Tailgate Care

[Gone Blue]

FYI to all you Ranger owners. Be extra careful with your tailgates. I did something really stupid that dented the top of my tailgate. It did look that bad and I thought it could easily be fixed. No sir. Both my local Ford dealer and a paintless dent guy both told me that I would have to replace the tailgate. The tailgate aluminum material work hardens when it is stamped/formed. Especially with the radius on the top of the tailgate were my dent is. So I was told that if you try and straigten out this dent the aluminum will crack. Aluminum is a good thing on our trucks right??????? I am in the process of looking for a straight used tailgate shell. If anyone knows of one drop me a note. Thanks, G.B.

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[Gone Blue]

Thanks RP. The Ford dealer were I bought the truck is one of the few dealers I trust and their body shop manager was the first to tell me it cant be fixed. You are right though, getting a couple body shops to look at it cant hurt. Thx G.B.

 

[Nellieg]

Its a trade off between the cost of parts and the labor to fill sand and paint. The profit for any shop would be to replace over the patch and fill route. Is this covered by your insurance? Then why look for cheapest... On a newer vehicle i tend to pay a shop on an old vehicle i will bondo and fill and recraft a sculpted fill... Obviously on older i dont get too particular on details and lean to the good enough if its cheap enough. If i plan to own a long time then i dont like looking at good enough...

 

[Ace Holliday]

If you are going to go the conventional repair route why not let the PDR guy give it a go first? A skilled PDR person might surprise you all. They are like magicians! I have had some pretty bad stuff fixed with amazing results. Just sayin'......

 

[Floyd]

I am considering adding an aluminum extrusion to the inner edge on the top of my tailgate since the plastic is easily scuffed.
Maybe you could add a rubber extrusion under the bottom edge of the plastic cap to conceal the malformation.
You might even try the old "sandbag" trick to mitigate the dent along the most protruding point, especially if you remove the cap first (maybe not necessary)

 

[Gone Blue]

I havent been in a hurry to get the tailgate fixed as I bought the truck right before Xmas last year and then lost my job of 19 years the first of April due to Covid 19 cut backs. I am just starting a new job next week and then will be looking to do something with the tailgate. The dent is the fist thing I see walking up to the truck which kills me. Worst case I am hoping to find a clean used tailgate but will talk to a couple Ford alumihnum certified body shops and maybe another PDR shop.

 

[Gone Blue]

Floyd, adding a rubber stip below the cap might not be a bad idea to play with, thanks! G.B.

 

[Gone Blue]

I found something that might cover my dent? However I have not found a place that would ship to the USA. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-PCS-T...e:Ford&hash=item3fc88f0dd4:g:fTYAAOSwgedeBrY-

 

[Gone Blue]

Well I really didnt do anything with my tailgate since I created this thread other than periodically look for used tailgates. Then the other day I found a smoking deal on a new 2020 take off tailgate for $400! Its absolutely prerfect with not a mark on it. I got the tailgate from a shop that does truck conversions, flatbeds, toolboxes etc. It is a complete tailgate with camera, latch handle, limiter straps, etc. There is no power lock with the new tailgate so I will have to switch out my latch and harness but no big deal. Unbelievable deal since a new shell is $1,200. All of the trucks at this shop are white so I will have to get the tailgate painted but I should have less than $800 into it and might get a few bucks for my dented one? Still getting quotes on paint which is running more than I thought. I am getting quotes from $350 - $412 for just paint when I am taking them a shell and no body work is required?

Question, has anyone removed the top plastic tailgate cap? Dont know if there is tape in addition to molded plastic hooks but I am having trouble getting it off and dont want to break it? G.B.

 

[Whiskeybilt]

I'm as convinced that these trucks are not meant to stay looking brand new, as I am that my truck looks as broken in as it does because of my behavior in it.

 

[Gone Blue]

Yeah maybe? But I dented my tailgate doing something stupid with my utility trailer.

 

[Gone Blue]

OK OK, so I have had my Ford Dealer, a paintless dent guy, and 2 body shops all tell me that I was screwed and that the tailgate would crack if they tried to fix the dent on the top rail. Thats why I decided to look for another one to replace it. Hence the 2020 take off TG for $400. So yesterday I was practicing removal of the plastic top rail cap on my dented tailgate so I knew how to remove the one on the new TG without damaging it. By the way removing the TG rail cap is a total PITA. After removing the rail cap, I decided to try and pound out the dent. I heated the dent with a heat gun. I then took a hammer to a piece of oak up against a number of different size deep well impact sockets layed inside of the TG at the dent. I would say I got about 80% or more of the dent out just whacking on it with my crud assortment of tools. The aluminum did not crack but more of the paint did. I am sure with the right tools and know how, (not me) someone could make this TG look perfect. I am still planning to have the new TG I picked up painted and use it on my truck. I am not a body guy so by the time I pay a shop to finish fixing the dent and paint it, I will have more into it than using the new TG. I am hoping I can get half or more of my money back by selling this dented TG as used Ranger TG's are in short supply of any kind. Just wish I would have tried to pound out the dent before I bought another TG. But again I had four "EXPERTS" tell me that it couldn't be done, haha. Go figure? G.B.

 

[JaysOnTheEDGE]

Nice job on the repair can’t even tell unless you are looking for it.

 

[Ace Holliday]

OK OK, so I have had my Ford Dealer, a paintless dent guy, and 2 body shops all tell me that I was screwed and that the tailgate would crack if they tried to fix the dent on the top rail. Thats why I decided to look for another one to replace it. Hence the 2020 take off TG for $400. So yesterday I was practicing removal of the plastic top rail cap on my dented tailgate so I knew how to remove the one on the new TG without damaging it. By the way removing the TG rail cap is a total PITA. After removing the rail cap, I decided to try and pound out the dent. I heated the dent with a heat gun. I then took a hammer to a piece of oak up against a number of different size deep well impact sockets layed inside of the TG at the dent. I would say I got about 80% or more of the dent out just whacking on it with my crud assortment of tools. The aluminum did not crack but more of the paint did. I am sure with the right tools and know how, (not me) someone could make this TG look perfect. I am still planning to have the new TG I picked up painted and use it on my truck. I am not a body guy so by the time I pay a shop to finish fixing the dent and paint it, I will have more into it than using the new TG. I am hoping I can get half or more of my money back by selling this dented TG as used Ranger TG's are in short supply of any kind. Just wish I would have tried to pound out the dent before I bought another TG. But again I had four "EXPERTS" tell me that it couldn't be done, haha. Go figure? G.B.

Back in June I suggested a good PDR guy might be able to fix it. Those professional PDR guys have all kinds of special, cool, and expensive tools. A good PDR guy is like a magician.
Good job! Especially considering the tools you had at your disposal.

 

[Stevie Gee]

Looks great... unfortunately, the “experts “ weigh THEIR benefit of time and cost...so we lose.

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