Tailgate Came Off

[Stephen Smith]

So last night I went to open my tailgate and it came off its hinge on the passenger side. It was dark out so its hard to tell what really happened but it looks like the piece just slides on and off. I slide it back into place but will this be a problem for the future?

 

[Kevin Palmer]

It does simply slide on and off but at a specific angle..



And,,, you JUST happen to hit the angle.. It is a rarity for it to come off. It mostly happens when closing it as many push up, thus the centrifugal force has the gate WANT to swing out, thus, when it hits the spot that allows it co come off, it does.



The answer is to open and close the gate slowly and allow gravity to keep it in place and allow it to RIDE on the hinge as opposed to want to rise up off of the hinge...

 

[Richard L]

Coastiejoe is correct. The tailgate is designed to come off at a certain, partially open angle but only if you lift upward and outward on the tailgate...Which sounds like what you may have done.



One of the tricks I did on my two Sport Trac's is to install a stainless steel hose clamp around the passenger-side tailgate pivot. This prevents the tailgate from accidently popping out and makes it more difficult for someone to steal your tailgate which is a common problem if you don't have a locking tailgate like on the Sport Trac.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

Do the hose clamp trick Rich mentioned..

 

[Stephen Smith]

Thanks. I'm gonna do the hose thing. I was just worried that it was broken and might fall off while driving or something

 

[Gavin Allan]

Mine does that all the time and is very frustrating.



Thanks for the hose clamp idea, Richard!

 

[ray moyer]

wow... never had that problem b4... how do u do the hose clamp thing??? lol

 

[JerryW Gilliland]

I'm on my way out to buy some hose clamps!

 

[TomT]

I've never had that problem. In fact the few times that I have purposely removed my tail gate, it was not easy to do so. I do keep it locked at all times though.

 

[Richard L]

Jerry G,

You only need one hose clamp (although they are often sold in pairs). You just need to put the hose clamp around the tailgate pivot cup on the passenger side of the tailgate. The clamp closes off the opening in the pivot cup where the pivot knob is allowed to escape from the pivot cup



The drivers side tailgate pivot cup is completely circular and does not conatain any openings and cannot releasee until the passenger side is released and the tailgate moved towards the passenger side.



...Rich

 

[trac-ho]

It does simply slide on and off but at a specific angle..



And,,, you JUST happen to hit the angle.. It is a rarity for it to come off. It mostly happens when closing it as many push up, thus the centrifugal force has the gate WANT to swing out, thus, when it hits the spot that allows it co come off, it does.



The answer is to open and close the gate slowly and allow gravity to keep it in place and allow it to RIDE on the hinge as opposed to want to rise up off of the hinge...

it happened to me yesterday. a wooden spindle had made its way underneath. i opened the tailgate and it popped off. it looked like it would just slide back on but i couldnt get it. i will keep trying without forcing anything and see if that works. thanks!

 

[swshawaii]

@trac-ho

Tailgate Removal (Page 55)
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/02p27og4e.pdf