Three problems related to tailgate have been reported for the 1998 Chevrolet S10. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Opening of tailgate on 1998 chevy S10 and when sitting down on tailgate a snap sound occurred and the tailgate dropped slightly indicating the support cable snapped on passenger side. Part is on order.
On my 1998 chevy s-10 both of the tailgate cable broke. The cables broke and the wood I was loading slid off and hit my foot it did hurt it, but luckily it was not bad. It also damage my tailgate on my truck. I have see on the internet and from other people about there tailgate cables breaking. I have seen it on 1995, 1998 and 2000 s-10 trucks. I think that gm needs to make replacement cables this very dangerous and if you were loading something it could slid off the tailgate and hurt themselves like I did. Thank you, nathan hooker.
There has been a persistent problem with the tailgate on this truck from day 1. Driving down the street and for no apparent reason the tailgate pops open. I have had this happen so often that I now use bungee cords to keep the tailgate shut in case the latch fails. I have had dealers twice do warranty work on this, but they haven't really found the problem yet. The latch looks normal, everything seems to line up, but you never know when the tailgate is going to flop open. Usually when I'm pulling a trailer, but often not. . My theory is that the frame and body are so flexible that tolerances open up and pop, the latch no longer holds. Hope you guys have some kind of a handle on this problem. Thanks-- jms.