Installed a Ford tailgate assist today. (Slightly painful)

[Flash Man]

So my 2025 seems to be stripped of basic stuff, lIke electric folding mirrors, soft opening tailgate and it didn’t even come with a basic charger.

Not impressed as the sticker price was $73k, can complain too much as this was an impulse buy and I didn’t do my homework, that and I got discount, about $12k off sticker but the dealer played some old fashioned games that should have gone and forgotten 30 years ago:
Advertised price Plus the Lightning Package…

What is the Lightning Package you may ask?
Answer: Pin striping on the doors and along the body, nitrogen in the tires and of course some bs fabric protection on the vinyl/leather look alike seats. (Rolling my eyes here, but true

At any rate, the tailgate is rather heavy and not a problem if you know about It, lower it slowly and don’t stress the support/bolts, but wifey is not big or technical minded so I decided to install an “Assist”.

Looked at the after market $37 Rough Country or Tuff Truck whatever, cheap and easy to install and I was just about the to hit the buy button when I remembered my 10k Ford points, looked at the page and sure enough, they have one as well, ordered it and paid the $50 in between.
($100 plus tax and shipping)

Picked it up at the local dealer today, no shipping charges, watched a video and proceeded to install.

Wow, I was in for a surprise, this was not plug and play like the $37 dampers are, no Sir, remove the right tail light, undo the right bracket, install the new bracket and hide the damper behind the tail light.

Did all that but didn’t realized a new alignment of the tail gate was needed,, couldn’t figure it out at first, got everything installed and the tailgate was slightly crooked, then the little plug/spacer did fit anymore. (The original bracket had a nylon insert for hinge, the new Ford kit‘s hinge was metal and the insert didn’t fit. )

Nothing in the instructions or the video, one cable was slack (left) and the other side was tight.

The gate closed, but barely, it was almost aligned but not quite. My initial thought was the nylon spacer needed to be there, I was wrong.

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[PA Lightning]

When I saw in the instructions that you have to remove the tail light, I opted for the dealer installation for $70.
Ford mobil service came to my home to install and it took him about 15 minutes. Did not see him have to "adjust" the tail gate though.

There are a lot of videos online on how to install that particular dampener

 

[Flash Man]

Tried again and again, realized the mounting bracket for the right side was adjustable, took everything apart including removing the tail light and tried again by tightened one bolt but not the other while adjusting to make the tension on both cables the same.

It worked, but it took me 2 hours in my hot garage.

Looked for YouTube videos on how to properly adjust a Ford 150 tailgate, not much so far.
(Need to fine tune my tailgate, OCD, any links?)

When I saw in the instructions that you have to remove the tail light, I opted for the dealer installation for $70.
Ford mobil service came to my home to install and it took him about 15 minutes. Did not see him have to "adjust" the tail gate though.

There are a lot of videos online on how to install that particular dampener

Yeah, I should have spent the $70 as well if I had known, but the actual installation was not bad but something was lacking in the instruction: Do not use the little spacer/plug on the new bracket, it doesn’t fit. Wasted some time figuring that one out.

The taillights removal was the easy part.

I looked at YouTube videos but didn’t see any adjustments of the tail gate, but figured out how to do now. (The right side hinge bracket can move up and down an inch or so and the correct position is somewhere in the middle.)

Will fix this afternoon when the garage is nice and hot again..

 

[B177y]

I did the aftermarket Amazon tailgate damper on my old F350 and on the Lightning. Easy peasy installation for both. Best $20 addition to both trucks. This Ford damper looks way more complicated for not much if any gain.

 

[Flash Man]

Yes, probably easier solutions but I went with Ford thinking it would be better in the long run and it probably is.
As usual I didn‘t do my homework and got a surprise..
That being said, it is all done now and the tailgate is adjusted to perfection and I get some kind of satisfaction from working hard and solving problems. (the beer taste really good after you are done, like going to the dentist and walking out with a perfect mouth)
I haven’t work on cars in decades as I usually buy or lease new, but have worked a lot on old boats with no parts and no youTube video's to watch.
This tail gate damper was easy once I figured it out, but it took a while
Would I do it again? Yes and no, $70 is cheap, but learning my truck and making it better is priceless.
Painful but nice now.

