Those damn tailgate torque rods!

[AuH2O]

So school me on this, what's the proper procedure for putting the tailgate back on witout resorting to throwing the torque rods on the junk pile? I first tried to mount them after having already bolted the tailgate to the hinges on the truck - nope, that didn't work of course, which I would've realized if I woulda stopped to think about what I was doing... Slid the tailgate off onto its supporting table again and mounted the torque rods to the gate, removed the torx bolts from the bumper brackets that the rods wrap around to allow for more play, and tried to slide the gate back onto the hinges... Nope. The curved end on the rods would hit the back of the truck, and eventhough I in a fit of anger hammered them down there would still be enough pressure on them to keep me from fastening the hinges on the gate. I had intended to do it that way, then close the gate, and then reinstall the torx bolt when there weren't any pressure on the rods. But no deal.

Do I install the torque rods on the tailgate, remove the hinges from under where they bolt to the truck, fasten the hinges on the tailgate, mount the gate in the closed position (with the help of a friend), slide the hinges in under the truck and bolt them on or what?? There's gotta be a relatively easy way do this alone, no? Right now I'm on a well needed beer break that I took to keep myself from pounding my new tailgate right into the ground.

 

[dyeager535]

I'm sorry I can't be of specific help, but I do recall that removing those torx bolts doesn't work. It was a two person job, left the torque rods bolted to the tailgate, tailgate hinges disconnected, and maneuvered the torque rods/gate into place.

I took them out on a previous truck, and left them out, but torque rods vs. no, the hassle of installing them is worth it.

 

[cuervo]

Um, I thought that when I reinstalled my 87 Jimmy tailgate, after some crack repair and sanding, I took the torx bolts out. I reinstalled the rods, bolted the gate back together, and installed it. Once all together, I reinstalled the torx bolts.

 

[dyeager535]

As I recall the torque rods are only "free" of the torx bolts with the tailgate latched/closed. Obviously, since they assist upward movement.

But as I recall, the reason I did it with the torx bolts in place was because the torx bolts have an integral washer that sits against the frame, and it looked like a hassle to slip the bolt in there between the torque rod and frame rail, all while holding the tailgate in the right position. I don't doubt it's possible, at the time with two people it just seemed easier not to deal with those bolts.

I don't recall if I had the bumper off or not, that would probably simplify the matter as well.

 

[Desert Yeti]

I recently started to remove them entirely in order to bolt on a new bumper I just built. After removing the torx bolts (and the old bumper, I discovered that I could use a slightly longer grade 8 bolt to mount my new bumper and retain use of the torque rods. Getting them back together was a royal PITA though since I had already taken off the little plates that hold the rods to the tailgate.

Seems like if the tailgate is all mounted and closed (with the rods installed) and THEN you replace the torx bolts on the frame it should go ok...?

 

[Dweller99]

Seems like if the tailgate is all mounted and closed (with the rods installed) and THEN you replace the torx bolts on the frame it should go ok...?

That is what worked for me when I put a new tailgate on a few months back.

 

[TruckNutzDude]

Lots of swearing and about a half a day of work, maybe some alcohol.. you'll get there.

 

[AuH2O]

Yeah well, beer did help! The way to do it is to take the hinges off the truck, mount them and the torque rods to the gate, slide the hinges back into the slots (it helps to angle the gate upwards towards 'closed' position at this point to help the rods clear the rear), close the gate, bolt the hinges to the truck, and finally reinstall the torx bolts for the rods.

And it was indeed worth the extra hassle, because now that I've tried it without them too, the difference they make is huge.

 

[Izzy]

Great Info

Thanks for the info guys.. this will help when I go to put my tailgate back on. But I need to replace the torgue rods all together since one of them is broken.. However when I took the tailegate off the truck I just used a b ig screw driver to get the torgue rod off the bolt .... I am gonna need to soak those bolts with some PBR along with the lower bolts for the hinges . Thanks again guys for the GREAT info.. I Love this site...

 

[AuH2O]

Sure, when the gate is closed it doesn't exert any force on the rods, so you can easily pry them off the torx bolts. You'll have to pry a little on the rods when putting the bolts back on too to help slide them over, but it's real easy.