A strong wind gust grabbed my tailgate and afterwards it was hard to close. After some tugging and pulling I was able to shut it but it appears that the top of tail gate has a wide gap from the vehicle, almost 3/4 inch. The tailgate itself self does not appear to be bent nor does the vehicle frame that holds the hinges. I don't think the hinges themselves would bend because they are so robust. I am wondering if the sheet metal inside the tailgate itself that the hinges fasten to is contorted? Before I buy new hinges, I'd like to know if anyone has had this issue.

I was able to do a temp fix by affixing some of that 1" black styrene pipe insulation to the threshold with some 3M trim and emblem adhesive so as to fill the gap and keep water from coming through the gap, which actually has worked quite well but its kind of "half a_ _ed"

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

These hinges can bend and i have seen the snap. Its a heavy door on 2 side hinges so honesty thats the most likely cause of your problem.