Tailgate Hard To Latch

[aod92]

The tailgate on my 67 is a pain to latch. You really have to push hard on the gate. I've tried adjusting my hinges and latches but they don't move much. Is this a common problem with these old trucks? I also did notice my tailgate has a slight bowe in it. Would that cause the problem?

[luvbowties]

The bow could have come from slamming the t-gate to latch it, depending on direction of bow. That style latch is bad about rusting/crusting on the male fastener "plugs" in each end. Clean & lube them; and do the entire latching mechanism while you are in there. Make sure the handle-closing causes those plugs to emerge fully from their open, sucked-in position. You may get lucky and fix it w/o going inside the gate, but likely you'll hafta remove the inner gate panel to access & free up everything.

Also, make sure nobody put in too-thick rubber stops to eliminate rattling.
hth
Sam

[serge]

Looking at picture (good looking truck by the way) the right side of tailgate appears to be 3/16" lower.
May want to check this out.
Otherwise would remove entire mechanism from tailgate to clean, lubricate and adjust. Did this to mine and works like new.
Side note: just painted my tailgate letters white. What a PITA.

[KY_GMC]

From the picture, it seems to look like your gaps are off. It looks like the top is tighter than at the bottom.

When I installed my tailgate recently, I had to loosen the bolts that hold the bed side to the floor in the rear and allow the top the bed side to move to get the gaps uniform. From there, everything lined up and I don't have to slam the tailgate at all. It is so smooth that I can lift the handle and push it close and let go and it is latched.

[aod92]

The gaps are off and I wasn't sure how to fix it. I had to literally pull the bed sides apart to get the tailgate to fit in between them. My truck has a wood floor so do you thing loosening those bolts will make a difference?