yeah its a joke... the end caps I have only fit good because they weren't made by SM ... The pan lines up perfect as is...if the tailgate didnt rub it would be a cake walk.

It wasnt until I tried to make the gate clear that I ran into alignment problems with the end caps. After wasting about 3 hours on it I decided to let the body shop that painted it fix it... if he can restore classic cars Im sure this will be no problem.


I dont know how you would re-work the end caps...the fit with very close tolerances..there really isnt any "play" to be had...unless you dont care about how the end caps line up with the bed.

Guys,

The only way to REALLY fix it is to cut 1/2" to 3/4" out of the
middle all the way across. Then reweld and finish. Which,
of course, obviates the entire reason you want that nice
STEEL, SOLID HEFTY SM piece in the first place.

I am also looking at "leading" in the piece at the bottom of
the tailgate, but haven't tackled that yet ... a smooth tailgate
might look pretty good ...

I may have to wait for someone ELSE to rear-end me so I can
get it done on the insurance ... LOL

Tim, I will try to get some pics tonight ...

You mean cut the pan in half width wise? Then weld the two pieces back together? Thats a little extreme IMO ..unless I misunderstand

Yup, that's exactly what I meant ...

This is the corner attachment underneath ...

Or maybe it really is the end caps ... they could be lowered
a tad on the top maybe ...

Minor work for mine, but nothing like what you guys are having.....

You can shave the plastic trim on the botom of the tailgate, then everything will still match up, no more rub......

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! (light bulbs going off)

Just take that sucker and run it through a lumber planer or something like that.

OR, maybe remove the plastic, take a strip of steel, weld it to the tailgate, and bondo that puppy.

Lead? Waddya think we have, a GD Aston Martin? Nothing but Bondo for my overpowered American farm implement.

Dude, that nasty rusted bolt has to go. Did SM ship that junk?

HEH HEH HEH ... Ayup ... Or should I say whoever made up JDM's
Justin's Endcaps did ...

Tim, shaving the strip won't get the clearance ... It's too much.

not exactly... the plastic piece itself isnt the problem...the tailgate goes just as far down as the trim does.. even without the plastic the metal will still rub the pan.... you would have to use a router on the metal portion and the plastic piece.

I dont understand what Im looking at here...

Cliff,

This might be silly question but do you have the tailgate moulding on upside down? It's hard to tell from the pics. It has a fat side and a thin side, thin side should go on the bottom.

When I installed mine, I had it upside down and noticed that it was going to hit the roll pan when opening it. Flipped it over and all was well.

If that's not it, lay a straight edge across the top of the roll pan to see if it's flat, it should be, mine is.

Tim @ Chikenears

The inside of the rear corner of the side step ...

Thanks, Tim ... I'll check that out !!!