Anyone have any trouble installing the tailgate assist

[Redbirdfan94]

So I thought I had the tailgate assist installed correctly. But the bottom bolt popped out of the hole today and the plate moved so I couldn't close the tailgate. I worry this is going to consistently happen. Anyone else experience the same problem? Any advice on what I did wrong, the bolt is not tight as hell, so maybe I over tightened it and am stripping the screw trying to loosen it. Any advice for me?

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[JP4AZ]

I installed them on both of my trucks. Never been a problem. Maybe send of photo of your set up?
Then Maybe we can tell if you did something wrong.

 

[Johnkn]

It appears the inner piece that accepts the bolt did not rotate 90* in the tailgate to prevent it from pulling through.

You can do it again, it should be fine, just make sure it Rotates enough


.

 

[SkeeterB]

The locktite on mine was VERY hard. Once threaded all the way while still out installation was much easier.

 

[Redbirdfan94]

Unfortunately it's too tight now and I stripped the damn screw head so I can't loosen the bolt a little and try and do it properly. That's what I get for using a mechanic to do it. DIdn't watch any videos, I'm sure he thought he was smarter than everyone on youtube that actually showed me what I should do. Should not have let him touch a thing. He was supposed to bring tools, then let me do it. Turns out he 'forgot' them at work. So on top of the part I had to go buy tools, that I likely won't really need in the future. Welp, guess I gotta by another assist because there's not really a good way to get the damn thing off. At least I'm able to remove it and not really hamper the tailgate. Wasted a Saturday night and now gotta waste more time.

 

[Redbirdfan94]

It appears the inner piece that accepts the bolt did not rotate 90* in the tailgate to prevent it from pulling through.

You can do it again, it should be fine, just make sure it Rotates enough


.

Thanks, you were exactly right. Unfortunately I stripped the head, so SOL on that piece. Glad it isn't stuck in there or anything. Guess another $50 and another try, right.

 

[Last Truck Ever]

I had that same experience, right down to trying to reinstall it and stripping the cheap ass screw. I reached out to dee zee for replacement bolt and they completely ignored me. Having had it slip off once and scratch the tailgate paint, I just wasn't willing to try it again. I took it off, will live without it.

 

[Johnkn]

A set of large vice grips might grasp the bolt head enough to loosen it.

Good luck


.

 

[Johnkn]

I had that same experience, right down to trying to reinstall it and stripping the cheap ass screw. I reached out to dee zee for replacement bolt and they completely ignored me. Having had it slip off once and scratch the tailgate paint, I just wasn't willing to try it again. I took it off, will live without it.

It’s not a screw, it’s a bolt and there’s nothing cheap about it. A quality wrench will take it off w/o issue. I’ve done several for my trucks as well as friends, zero issue with the bolt. The issue is the pre-applied Loctite gets hard. It’s best run the bolt into the backer nut in a vice to just over the thickness of the tailgate before inserting in the tailgate opening for the final tightening.
A replacement pan head bolt is probably 60 cents from Lowe’s or Home Depot

.

 

[Last Truck Ever]

It’s not a screw, it’s a bolt and there’s nothing cheap about it. A quality wrench will take it off w/o issue. I’ve done several for my trucks as well as friends, zero issue with the bolt. The issue is the pre-applied Loctite gets hard. It’s best run the bolt into the backer nut in a vice to just over the thickness of the tailgate before inserting in the tailgate opening for the final tightening.
A replacement pan head bolt is probably 60 cents from Lowe’s or Home Depot

.

I did all that with my install, which went flawlessly, it grabbed hold like it should, lined up and solid.... until it fell off two weeks later. And my attempt to reinstall it stripped the bolt. I actually went to HD and picked up a replacement bolt, but having repaired one scratch caused by the thing failing, I personally wasn't up to risking it again. Tailgate ain't that heavy.

 

[Maverick Grabber]

It’s not a screw, it’s a bolt and there’s nothing cheap about it. A quality wrench will take it off w/o issue. I’ve done several for my trucks as well as friends, zero issue with the bolt. The issue is the pre-applied Loctite gets hard. It’s best run the bolt into the backer nut in a vice to just over the thickness of the tailgate before inserting in the tailgate opening for the final tightening.
A replacement pan head bolt is probably 60 cents from Lowe’s or Home Depot

.

or the proper size die to clean the threads up

 

[JP4AZ]

Unfortunately it's too tight now and I stripped the damn screw head so I can't loosen the bolt a little and try and do it properly. That's what I get for using a mechanic to do it. DIdn't watch any videos, I'm sure he thought he was smarter than everyone on youtube that actually showed me what I should do. Should not have let him touch a thing. He was supposed to bring tools, then let me do it. Turns out he 'forgot' them at work. So on top of the part I had to go buy tools, that I likely won't really need in the future. Welp, guess I gotta by another assist because there's not really a good way to get the damn thing off. At least I'm able to remove it and not really hamper the tailgate. Wasted a Saturday night and now gotta waste more time.

What Johnkn said above.
Bummer on the mechanic dude. I'm sure you can just buy the nut & Bolt in question (no need to buy an entire new kit). Good Luck

 

[RLmesc]

What Skeeter said. When you get the bolt out, use lock tight to hold the oval nut in place. I used a marker to remind me the orientation of the oval nut , turned it 1/4 turn then pulled on the bracket to keep it in place and tightened it down.

 

[Bob The Builder]

Gotta be brutally honest here. The lightest tailgate in the pickup truck world does not need a tailgate assist that does nothing when raising the lightest tailgate in the world.

It is nothing more than a classic case of a half baked solution looking its hardest for a problem.

 

[MetalsGeek]

I bought a cheesy Chinese assist unit and was so disappointed in the hardware I machined up a cheesy aluminum T-nut from some scrap. I had to pull the tailgate cover to reach the interior, and used a coat hanger to place it in the hole. Even then I attached some thread to it so I could retrieve it when dropped (which happened MANY times). It was WAY too much effort but worked well enough in the end. I just hope I never need to remove it because when it falls into the tailgate, a magnet will not work so it's time to remove the tailgate and shake!

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