Hey guys,

My tailgate won't close, it appears as is the fingers aren't springing out to catch the latch on both sides. Is the fix to replace these parts? I can't figure any other solution. I've made sure that the rods are connected on both ends. My tailgate handle is flopping in the breeze so this is what I've figured out!

Did both of my springs just quit at the same time?

Here is a pic of the spring mechanism i am talking about:

 

It may sound really simple, but have you tried putting some lube on them? They could just be hung up from being 30+ years old.

 

Yeah, tried that, but they are flopping around pretty good, just dont seem to have any tension left in them!

 

Springs rusted and busted. I spary into mine liberally with lithium spray grease.

You can likely get some springs at a hardware that you can cut replacements from.

 

I tried everything that was recommended bit nothing would fix the tailgate. I removed the cover plate over the tailgate handle and I staeted feeling around the left hand locking mechanism that clips onto the latch pin and found a small button that released a pin that was disengaged for some reason. once the pin was engaged the tailgate wpupd close properly. I could not fimd the pin on the rignt side.