Suburban Tailgate Woes

[swissarmychainsaw]

My Rear Window has stopped working properly.
The electronics work, but the "sash" that holds the window got snagged and
is now bent. Anyone been through RnR of the tailgate?

Here are my issues with my electric Tailgate:

* It weighs a TON, surely the spring must be bad, because it's all I can do to raise and lower that thing. Is that normal?

* All the felt and weather stripping is shot

* Been re-wired with an (orange no less) extension cord!

* The rear window is cradled by a "sash"; but mine has bent in the middle, and gets snagged on the latch mechanism/wheel-roller-thing. Does nothing "hold" the window in place besides gravity?

* what is the wheel-roller thing for, and is it supposed to be oriented in the "down" position or "up"?

* The rear key lock has been damaged and so it needs to be opened from the inside (lower the window, manually grab the inside latch, open the gate).
Are these hard to replace?

I feel like I'm about to spend $1,000 at LMC to fix all this! LOL

[jgrnwd]

I have a '79 GMC Suburban with the electric roll down window. It took me 5 or 6 hours and a can of WD-40 and a whole lot frustration to get my window to work.
I am not sure if the tailgate is actually supposed to be that heavy, but mine is pretty heavy as well.
I am not sure what you mean by the "Sash" but the window has it's bottom metal tray it sits in which has wheels that ride in a track. That track can get gummed up, like mine did, and it will stop working. The center wheel should just be a guide, if I am not mistaken.

Take the cover off of the tailgate and watch it roll up and down. Adjust as necessary and lubricate as necessary. There isn't a whole lot else I can recommend with my limited knowledge. Hope this was helpful.

[swissarmychainsaw]

Thanks!

I took mine apart and here's where we are:
* Electronics work well
* motor moves the arms up and down ok
* Cleaned out the groove the wheels sit in (and greased them)
* replaced the sash
* I assume my torsion bar is not right which is why the tailgate feels heavy (I looked at others and they are not this heavy)

Yes the 'sash' is the metal tray that holds the window. LMC refers to it this way.
Mine had bent in the middle (kinda rusty) AND it was no longer attached to the window. So it would allow the window to get off the 'sash' since it was no longer flat.
There is also some rubber strip that goes in the sash and holds the window firmly (it's just a strip of rubber).

I ordered a sash from LMC truck ($70?) felt expensive, but worth it to have a working rear window again.

It was longer than stock and so I trimmed it up, installed it and now it works great again! Hope this helps someone else!

New Sash is too long:



Old Compared to New


New one looks a little better!

[68Timber]

Wonder how it got bent? I'm doing the doors on my green truck now and the sash thing is tweaked on one side. Good job sorting yours out.

[swissarmychainsaw]

Originally Posted by 68Timber

Wonder how it got bent? I'm doing the doors on my green truck now and the sash thing is tweaked on one side. Good job sorting yours out.

I know this reply is like YEARS late, but the sash had rusted out. It pretty much fell apart or was very weak.
The center section gets some work when the scissors make it go up and down.
The replacement one works way better!

[zaccaglin]

I have a replacement key switch with key if you need it, message me.