I just bought an 86 F150 and the tailgate is sloppy on the hinges. There's nothing between the gate cup and the bed's hinge pin.
The tailgate is aftermarket, (no FORD logo).
I tried the dealer but was told that they are no longer available and I found nothing after searching about 30 or so junk yards.

Has anyone run into this issue before and is there an aftermarket source for these? LMC shows them as not available too.
I intend to buy a new FORD tailgate for this too as the lack of the Ford logo just don't look right.

 

I think there is only one on the p-side, correct? Check a junk yard. Might have some luck there.

 

they got em at discount on the help aile all day

 

The only "help" ones I have ever seen are 87-

 

Dorman/Help doesn't list these for 1985/86.
The only parts they list for the 86 tailgate is the straps and the handle.

No luck at any of the local junkyards, I found only one truck period and its missing its bed.

I wasn't sure if both sides use a bushing or not but Ford lists two of them, both the same part number for 1985/86 only. The 1987-up bushings are smaller, and they do use a left side bushing. Something I considered was maybe using two left side hinges then and no bushings? I'd just assemble it like an earlier style truck with a non removable gate. Provided the left hinge can be flipped over and used on the right side?

 

1980-82 parts are different from 1983-86 which are different from 1987+.

80-82 use straps to hold the tailgate, cables are used afterwards.

Picture below; what, exactly, are you referring to?

 

Welcome to FTE

E5TZ-9940700-B (replaced E3TZ-9940700-B) .. 1983/86 Styleside Tailgate / Obsolete

Last MSRP: $514.47 / Dealer net cost: $308.68.

MEREDITH MOTOR CO. in Meredith NH has ONE = 603-279-4521.

MATLOCK FORD-MERCURY in Franklin IN has ONE = 800-987-3673.

JST AUTOMOTIVE in Lebanon TN has ONE = 615-443-3086.

CAIN FORD in Cornelia GA has ONE = 706-778-2121.

ALBIA MOTOR CO. in Albia IA has ONE = 641-932-5416.

COLLECTORS AUTO SUPPLY in Oroville WA has ONE = 800-414-4462.

THRELKELD MOTOR CO. in Valdosta GA has TWO = 912-537-3673.

WESLEY OBSOLETE PARTS in Liberty KY has FIVE = 606-787-293.

Post #6: Look at the parts catalog pic that Chris posted, pick out the parts you need, list their numbers.

IMO: Why buy a tailgate, when it's far cheaper to waltz down to your local Ford Dealer and buy a Ford Blue Oval Tailgate Emblem (E7TZ-9842528-A) and install it.

 

430B22 is the part I need, Ford gave me the part number E3Tz-99430B22-B, with the added '99' meaning its been obsoleted.
I bought the tailgate from a dealer about 100 miles from me, I had to make the drive to get it but got it for $60 cash. new in the box. They were glad to get rid of it from the sound of it. I bought a bunch of other stuff for the truck there too, pretty much everything I couldn't get locally except for these bushings.

The left side of the aftermarket tailgate has a bushing of some sort in the cup, but its not much more than a plastic sleeve or cup snapped into the gate side cup. That cup won't fit the new tailgate, which is P/N E5TZ-40700-B on the box. I also bought all new linkage, a new handle, and two new straps. The service manager there pretty much let me make a pile and bargain a final price. I also found a new pair of door panels for this truck, one new and one which he said was probably a warranty take off for some obscure defect neither of us could find. I also found a new lower seat cover to match mine, but it's just a bottom half, no top. But it matches and my lower seat has a few light cracks in the vinyl. I run a saddle blanket cover anyhow on all my trucks so it won't show either way.

If I had one original bushing, I could make a new one from urethane but I don't even have one to copy.

 

Hey, freeisforme, do me a favor and go HERE and finish filling out your profile so we can see where you're at when you post, OK?


