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Ford designed the tailgate so that the brackets inside the tailgate, that the hinge bolts screw into, can come undone and fall to the bottom of the tailgate. Keep in mind, there is no hatch or anything to get inside the tailgate besides the small holes that the bolts go through. If you take the hinge bolts out, the slightest pressure can cause the interior bracket to detach and fall to the bottom of the tailgate. It appears I'm the first victim of this terrible design flaw. I have no idea why Ford wouldn't just have a bracket with threads that are secured to the tailgate. This is not the only place with this design because I noticed it again when I took my front bumper off this summer and had a bolt hole thread bracket (sorry I'm not sure what they're called) detach and fall on my face as soon as I removed the bolt.
So I bought a tailgate reinforcement to accommodate my 37 inch spare tire. I originally tried to install it myself but realized I didn't have the right size tool because I stripped the upper hinge bolt head slightly. I took it to 4wp to have them put it on since they were already installing my lift kit. I picked up my bronco for them to tell me that the tailgate reinforcement could not be put on because I stripped the bolt hole thread inside the tailgate. It was obvious that I messed with it because the head of the bolt was stripped slightly. They said that the reinforcement bolts would not go through the thread of the bolt hole inside the tailgate. What I found weird, was the bolt that I slightly stripped was in a different location. It was originally in the upper hinge but I found it in the lower hinge. So that means they put another bolt in the hole that I supposedly stripped. Weeks later, I decided to try to put the reinforcement bracket on myself after getting the correct tool. I first tested to see if the reinforcement bolt would go through the hole that I apprently stripped and it went in just fine. I tested every hole individually and it went in fine. I then unscrewed the lower hinge bolts first and the bracket within the tailgate fell to the bottom of the tailgate. That was the first time I even touched the lower hinge. It was obvious that someone possibly put to much pressure on it causing the bracket to come off the back wall inside the tailgate. It took 2.5 hours to fish the bracket back up using a clothes hanger and get the bolts through it without it falling back down again. At the end, I did what 4wp said was impossible and I installed the tailgate reinforcement. They tried to tell me that I stripped the thread within the tailgate preventing the bolt from going through. This was false because the threads were fine. What actually happened was they most likely pressed so hard on the bolt that the bracket inside came loose. I guess they assumed I wouldn't go try to see for myself. I have no idea why Ford designed a bolt bracket that could come detached from the tailgate. But if you try intstalling a reinforcement yourself, know that the bracket inside could easily come loose and fall to the bottom with a little pressure.
So I bought a tailgate reinforcement to accommodate my 37 inch spare tire. I originally tried to install it myself but realized I didn't have the right size tool because I stripped the upper hinge bolt head slightly. I took it to 4wp to have them put it on since they were already installing my lift kit. I picked up my bronco for them to tell me that the tailgate reinforcement could not be put on because I stripped the bolt hole thread inside the tailgate. It was obvious that I messed with it because the head of the bolt was stripped slightly. They said that the reinforcement bolts would not go through the thread of the bolt hole inside the tailgate. What I found weird, was the bolt that I slightly stripped was in a different location. It was originally in the upper hinge but I found it in the lower hinge. So that means they put another bolt in the hole that I supposedly stripped. Weeks later, I decided to try to put the reinforcement bracket on myself after getting the correct tool. I first tested to see if the reinforcement bolt would go through the hole that I apprently stripped and it went in just fine. I tested every hole individually and it went in fine. I then unscrewed the lower hinge bolts first and the bracket within the tailgate fell to the bottom of the tailgate. That was the first time I even touched the lower hinge. It was obvious that someone possibly put to much pressure on it causing the bracket to come off the back wall inside the tailgate. It took 2.5 hours to fish the bracket back up using a clothes hanger and get the bolts through it without it falling back down again. At the end, I did what 4wp said was impossible and I installed the tailgate reinforcement. They tried to tell me that I stripped the thread within the tailgate preventing the bolt from going through. This was false because the threads were fine. What actually happened was they most likely pressed so hard on the bolt that the bracket inside came loose. I guess they assumed I wouldn't go try to see for myself. I have no idea why Ford designed a bolt bracket that could come detached from the tailgate. But if you try intstalling a reinforcement yourself, know that the bracket inside could easily come loose and fall to the bottom with a little pressure.
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, whatever, it's done now. 
