I just installed the Ford oem tailgate damper kit. When it opens it goes down smoothly until about the last inch then it drops suddenly. Is this normal?

 

Short answer. Yes.

 

Mine does the same thing. Doesn't really drop hard enough to cause any issues though.

 

As an aside the Dee Zee drops smoothly all the way down or from any position.

 

Is the Dee Zee a good brand? I watched a video about its install on YouTube, but wasn't sure of their quality versus Ford?

 

The tailgate is designed to be opened and dropped from that point, that's why it has cables to stop it.

The Ford OEM installation is much cleaner than the DeeZee. If I had a 2015 or 2016, I would not consider anything other than the OEM.

 

For ease of installation you can't beat it. They also stand behind their product and have great customer service if needed.

Dee Zee updated the mounting hardware and it took about 5 minutes to install without having to remove the tail gate.

I posted a vid of how it works. The shock was noisy because it was about 100 degrees out that particular day but with cooler weather you can barely hear it, but that's a non issue anyway.

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/dee-z...4/#post4760372

 

cool

 

I went to the dealer after installing my OEM damper to check and see what happened. I opened a few tailgates on the Lariat and platinum packages that had the OEM damper and they slowly lowered all the way to the bottom.

Mine slowly opens then that last little bit opens harder but not enough to damage it. Is there any way to adjust anything with the damper?

 

Go buy a higher quality strut. Many manufacturers make them for all kinds of uses, all sizes with different end fittings and movement rates.