Tailgate Roller hinges
Thread Starter
5 Year Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 346
Likes: 95
From: Winnipeg, Canada
Tailgate Roller hinges
Hello All, I thought I'd share my recent fun with one of the lower tailgate hinges, called "roller hinges" on my '99 extended cab. One day my tailgate would not close, and I saw some rusty metal on the ground. Long story short: the circular lip on the left (driver's) side roller hinge had rusted off. So I had to take off the tailgate and have a look.
Just for clarity, I'm talking about the hinge on the fender wall, low down at the bottom of the tailgate. It has a circular lip that the tailgate fits into. This hinge is right beside the left tail light cover.
The fun: the hinge is affixed with two torx screws. And they are TIGHT. In my case, there was 18 years of rust and grime on them. I know that because the hinge and torx screws still had the factory paint on them. I think it is impossible to loosen those screws without stripping the heads. And before you know it, you have lost the battle. Remove the tail light cover and you see what the screws go into. It looked to me to be an anchor that was welded onto the inside of the fender wall. So I drilled, tried easy outs, and cussed a lot, to no avail. I even went to an autobody shop for advice; the guy there said he would grind off the old screw heads and then weld on a new hinge. I asked for an estimate but they never got back to me.
What saved me was an internet search that resulted in a picture of the hinge, anchor, and screws. See http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F150-F2...IAAOSwJdZZbQO9. It showed that the anchor was not welded in. So I took a Dreml tool with grinder accessory to the screw heads until they were sheared, got the hinge off and then just removed the anchor by sticking in my hand in the opening behind the tail light cover.
I needed a new anchor, new screws, and a new hinge. Fortunately, I was able to all parts from a Ford dealer for $45.00, inclusive of taxes. Not too bad; I'm thinking the body shop would have charged at least $100.00 plus the hinge, had they bothered to get back to me.
As I expect this is a common problem on F150s, I just wanted everyone to know that you can get those vexing (the nicest word I can think of) torx screws off with some pretty regular tools, like a Dreml. I don't have a torch for heating the screws up and my luck with drilling stripped bolts/screws and trying easy outs has never been good, to out it mildly.
Just for clarity, I'm talking about the hinge on the fender wall, low down at the bottom of the tailgate. It has a circular lip that the tailgate fits into. This hinge is right beside the left tail light cover.
The fun: the hinge is affixed with two torx screws. And they are TIGHT. In my case, there was 18 years of rust and grime on them. I know that because the hinge and torx screws still had the factory paint on them. I think it is impossible to loosen those screws without stripping the heads. And before you know it, you have lost the battle. Remove the tail light cover and you see what the screws go into. It looked to me to be an anchor that was welded onto the inside of the fender wall. So I drilled, tried easy outs, and cussed a lot, to no avail. I even went to an autobody shop for advice; the guy there said he would grind off the old screw heads and then weld on a new hinge. I asked for an estimate but they never got back to me.
What saved me was an internet search that resulted in a picture of the hinge, anchor, and screws. See http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-F150-F2...IAAOSwJdZZbQO9. It showed that the anchor was not welded in. So I took a Dreml tool with grinder accessory to the screw heads until they were sheared, got the hinge off and then just removed the anchor by sticking in my hand in the opening behind the tail light cover.
I needed a new anchor, new screws, and a new hinge. Fortunately, I was able to all parts from a Ford dealer for $45.00, inclusive of taxes. Not too bad; I'm thinking the body shop would have charged at least $100.00 plus the hinge, had they bothered to get back to me.
As I expect this is a common problem on F150s, I just wanted everyone to know that you can get those vexing (the nicest word I can think of) torx screws off with some pretty regular tools, like a Dreml. I don't have a torch for heating the screws up and my luck with drilling stripped bolts/screws and trying easy outs has never been good, to out it mildly.
