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SportTrac Discussion
General Sport Trac Discussion
Gen2 top plastic trim on tailgate coming loose
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<blockquote data-quote="Larry Michael" data-source="post: 1041443" data-attributes="member: 71722"><p>Thought I'd update the group on this. I got the OEM part from Gary Smith Ford in Fort Walton Beach, FL (gsfordauto on ebay). The price was discounted and the part had free shipping. It came in a very sturdy cardboard box that the USPS delivered intact. The part was a perfect fit.</p><p></p><p>Not being the experienced gearhead that many of you are on here, I did not realize that I had to warp the plastic tailgate inside liner a bit after I took out the screws in order to pull it lose. But once I saw where it was still attached I figured that out and did not break the two tabs holding it in place.</p><p></p><p>But I did manage to break the first plastic "pop rivet" retainer I tried to get out. After looking at the broken one I quickly figured out how to get my fingers under the rivet to first push the center pin back out and then squeeze and push the rest of the rivet out. Then I just ripped the old molding off since more than half of the molded retainer clips on it were already broken. I then retrieved all of the broken clips from inside the tailgate.</p><p></p><p>After cleaning the sheet metal on the tailgate I centered the new molding and then used a rubber mallet to gently tap the clips into the holes in the tailgate. I decided that leaving out one plastic rivet out of seven was not going to make things rattle so I left out the center one.</p><p></p><p>Even with the learning curve on the plastic rivets the whole procedure only took 25 minutes. I may keep the old one just in case I break this one. I must admit that despite Todd's warning I have not found a graceful way to close the tailgate without grasping this molding. I'll just be careful not to torque it when I do so.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Larry Michael, post: 1041443, member: 71722"] Thought I'd update the group on this. I got the OEM part from Gary Smith Ford in Fort Walton Beach, FL (gsfordauto on ebay). The price was discounted and the part had free shipping. It came in a very sturdy cardboard box that the USPS delivered intact. The part was a perfect fit. Not being the experienced gearhead that many of you are on here, I did not realize that I had to warp the plastic tailgate inside liner a bit after I took out the screws in order to pull it lose. But once I saw where it was still attached I figured that out and did not break the two tabs holding it in place. But I did manage to break the first plastic "pop rivet" retainer I tried to get out. After looking at the broken one I quickly figured out how to get my fingers under the rivet to first push the center pin back out and then squeeze and push the rest of the rivet out. Then I just ripped the old molding off since more than half of the molded retainer clips on it were already broken. I then retrieved all of the broken clips from inside the tailgate. After cleaning the sheet metal on the tailgate I centered the new molding and then used a rubber mallet to gently tap the clips into the holes in the tailgate. I decided that leaving out one plastic rivet out of seven was not going to make things rattle so I left out the center one. Even with the learning curve on the plastic rivets the whole procedure only took 25 minutes. I may keep the old one just in case I break this one. I must admit that despite Todd's warning I have not found a graceful way to close the tailgate without grasping this molding. I'll just be careful not to torque it when I do so. [/QUOTE]
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SportTrac Discussion
General Sport Trac Discussion
Gen2 top plastic trim on tailgate coming loose
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