Tailgate hinge/trunnion rot

[Elliot W]

My tailgate hangs has been very loose, especially when I’m the down position. When I looked into it, the bolts that hold the bed side trunnion in place had significant corrosion and the nut welded to the back of the interior bed panel for these bolts had fully rotted off the panel, giving the trunnion plenty of movement play. It looks like this area is where two body panels overlap and is going to be tricky to repair. I bought the tail light backing body panel from LMC 38-7658 as it looks like that is the piece that has the welded nuts on it. Figured I could cut that piece out and weld it where it’s rotted on my truck. Has anyone ever dealt with this before and have any tips or tricks on how to do it well? Here are some photos of my truck on both sides. Drivers side is what I’m planning to replace as the passenger side are still holding.

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[Edelbrock]

Good pics and description.

I always look for the cheapest, easiest solution:

 

[TotalyHucked]

Yikes, the easiest thing would be to replace the bedsides completely but that's def not the cheapest. You could always find a donor bed and cut that area out to weld into yours