My neighbor's kid ran into back of my 1984 F250 making the left side latch not line up correctly to operate freely. Plus the rod from handle to left latch came off inside tailgate. How many years did Ford make that tailgate to fit onto my 1984. How wide range - in years - can I look for a replacement? Say from 1982 to 1987? Or ?...

 

Whenever I want to find out what fits what year, I do a search at autoparts web sites Autozone, LMC etc:
LMC shows the same part for 80-86:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fd/full.aspx?Page=27

You can get the little plastic clips for the tailgate rod / handle at autoparts stores or dealer.

 

Thanks! I figured at 30 years old that NOBODY would have the clips.