Body panel/tailgate alignment issue

[Denis85]

Im curious if anyone else has experienced a tailgate and rear fender alignment issues? Ever since day one of ownership ive noticed the terrible tailgate and panel alignment. but i just kind of overlooked it/accepted it as not really worth bringing up and having to sit at the dealership on my day off to have it looked at. However recently i noticed there must have been actual contact because im noticing paint chipping starting to occur. I loosened the bolts a little to see if there was any adjustability to be had there, but i guess the adjustment is where the hinge actually attaches to the chassis. Anyone else have this issue? Will Ford fix this under warranty? Its a 2025 with less than 8,000 miles on it.

hard to see the paint chipping in the pics.

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[Brian_B]

definitely worth bringing up - an easy fix for someone with some experience

 

[F-Spot]

Probably have to remove the rear passenger taillight and loosen bolts to shift the entire tailgate to the passenger side a tad, then retighten.

 

[Denis85]

Probably have to remove the rear passenger taillight and loosen bolts to shift the entire tailgate to the passenger side a tad, then retighten.

If I remember correctly, I’ve read that removing the passenger taillight is a real pain to remove. Maybe I’m wrong.

 

[TX-Dennis]

If I remember correctly, I’ve read that removing the passenger taillight is a real pain to remove. Maybe I’m wrong.

I've had mine off to install an aftermarket tow wiring harness. It was pretty easy.

 

[Denis85]

Oh good to know. Thanks.

 

[F-Spot]

Jump to around the 8:00 minute mark to see how to adjust the hinges

 

[Denis85]

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[Brian_B]

the passenger tail light is more difficult than the drivers side - just have to have some patience. The videos almost always show drivers side as the example and say “do the same thing” for passenger - and that is true. but the tailgate hinges get in the way and make it harder

aligning the tailgate itself - can be a sunnovabitch - its not hard in theory - just a lot of trail and error. Two (or more) people and/or a hydraulic lift cart are needed

 

[Denis85]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info.

 

[contented]

Easy enough to fix. It’s just a matter of popping off one end of the pneumatic strut on bottom of tailgate (you must do this), closing tailgate, loosenping the four bolts holding tailgate to hinges, and sliding tailgate into the position you’d like. Then retighten bolts and reattach strut. Personally I remove the spare tire too and use wooden shims to hold the bottom. Put spare back on. If gaps change, readjust as needed. Easy peezy once you’ve done it. If yours is like mine, you won’t be able to get gaps exactly equal on both sides. But good enough. I’m not certain if one of the fenders is a bit off or tailgate edges aren’t parallel. Note, this process adjusts tailgate up and down and left and right, not in and out.

 

[Brian_B]

There are three spots for adjustment

The latch plate itself on the driver’s side (think this is in/out on driver’s side

Behind the passenger tail light - tailgate to bracket (think this is in/out on passenger side)

Behind the passenger tail light - bracket to body (think this is up/down/left/right)

I cant remember exactly how each adjust but if you loosen them too far and the tailgate drops - you are in for a long day.

 

[03SVTL]

That sucks, poor assembly QC from the factory.

My experience on alignment:

- Staring at the tailgate from the rear of the vehicle:

1. The tail can be adjusted left/right...ie sliding to the driver side or sliding to the passenger side.
2. The other axis of adjustment is depth....ie, how much of the passenger portion of the tailgate can stick be pushed out (away from the truck) vs sucked in.
3. And the 3rd axis of adjustment is rotation....ie how much the tailgate can be tilted forward (top of the tailgate pushing into the glass and the bottom of the tailgate pushing away from the truck) vs tilted back (top of the tailgate pushing away from the glass and the bottom of the tailgate pushed in)

- You do not have to take off the entire tailgate, just loosen the bolts.
- You'll want something to support the end of the tailgate if you're working by yourself
- You must test with the spare on after making adjustments (or if you have a friend to help you, leave the spare on.

I stared at a bunch of tailgates at a local Ford Dealership after experiencing lots of clunking when I reinstalled mine the first time. For the most part, they all seemed to be setup as follows:

1. Tailgate centered (left to right)
2. Bottom of the tailgate sucked into the truck (ie that means your body panel alignment towards the bottom of the tailgate will not be flush to the fenders....but slightly recessed)
3. Top of the tailgate pushed back, ie tailgate slightly protruding from the fender.
4. The upper latch engagement (the mechanism that actually locks and unlocks the tailgate)...it's not completely centered. It's biased towards the bottom half of the latch...meaning, expect slight contact with the bottom portion first when closing...it should still close smoothly. This is with the spare on the tailgate.

 

[Denis85]

Thanks guys. I appreciate all of the info.

 

[Iceman62]

Mine was off too...enough so that the tail light side was chipping so I bought some of those 3M door edge guards to stop the chipping. Worked perfect, but yes - QC was on a break during some of our roll-offs. >.<

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