 

[MaintGrl]

I did the aftermarket Amazon tailgate damper on my old F350 and on the Lightning. Easy peasy installation for both. Best $20 addition to both trucks. This Ford damper looks way more complicated for not much if any gain.

Well, one thing I LIKE about the Ford assist is that it is hidden and "protected" from getting hit or bent... but costing $70 more than the aftermarket . . is it worth it...?

 

[MaintGrl]

Yes, probably easier solutions but I went with Ford thinking it would be better in the long run and it probably is.
As usual I didn‘t do my homework and got a surprise..
That being said, it is all done now and the tailgate is adjusted to perfection and I get some kind of satisfaction from working hard and solving problems. (the beer taste really good after you are done, like going to the dentist and walking out with a perfect mouth)
I haven’t work on cars in decades as I usually buy or lease new, but have worked a lot on old boats with no parts and no youTube video's to watch.
This tail gate damper was easy once I figured it out, but it took a while
Would I do it again? Yes and no, $70 is cheap, but learning my truck and making it better is priceless.
Painful but nice now.

Thanks, I'm leaning towards the Ford, after reading your post....

 

[Flash Man]

Well, if you do, hit me up, happy to share the details.
1) The bolts holding the tailgate bracket/hinge on the right side was in there good with some kind of thread lock and I got a good workout and the Rambo feeling just getting them out, wow..
Had to screw them back in and back out quite a few times to figure out the adjustments. 100 degree garage and I skipped the gym today.
2) The Ford directions was not detailed, but the devil is in the details..
Hint: Before removing the old bracket apply blue tape on the upper end and on the fore-aft bottom end, now you know where to torque it down.
I didn’t and had to redo and redo the installation to make the tailgate flush and perfect.

 

[MaintGrl]

Well, if you do, hit me up, happy to share the details.
1) The bolts holding the tailgate bracket/hinge on the right side was in there good with some kind of thread lock and I got a good workout and the Rambo feeling just getting them out, wow..
Had to screw them back in and back out quite a few times to figure out the adjustments. 100 degree garage and I skipped the gym today.
2) The Ford directions was not detailed, but the devil is in the details..
Hint: Before removing the old bracket apply blue tape on the upper end and on the fore-aft bottom end, now you know where to torque it down.
I didn’t and had to redo and redo the installation to make the tailgate flush and perfect.

So, If I outline where the original placement was, will that be sufficient? Or does the added parts change the line up of the tailgate?

 

[Flash Man]

So, If I outline where the original placement was, will that be sufficient? Or does the added parts change the line up of the tailgate?

The added parts, or rather the new bracket probably and most likely has the same profile and the same foot print as the old one, so yes, use tape or a marker to outline the correct position.
I didn’t as I had no idea the bracket was movable up and down, fore and aft.
My first instal was off and the tailgate didn’t quite fit.
(Long story short but I figured it out, rather low tech but I thought the screw holes were fixed and everything would fall in place. Silly me. The bracket moved around and no indication (s) where it should really be)

 

[Flash Man]

The instructions included with Ford‘s tailgate damper specified painting the bracket to match the body color, I ignored it but it surely is an option for the perfectionists doing the same surgery:
It came painted black.

 

[Flash Man]

Here is link to the soft opening tailgate.

 

[Flash of Lightning]

I am in the same boat. I bought the damper and started to take tailgate off. Got as far as unplugging the connectors under. That took hours. Has the optical plug which I couldn't figure how to remove the red safety switch first. then the main plug was difficult. Guess I'm weak. Very frustrating. I called a local dealer here and they said it would be $250 just for installation. Unbelievable. I'm back to trying to do it myself. Maybe I will call another dealer.

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