E3TZ-99430B22-B INSERT (TAILGATE HINGE OPENING) Fits myriad vehicles, including 1983/86 F100/350

I found more than 30 NOS vendors that have them; in your area:

<dt>Manderbach Ford Temple , PA 19560 Tel. 610-929-3683 http://www.manderbachford.com/ou/temple-ford/ has 2
</dt>
<dt>Bert Wolfe Ford Charleston, WV 25312 Tel. 304-344-1601 has 1
</dt>
<dt>Altavista Motors Altavista, VA 24517 Tel. 434.369.6681 http://www.altavistamotors.com/ou/splash/ has 2</dt><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd><dd>
</dd>

 

99 in that part number does not mean obsolete. It means styleside bed. Whoever said it meant obsolete was telling you porkies.

Other parts with 99 at the start of the number so you get the idea...

E5TZ-9940700-B : Styleside Tailgate

E3TZ-99430B22-B : Styleside Tailgate Insert

E5TZ-99425A34-A : Styleside Tailgate Outside Finish Panel.


98 is Bronco... 83 is flareside...

E0TZ-8340700-A : Flareside Tailgate

Not saying these parts are not obsolete, just that it is NOT what the 99 stands for in these part numbers.

Not only can you break up a part by the first four characters in the prefix, you can break it down by the part number too.

E5TZ-9940700-B

E = 1980 decade
5 = year in decade = 1985
T = Part built initially for Truck
Z = Service Part
-
99 = Styleside
40700 = Tailgate
-
B = Engineering change.

--------

E0TZ-8340700-A

E = 1980 decade
0 = Year of decade = 1980
T = Part made initially for truck
Z = Service Part
-
83 = Flareside
40700 = Tailgate
-
A = Engineering change. A equals original design.

The reason why I point this out is because this is not the first time I've heard 99 in the part number means obsolete malarky. If that was so, all the styleside bed parts were obsolete when the trucks left the show room floor back in the 80's when new.

 

E3TZ-99430B22-B fits: 1983/86 F100/350 Stylesides and 1983/88 Ranger Stylesides.

There are 100's of these inserts still available, I found 83 on the Ford Dealer Parts Locator System at 50 Ford Dealers from the west coast, east to Iowa.

The locator only lists 50 dealers, and since so many have it, no dealer east of Iowa is listed.

** You should not go by part number prefixes to ID what year the part fits, or the vehicle it fits, you wanna know why?

FoMoCo is in-famous for replacing 10's of 1000's of part numbers EVERY YEAR!

 

The white sticker on the tailgate box doesn't have the '99' on it, just E5TZ-40700-B
There's another label with a Ford logo with a partial number but it's damaged too bad to read past the E5TZ-.
The first dealer I went to told me that the 99 meant it was no longer available and that it couldn't be ordered. I was also told that no other dealer showed one in stock. When I asked if there was any chance of locating one I was told that it's 26 years old, what do you expect. I then called about 30 or so dealers that showed up on the dealer locator online with no luck. The farthest was about 200 miles from here. I found the tailgate by accident while calling around looking for the insert. One dealer said he had the gate, but no bushing, and expressed an interest in getting it off the shelf. Since my truck had a non-Ford gate on it, I jumped on the chance to put a proper tailgate back on it for cheap.
NumberDummy: Why can't the local dealers search the locator? When I asked if one could be found, the guy said "No one shows one and since it's obsolete it can't be ordered anyhow, Sorry".
Maybe they're they simply refusing to look since it's a minor part?
The first dealer I went too was the selling dealer for this truck, and three of my other Ford Trucks which I bought there new.
Years ago I could go into a Ford dealer and usually always walk out with what I went there for, now I'm lucky to find spark plugs let alone anything else.

Any suggestions as to where to order one online?

 

Order what online...a tailgate? I believe the tailgate you have is genuine Ford, but...

Didn't you see my post #7? I listed 8 sources that have 13 NOS genuine Ford E5TZ-9940700-B Tailgates.

5 of these sources are Ford dealers (Meredith/Matlock/Cain/Albia/Threlkeld). I found these sources on the Ford Dealer Parts Locator System, when I typed the part number in.

The other 3 sources are obsolete parts vendors (JST/Collectors/Wesley). I found these sources on PartsVoice.com.

