Rattling liftgate - no, not the plastic problem

[gsmaclean]

My liftgate has rattled ever since I got the truck last year. Any time I went over a bump, it sounded like I had a box of tools back there. I always assumed it was the jack, crowbar, and all the stuff that lives in the rear storage compartment rattling around. I tried shuffling around the stuff back there to keep it from rattling, but did not succeed. Finally I took everything OUT of there, and to my surprise, I STILL had the rattle.

So I read here about putting felt or foam in between the plastic and the metal. "ah, that's the problem," I said. I got some black closed-cell adhesive foam and stuck it between the plastic and metal parts of the liftgate.

I went out again...and it STILL rattles. I started looking for more serious things, like broken springs, suspension members...nope.

So I had my wife drive my truck over a potholed street while I rode back there to find the source of the noise.

To my surprise, it IS the liftgate - and it's because the entire liftgate, well, lifts, every time the truck hits a bump. I can feel it move directly up and down (vertically) about 1/8". The bump bounces the liftgate up, and when it comes back down, it does so with a crash, which is what makes the rattling noise. Being that the liftgate, when in the closed position, actually is supposed to move in and out, rather than up and down, I figured something must be loose.

Then my wife went around a corner, and I felt the liftgate move sideways a bit. I had her swerve back and forth, and the liftgate moved back and forth in response. It's obviously loose.

I had a look at the hinges, but they seem rock solid - no real play. When closed, the alignment between the liftgate and the roof and side quarter panels is perfect.

The only other culprit would be the latch and striker. I loosened the striker to see if it could be adjusted inwards, thereby pushing the liftgate weatherstripping tighter against the body, and making it more secure, preventing it from moving when shut. However, it has no adjustment. Perhaps the latch mechanism itself has an adjustment? I don't know.

Does anyone have an idea how to adjust the liftgate latch?

 

[clarks2001]

I think there is a recall on the lift gate. Cant remember the details of it but I am sure you can take your truck in to the stealership to see if the recall was done, and maybe ask them to diagnose the problem while they are at it. You dont have to pay for them to fix it but they should be able to tell you whats going on

 

[yaz]

I just bought my 1st ex friday and it had some major creaking at the tailgate. I tried some foam in different places to no avail. Then as a lark I got out the wd40 and lubed all moving things, including the plastic sliders on the side of the gate. While I was there I put a touch on all the rubber stoppers around the door.
The noise and creaks are nealy gone........worth a try.

 

[gsmaclean]

I found and fixed my problem yesterday.

Because the striker was non-adjustable, I took a small 2-lb sledge, put a piece of wood over the striker (to avoid damaging the paint) and gave it a whack, to bend it inwards a couple of millimeters. That made the door solid, so it doesn't move anymore.

However, it still rattled. So I took it apart and found what was rattling - all the mechanical parts that lock and latch/unlatch the liftgate. They're all just loosely mounted together, so that they function, but can rattle against one another. Those metal parts rattling together was what was making my "box of tools" noise.

I took some moly grease and just caked it on all of the parts, so that they no longer move freely and rattle together - they still operate perfectly (and will be lubricated well until the year 2060) but the grease dampens the rattling movements and stops the noise.

 

[pancho_00]

hmm, I was thinking of hammering my rear door strikers a bit cause of door rattling issues. Strange that engineers would design the latches with play. Thanks for the info!!!