a rematch
Thank you for your valued input. I appreciate you sharing from your experience. The tailgate seems to function okay and closes and seals properly, although the tip of the lower right corner is curled out a bit. I haven't noticed rattles while driving. It is just that when it is opening, the right side pivot is very loose and sloppy, due to bushing damage. I open the tailgate once or twice a week. Your expert opinion leads me to believe I should not take this minor annoyance to the dealer or body shop. Not sure at this time how hard I will look for a new bushing. Thanks again.
damascus maker
Full Member
You might find something here https://www.mcmaster.com/bushings/material~plastic/
I know tailgate bushings exist for the tailgates, you jsut need to make sure you get the right part number. A dealer should be able to help, or you can find the assembly diagrams at sites like https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/ You can then google that number for the best price. I thought I had found it when looking yesterday, but I couldn't be sure, having an older model myself and it looked a bit funny.