tailgate assist spring
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 446
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From: South Bend, IN
tailgate assist spring
Tonight I was lowering the tailgate on my '95 and I heard a loud BANG! Then when I tried to put it back up it felt like it weighed a ton. I see the bent rod that comes out of the right side of the tailgate and goes through a bracket on the side of the jamb is now slack -- I assume that it is some kind of assist spring that has broken. Anybody replace this and have any tips? I tried to search for it in this forum and couldn't find anything -- if this info is in here already just tell me where to look. Thanks.
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,018
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From: Longview, TX
Torsion bar
Try this..
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...php?do=process
If the torsion bar broke be sure to secure the new one in the bracket inside the tailgate on the driver's side.
If that inside bracket fails you could break an expensive window.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...php?do=process
If the torsion bar broke be sure to secure the new one in the bracket inside the tailgate on the driver's side.
If that inside bracket fails you could break an expensive window.
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 446
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From: South Bend, IN
Well I got it changed out last night. The Ford dealer was actually the cheapest price for the torsion bar ($90 plus tax -- all the mail order suppliers I could find wanted $100-120 plus shipping). The parts man said that was the first one he had ever sold.
I found the easiest way to get the spring bracket back on the spring was to block up the tailgate open about 2" with a 2x4 diagonally between the ground and the tire carrier latch, then use a big screwdriver to pry between the spring and the inside of the tailgate to get it in position while someone starts the bolts in the spring holder. Went easier than I thought.
I found the easiest way to get the spring bracket back on the spring was to block up the tailgate open about 2" with a 2x4 diagonally between the ground and the tire carrier latch, then use a big screwdriver to pry between the spring and the inside of the tailgate to get it in position while someone starts the bolts in the spring holder. Went easier than I thought.
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 446
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From: South Bend, IN
The old one broke at the bend at the driver's side, due to rust, which makes sense since that is the corner that they all first rust at. The old one lasted 13 years so I hope I get that out of the new one. BTW it's at the body shop right now getting the rust fixed and then detailed -- Voila, new Bronco! I do this every spring.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,182
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From: Gateway to the West
Every time I have replaced a tailgate in a Bronco, I have had the INSIDE of it Rhino-lined BEFORE I reassemble it but WITH the torsion bar in place. I can say that even the tailgate that went through a full blown fire in my 92 STILL has no rust on the INSIDE because the Rhino lining is in there. (The guy at Rhino-linings of St. Louis knows me by name now because I have brought/sent him so many folks with this same issue). He takes the spray nozzle off the gun to get the lining down into the seams where rust typically would begin. I wouldn't try this with an old gate unless you had it blasted inside first to get any crud/rust out of those crevices first.
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