Blond Moment

[jonathan-m]

hello all,
I'm having a bit of a blond moment here. I feel like a dummy asking this, but, can someone tell me how to remove the tailgate from a stepside? I've never taken a tailgate off before. When I turn the bolts on the sides, nothing loosens.......


Thanks guys,

Jon

[billydonn]

The stock steel insert in the bottom of the tailgate side that the bolt goes into will spin if you don't jam it with something like a screwdriver or sliver of wood. There may be a notch in the insert ("trunion"?) to help you jam it, I can't remember for sure. When you get it jammed good it may even be desirable to use an impact wrench to break the bolt loose. Try a soak with penetrating oil if necessary. I believe you can get the tailgate off by getting just one of these bolts undone... then the other is easier to get at from both sides.

When you put it back together use some anti-seize to help you disassemble next time.

[jonathan-m]

cool deal, I see the hole that your talking about. I'll give it a try tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tip!

Jon