Plastic Tailgate Hinge covers

[river_rat]

While working on wiring my trailer light connector this weekend, I noticed that the plastic boxes that cover the tailgate arms underneath the bed were both loose. Closer inspection of these covers showed that they were both broken where the plastic brackets hold them in place. Did a quick check at GM Parts Direct to see if these covers are available shows the left side lists at $78.00 and the right side is $417.00............ Are you kidding. I'll check with Byers or Rssrtoy to see if I looked up the right part but at that price, I'll have to attempt a repair first and determine what caused them to crack. Anyone else have these crack?

[JimBob]

I can do a lot of "fixin" for $500.00. JB Weld fixes a lot of things

Originally Posted by river_rat

While working on wiring my trailer light connector this weekend, I noticed that the plastic boxes that cover the tailgate arms underneath the bed were both loose. Closer inspection of these covers showed that they were both broken where the plastic brackets hold them in place. Did a quick check at GM Parts Direct to see if these covers are available shows the left side lists at $78.00 and the right side is $417.00............ Are you kidding. I'll check with Byers or Rssrtoy to see if I looked up the right part but at that price, I'll have to attempt a repair first and determine what caused them to crack. Anyone else have these crack?

[REBEL]

Talk to mr. young he is parting out a truck

here is a link to pm him. Tailgate

[river_rat]

I did have the wrong parts when I looked up these plastic covers. GM calls them "shields" (left & right) and they list for about $39.00 each. Still high for relatively small plastic covers but much more reasonable than almost $500 for the pair that I previously thought. I went ahead and repaired both covers trimming off the remaining broken edge of the mounting tabs. Then used aluminum angle and large flange pop rivets from the inner side of the cover to avoid interference with the tailgate hinge arms. The large flange rivets spreads the pull of the angle out over a larger area. Also used JB Weld between the angle and cover prior to tightening the rivets. If you have any moisture on the rear bed carpet near the tailgate arm slots or rust/corrosion under the bed rear sill plate, you may want to inspect these shields to make sure they aren't cracked or missing. They are located near the rear end of the frame rails and cover the tailgate hinge arms. Accessible from underneath the truck right up against the rear bumper cover.