 

Listen to those guys (NumberDummy, 81-F-150-Explorer), freeisforme, they are the experts who have been working in the industry for decades and have first-hand knowledge of how it works.

They are the ones who have been teaching me how to do this stuff.

Those people who are telling you the 99 means something is obsolete are blowing smoke up your ***, and I can verify what NumberDummy & 81 are saying by posting some excerpts from the FoMoCo 1980/89 Light Truck Parts Catalog (which you can get on CD from www.hipoparts.com).






First off, here are some body Codes with the 99 listed (there are lots more, this is just an excerpt):












And, some pictures:














The 40700 tailgate assembly (as shown in my picture in Post #6 above), but this shows the Replacement Part Numbers in the 3rd column (PART NUMBER).

Notice it lists tailgates for both the Styleside(99) & Flareside(83) variants of the F-series, as well as the Bronco (U150) and Ranger (R).

The Replacement Part Number is NOT the number that's embossed or molded or engraved on the part itself, those numbers are the Engineering ID numbers.














Finally, your 430B22 hinge insert thingy, as shown in the catalog:

I've also highlighted a few entries in red, notice the stars in the PART NUMBER column, that star means the part was obsoleted by the time this catalog was printed (March, 1994 in this case).








You need to remember the IBM PC was introduced to the world in 1981, and all this information was in books & microfiche before then and requires lots more manual labor to find.

Most people are lazy and don't want to do more than they need to, and it's easier to to blow smoke and tell somebody the 30 yo part isn't available anymore than it is to find this stuff using the manual methods.

Bill (NumberDummy) says dealers can no longer return old parts (like the tailgate you purchased) to the factory for credit, they are stuck with them and so it makes sense they would "show an interest in selling them to you."

I found your thingies using PartsVoice, just like Bill did, but Bill also has access to the FoMoCo Parts Locator System (which I don't) which can show additional information not known by PV.

I am not sure what books 81 has, but he says his are old and obsolete (although that is sometimes more useful) and he & Bill get into it sometimes, it can be funny to watch.

He also has the OSI (Obsolete/Supersede/Interchange) Manuals, these give updated information on replacement part numbers since the catalogs were printed; I don't have those catalogs myself.

So, you see, it can really be a pain in the *** to find this stuff the old-fashioned way before it was all computerized, hence one of the reasons why some of today's snot-nosed parts counter kids don't want to do it (or don't know how, all they know how to do is scan bar codes and look at the computer).

 

As Bill and I said, they either are incompetent or bold face lying to you. 99 means styleside.

If I was you I'd go back to this dealer and ask if they can give you a price on a tailgate for a 2011 F-350 super duty without the step, then ask for the part number. Make sure it's the same guy that told you that 99 in the part number means obsolete. When the guy comes back with the part number 8C3Z-9940700-A, and a price, I'd nail him to the wall with it. No way a one year old trucks tailgate is obsolete.

You may ask how I found the part number for a 2011 F-350 tailgate when my books only go up to 84 and 86? I put the basic number 9940700 in google and every Ford Styleside tailgate made from 1957 to 2012 comes up from people selling their stuff. Try it yourself.

Failing to look because they are lazy more than likely. They might also be figuring if you are buying parts for an older vehicle, you don't have much money anyway. Seen this alot in dealers. Why I go in with part numbers in hand and do most of the work myself when buying parts anymore, or buy them online and not deal with them at all.

Ford does obsolete parts all the time from their inventory. A heck of a lot of parts for our trucks were obsoleted just recently. AC/Delco which is owned by GM usually keeps parts for our trucks longer than Ford does and they are Ford's competition. I think most of that problem started when Ford Parts, called Autolite at the time, was liquadated unfairly by the US government and called a monopoly back in 1972. Ford was forced to sell Autolite (Now a aftermarket company selling made in China Parts), and created a new parts company called Motorcraft, that was drastically scaled down. It never recovered, nor do I, in my opinion, think Ford wants it to.

Spark Plugs? What is your engine? I bet I can find Motorcraft plugs for you quick.