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Tailgate cable (one loose one tight)

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I noticed that when I drop the tailgate, one cable has tension and the other is loose. When I carry large items I have to drop the tailgate (or just sitting on it) and this puts all the stress on only the passenger side cable. I took it to Kelly Ford in Melbourne Fl and they tell me both cables are the same length so there's not much they can do about it. I requested them to order a new driver side one anyway to see if it fixes the problem. I'm not sure if they will or not, but I'm curious if anyone else has this issue.
Ford Maverick Tailgate cable (one loose one tight) 20220512_191758
Ford Maverick Tailgate cable (one loose one tight) 20220512_191815
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My tailgate has the exact same situation.

I brought it to a local dealer and the dweeb in the service department literally laughed at me.

I told them I paid a lot of money for the truck and that the tailgate was supposed to be rated for at least 400lbs and that I didn't expect it would support nearly that weight on a single cable.

Dumb service advisor said, "I wouldn't recommend putting 400lbs on the tailgate in the first place"

I replied, "The spec sheet say it's rated for it and I bought this truck so I could load appliances in the bed that might weigh up to 400lbs... and trust me, that isn't a cable rated for 400lbs"

Anyways... they told me I'd have to leave the car with them overnight for several days before they'd even look at it. (I thought I had an appointment?)

I decided that these monkeys probably hadn't even seen a Maverick yet much less know how to work on one. I didn't want to leave them my car so they could familiarize themselves with it at my expense.

Right now I'm just living with it and deferring the repair. Hoping maybe the right side cable will stretch out a bit. I plan to make sure I address it before my warranty period expires.
 

Espeer

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My tailgate has the exact same situation.

I brought it to a local dealer and the dweeb in the service department literally laughed at me.

I told them I paid a lot of money for the truck and that the tailgate was supposed to be rated for at least 400lbs and that I didn't expect it would support nearly that weight on a single cable.

Dumb service advisor said, "I wouldn't recommend putting 400lbs on the tailgate in the first place"

I replied, "The spec sheet say it's rated for it and I bought this truck so I could load appliances in the bed that might weigh up to 400lbs... and trust me, that isn't a cable rated for 400lbs"

Anyways... they told me I'd have to leave the car with them overnight for several days before they'd even look at it. (I thought I had an appointment?)

I decided that these monkeys probably hadn't even seen a Maverick yet much less know how to work on one. I didn't want to leave them my car so they could familiarize themselves with it at my expense.

Right now I'm just living with it and deferring the repair. Hoping maybe the right side cable will stretch out a bit. I plan to make sure I address it before my warranty period expires.
Doesn't really address your main issue, but since you mentioned it, I absolutely guarantee that those cables can each support more than 400 lbs. Hell, a 1/16" steel cable can do 500. A 1/8" cable can hold a literal ton.
 

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Doesn't really address your main issue, but since you mentioned it, I absolutely guarantee that those cables can each support more than 400 lbs. Hell, a 1/16" steel cable can do 500. A 1/8" cable can hold a literal ton.
I suppose it depends on the application but in my industry 1/8" coated steel cables become damaged or simply wear out at regular intervals with far less weight put on them than a ton.

That aside, the cable isn't the only factor. Connectors, crimps ETC also play into it.

If each cable is rated to individually support 400lbs on the tail gate it begs the question... why did they add two cables in the first place? Was symmetry that important?
 

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Espeer

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I suppose it depends on the application but in my industry 1/8" coated steel cables become damaged or simply wear out at regular intervals with far less weight put on them than a ton.

That aside, the cable isn't the only factor. Connectors, crimps ETC also play into it.

If each cable is rated to individually support 400lbs on the tail gate it begs the question... why did they add two cables in the first place? Was symmetry that important?
Agree with all your points and have no answers to your questions. Still stand by my comment.

However, you have me curious about your industry. Especially when taking into account your user name. Please don't take it personally, but if I'm having trouble pissing, I may decide to visit a clinic less familiar with the load capacity of steel cables.
 

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Agree with all your points and have no answers to your questions. Still stand by my comment.

However, you have me curious about your industry. Especially when taking into account your user name. Please don't take it personally, but if I'm having trouble pissing, I may decide to visit a clinic less familiar with the load capacity of steel cables.
Username refers more to my recreational pursuits than occupation. ;)


Anyways, I'm not an engineer or one of those educated types. I'm a mere service technician who now owns and operates his own small repair company. It's a fairly niche industry so I'd prefer not to advertise that information, lest I be doxed or something tinfoil hat-ish.
 

dennish

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I noticed that when I drop the tailgate, one cable has tension and the other is loose. When I carry large items I have to drop the tailgate (or just sitting on it) and this puts all the stress on only the passenger side cable. I took it to Kelly Ford in Melbourne Fl and they tell me both cables are the same length so there's not much they can do about it. I requested them to order a new driver side one anyway to see if it fixes the problem. I'm not sure if they will or not, but I'm curious if anyone else has this issue.
20220512_191758.jpg
20220512_191815.jpg
So, I just got mine last week and though I used the bed numerous times, never noticed. After seeing your post, yep my drivers side cable has a TON of slack.....
 

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I suppose it depends on the application but in my industry 1/8" coated steel cables become damaged or simply wear out at regular intervals with far less weight put on them than a ton.

That aside, the cable isn't the only factor. Connectors, crimps ETC also play into it.

If each cable is rated to individually support 400lbs on the tail gate it begs the question... why did they add two cables in the first place? Was symmetry that important?
Very good point. Ford could have saved a ton of cash by only using one cable and marketed it as an “evolution/ revolution in high strength cable manufacturing.” Lol
 

SkeeterB

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Learn to live with it. This is so old it hurts to see it come up again.
 
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PlantMan

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Wasn't there a post months ago showing that the problem wasn't the cable length, but the as-built locations of the attachment bolt were different.
 

woppinger

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Wasn't there a post months ago showing that the problem wasn't the cable length, but the as-built locations of the attachment bolt were different.
Yes it's the one I linked to above in the first reply ;)
 

ToothGrinder

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Learn to live with it. This is so old it hurts to see it come up again.
I knew we went through this already.
It's not going to drastically change how your tailgate works since the moment you put any weight on it the slack disappears.
 

SteveG

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I had the same issue on a new 2019 Ford Ranger. When I asked the dealer about it, he looked at all of the Rangers and F150's on his sales lot and found that all of them had this issue. He did not know why the cables are different lengths.
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