• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Tailgate torsion bar lift assist (removes 70% tailgate weight)

MS03 2500 said:
I can't see why the EZ down for a NBS silverado would not fit the NBS Avalanches or EXT

I bought the stablius one for 20 at o rielly's and while it did go on and fit, I noticed the shock will bottom out on opening before the weight of the tailgate was on the cable on that side.  Not sure if it is a problem.  I think the shock needs to be 1/2-5/8 longer.  If I pushed hard on the tailgate the cable would take the load.  Let me know what you guys think.  I might be able to have my dad weld a piece of metal on the end that goes on the tailgate and extended it and drill a new whole.  I can provide pictures if needed.
 
Well I made it work.  I don't have a welder, but cut off where the shock mounts and moved it with a bolt and painted it, now it works fine.

IMG_6703.jpg


IMG_6704.jpg


IMG_6705.jpg


IMG_6706.jpg


IMG_6707.jpg


IMG_6708.jpg


IMG_6709.jpg
 
Nice Mod 48548

Just remember if your tailgate pops open by itself you will never know it. So you may want to rig a alarm for it. I used a mercury switch so I know it's down.
 
MS03 2500 said:
Nice Mod 48548

Just remember if your tailgate pops open by itself you will never know it. So you may want to rig a alarm for it. I used a mercury switch so I know it's down.

Is that a known problem opening by itself?  I always pull on it when I close it to make sure it is latched on both sides.
 
Troublemaker said:
guess that attempt at a joke backfired on me...  lol

was hoping you would take a pick of the ez-down with the tailgate closed (or at least attempt to take a pic...)

I had just got up and my brain doesn't work for a few hours...  Especially with little sleep so it was my bad.
 
Like a few others mentioned in the previous page, I can longer see the pics from the EZ lift torsion bar.  Can somebody snap a few pics?  Definitely doing the EZ down; still trying to decide if I'm gonna do the EZ lift as well.  My tailgate doesn't really seem that heavy to me, I'm more concerned about it slamming down.
 
I ordered the DeeZee EZ down and got it installed yesterday.  I ordered it on realtruck.com for $29 w/ free shipping, which I thought was pretty sweet.  I also received it real fast through ups.  Link is below
http://www.realtruck.com/dee-zee-ez-down-tailgate-assist-kit/

Anyways as far as the install.......super easy.  After removing the bolt on the tailgate, I took a screwdriver and pried the tailgate cup bracket out and slid the EZ down mount bracket behind it then screwed it back down.  I also swapped the location of the tailgate cable and EZ down strut; in the install instructions it has the cable going on the stud first then the ez down.  When I did it like that, everytime I would close the tailgate the strap would stick out the gap between tailgate and taillight.  So basically just had to flip flop them and put the ez down strut on first then the cable.  Only problem now is since I wedged the strut bracket on the tailgate behind the cup bracket, it has thrown that side of the tailgate off just a hair.  That side is slightly higher, so when closing the tailgate it hits on the bottom part of the latch assembly on the striker.  No biggie, just need to take the grinder and grind a little bit off bottom of the assembly where it is hitting. 
 
I did the tailgate torsion bar install over the weekend. I got mine for about $19 on amazon with free shipping if you spend over $25 (I had some other things to get too). Installation was pretty straight forward using these instructions. I cut 3/4" off the end of A, used a grinder to round off the part that hits the steel on the inside of the bedrail. On side B I used a hammer to straighten out the end. There was a slight bend in mine. Then I rounded off the end to make it easer to slide into the 3/8" hole that I had drilled. With the torsion bar installed, it made it a little more difficult to reinstall the tailgate. This was becuase the torsion bar really holds the tailgate in the middle of the opening, so you have to stretch the torsion bar to get the hinge to go back in place on the drivers side. At least my bar tended to hold the tailgate too close to the drivers side that made it difficult. Definitely a 2 man job to do this. Once I got the tailgate back on, it sure did go up and down easy.

Now I'm kicking myself because I want to put a rear view camera in the tailgate handle. I hope I can do that without taking the tailgate completely off. 
 
I did the torsion bar and the ez down strut two weekends ago.  Wasn't a hard install, and it works great.  Only thing I noticed is sometimes my driver side cable gets pinched between the tailgate and the side of the bed when I close it.  That happened the first couple times, now it seems to have "found it's home" and I have no problems.  My fiancee thinks I'm a dork because I asked her to put the tailgate down when we went shopping just so she could see how easy it is.  It really is effortless now.
 
camaroz1985 said:
My fiancee thinks I'm a dork because I asked her to put the tailgate down when we went shopping just so she could see how easy it is.  It really is effortless now.

My girlfriend thought the same thing.
 
Thinking of doing these mods on my '05. Does the torsion bar help in keeping the tailgate from slamming down? Or is it just to help lift the tailgate when closing?

Which model EZ Down should I get?
 
The easy up bar just helps raising the tailgate. The easy down shock stops it from slamming down
 
Had some time today to finally install this thing. I had a issue with the hole in the side of the AV and had to bend the bar a bit.

When I drilled it I found I had to drill thru 2 sheet of metal so the natural bend in the bar would not work so out came the touch.

2012-11-10_16-44-23_755_zps00c36f78.jpg
 
Since I already had a EZ Down I had to be careful to mount it out of the way. You can barely see the bar and the other end that goes into the tailgate.


2012-11-10_17-20-18_786_zps1e53483c.jpg


2012-11-10_17-19-52_43_zps6594528f.jpg
 
The tailgate feels about 2 pounds and still floats down. (y)
 
JB subscribing to this thread....I need info from this topic so I can mod my cladded TG.. To the idea posters and posted solutions to clad mods, THANKS for sharing....
 
James Bond 007 said:
... subscribing to this thread....I need info from this topic so I can mod my cladded TG.. To the idea posters and posted solutions to clad mods, THANKS for sharing....

x2
Question... what's the word on these things rattling with the gate up.
 
Torsion bar is a must... did some shots on my install
http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/topic,136936.msg2000680.html#msg2000680
 
Back
Top