have an 02 cummins (2nd gen). when i let the tailgate down and go to put it up right away it will not close it jsut hits and flies back at you. wait about 30 seconds or so and its fine. but when i open it it doesnt take much handle leverageto open. i had sandbags for weight in it at begginning of winter, and one night did went up a huge hill and heard them slam against the back, kinda wondered if that did it....any suggestions on how to fix? already sprayed the locking mechanisms with lube and stuff. thanks alot

 

i have a tailgate that i kinda did the same thing... when you go to close it look and see where its hittin. im betting when the sand bags slid back the bent the hinges just enough that the lock mechanism is hitting the lock on the bed and if thats the case then you may need to find a way to line up the locks again...

 

Look at the hinges there is a small tab there that is spring loaded. If they arent pushed twoads the bottom of the tailgate it wont latch. I have to manually move them overtime i go to close my tailgate. They might be sticky.