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Photos of my bent tailgate

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by Caddmannq, Apr 22, 2009.

  1. Apr 22, 2009 at 6:17 AM
    #1
    Caddmannq

    Caddmannq [OP] MotoNerd

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    Previously ranted about in another thread, I'd bent my tailgate by stepping on it too hard, in just the wrong spot. With the plastic panel off, what appeared to be a very slight bow in the tailgate manifests itself as a sharp dent. I straightened it all up pretty well with a big clamp & some 2x4's. Man oh man, is that metal THIN!

    Also it's amazing that the plastic shows no damage at all, considering the shape of the dent.

    Note that the top rail of the gate is still perfectly straight, and from the exterior the gate only shows the slightest bow in it at the bottom. It's all but invisible and I didn't want to risk kinking the outer skin trying to straighten it any more.

    I'm going to reinforce the gate, but right now I'm still considering just how to go about it.

    dent_6a7725cb10f1425778a25d7917ea3cc573660074.jpg

    clamp_35981a10decc9bcddd19a10d59f5adb24a257de2.jpg
     
  2. Apr 22, 2009 at 6:21 AM
    #2
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    I was thinking about bolting some angle iron inside the tailgat in some locations. Think that would be a viable fix?
     
  3. Apr 22, 2009 at 6:40 AM
    #3
    dragon129

    dragon129 Mod wannabee

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    Relentlesstaco, here's another customer for the reinforcement.... Do a search on "tailgate reinforcement" and you should find what he has to offer. A few of us are trying to get him to make us some nice diamond plate to prevent exactly what happened to your tailgate. It looks like nice stuff. I'm on board if he would pull the trigger...:D
     
  4. Apr 22, 2009 at 6:47 AM
    #4
    toast

    toast Well-Known Member

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    Pretty sure there was a TSB on this.....
     
  5. Apr 22, 2009 at 6:53 AM
    #5
    edwinalink

    edwinalink robo-ninja

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  6. Apr 22, 2009 at 7:27 AM
    #6
    Hotdog

    Hotdog My hair is all natural Moderator

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    The easiest reinforcement would be like Chris said and to bolt/rivet/weld some angle iron on there. The key here would be to get two of the longest pieces of angle that you could easily fit in there. Have them go to the end and then overlap them in the middle.

    You could also look into getting a plate bent over the tailgate. A few people have done that.
     
  7. Apr 22, 2009 at 9:17 AM
    #7
    Negative1

    Negative1 Well-Known Member

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    I would cut some small 2x4 blocks to wedge under where it bent...
    Now when I say wedge, I mean very lightly tap them into place, so that it doesnt dent the exterior painted side of the gate.

    Now that I think about it, it might cause damage to the exterior if enough weight was on that one spot where the 2x4 wedge is....

    Nevermind.... LOL

    go with the full plate cover that the others are suggesting... Im going to have a local steel shop fabricate one for me, as soon as I get my truck :)
     
  8. Apr 22, 2009 at 9:19 AM
    #8
    eordonez

    eordonez Living vicariously through mjp2

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    what year is your tacoma? isnt it under warranty??
     
  9. Apr 22, 2009 at 9:40 AM
    #9
    dragon129

    dragon129 Mod wannabee

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    Those three letters piss me off to no end. It should be, "Recall" not TSB. Well, I can see how this particular issue could be a TSB, but I also cannot do the AAL TSB. That should be a recall. Is everyone on this board eligible for the TSB's??? Stupid question I know, but everyone mentions TSB to me when I'm way out of the 3 year 36,000 mile mark. Everything is on my own now. I get no help from Toyota.
     
  10. Apr 22, 2009 at 9:41 AM
    #10
    TEX357

    TEX357 TX

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    Why hasnt toyota fixed this yet? are the 09s bend able too?
     
  11. Apr 22, 2009 at 9:54 AM
    #11
    eordonez

    eordonez Living vicariously through mjp2

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    i dont think they are, they corrected the problem when 08 where on production, yet some 08's that where early produced still have the issue, and later VIN's where fixed
     
  12. Apr 22, 2009 at 10:15 AM
    #12
    Caddmannq

    Caddmannq [OP] MotoNerd

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    The diamond-plate fix that's been posted here doesn't do much to reinforce the rail that I bent. Mainly it reinforces the top edge of the gate. You couldn't really add a flange to the bottom edge, as it's so close to the bed already that the gate wouldn't close right.

    You could easily put a bar, an angle, or a custom-bent channel inside the bottom of the gate. It would not bother me to make this part one-piece, and cut those flimsy bits of sheetmetal to get it into the gate, then splice those back together with some thicker metal to reinforce them as well.

    ...But...my gate has the wiring for the backup camera, and that runs through a hole in the bottom edge of the gate. not sure how I'd go about that business.
     
  13. Apr 22, 2009 at 11:06 AM
    #13
    Caddmannq

    Caddmannq [OP] MotoNerd

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    BTW, mine's an '09 and yes under warranty. I wasn't going to take it in for this if I could straighten it out in 30 minutes myself because if it really gets bent later I don't want them to give me a song & dance about it already having the TSB incorporated on '09's.

    AFAICT, my Taco falls outside of the VIN's that the TSB will affect, which means it already has the "stronger" tailgate. I hate to think what the weaker one was like.
     
  14. Apr 22, 2009 at 11:07 AM
    #14
    eordonez

    eordonez Living vicariously through mjp2

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    yea, kinda like a POS is my guess.... anyways, i wish i had a tailgate to bend LMAO
     
  15. Apr 22, 2009 at 11:17 AM
    #15
    GoBlueFan

    GoBlueFan Well-Known Member

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    If you can bend a tailgate with that plate on there...you need a bigger truck. Yes it will strengthen the top rail, but a solid plate over the entire tailgate will not bend as the composite did.
     
  16. Apr 22, 2009 at 11:26 AM
    #16
    Caddmannq

    Caddmannq [OP] MotoNerd

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    Probably so, but now that I have the Undercover toneau on the diamond plate isn't really an option.
     
  17. Apr 22, 2009 at 11:34 AM
    #17
    GoBlueFan

    GoBlueFan Well-Known Member

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    I'm going with something different than diamond plate. Not a big fan of it. I'll do a sheet steel powdercoated thing.
     
  18. Apr 22, 2009 at 12:41 PM
    #18
    AzPrerunner05

    AzPrerunner05 Desert Rat

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    How did you do that?
    I've had a 22R and a 3.0 Supra strait 6 sit on my tailgate (not at the same time)
    no bending at all.
    I could move a pissed off Bruce Banner in this thing and be fine.
     
  19. Apr 22, 2009 at 2:07 PM
    #19
    Caddmannq

    Caddmannq [OP] MotoNerd

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    I was loading my bike in the back...

    [​IMG]
     
  20. Apr 22, 2009 at 2:10 PM
    #20
    TacoNut

    TacoNut IgnoringChrisWatchingEdLi veVicariouslyThroughMJP2

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    I've replaced the front piece with 16ga. steel and will be welding some angle into the top soon.
     

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