2008 F-350 Super Duty. On my first tailgate strut install, the molly bolt tore out of the hole I installed it in the first time I opened the tailgate. I looked closer at the hole where I installed the molly bolt and it's kind of oblong, not perfectly round nor a snug fit when I first inserted the molly bolt. I figured I was just a moron and should probably install it on the other side (the passenger side) where there's a perfectly nice round hole. On my second tailgate install, I noticed the manufacturer I picked this time had a much nicer molly bolt. I installed it on the passenger side and the molly bolt stuck in like a champ! The only problem was when the tailgate closed the strut would pull the tailgate out of the removable hinge every single time. Oh. I read the directions and it said, "Don't install the tailgate strut on the passenger side." Great. That's what I get for not reading the instructions. On my third tailgate install, I used the bigger fancier molly bolt on the oblong hole on the drivers side hoping this bigger fancier molly bolt would hold. It didn't. While it lasted longer than the first install, it still only lasted about three tailgate openings before the molly bolt decided it just wasn't going to hold any more. So the bigger more oblong hole on the drivers side of the tailgate just doesn't seem to be able to hold the molly bolts designed for perfectly round and super snug installs.

So how do I install a tailgate strut when the hole on the passenger side is perfect to hold the molly bolt but the hinge pulls apart ever time I close it, and the hole on the drivers side is too big to hold the molly bolt? Unfortunately no matter how much you tear the tailgate down you don't really have access to the backside of where the molly bolt goes in. If I could access this location I could use a washer and a normal nut to install it.

How exactly do you add a tailgate strut to a 2008 F350? Every time the tailgate opens it feels like someone has run into my truck. There should be an easy way to get the strut bolt thingy to stay in place on the drivers side, but I haven't been able to think of a way to do this. The molly bolt approach for the oblong hole that's there is just not working.

 

Just to add to my thread here: The "molly bolt" thingy is also called a "jack nut." They appear to sell these in a number of configurations.

 

I haven't had any issues (yet) with mine, but if I do I'll probably end up drilling a new hole like this guy:

 

This is exactly the problem I had. So he just drilled a 1/2" hole that was the correct size for the jack nut. I thought of a billion different ways to fix this OTHER than that. Sounds like a plan... Now I need to either buy another kit or find an appropriate jack nut for the one I destroyed.