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Tailgate Gap

Rod507

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I am a little surprised the paint color under the hood doesn't match the rest of the vehicle, but I can also understand the reasoning for not doing it. The tailgate is of more concern.
same here I was a bit surprised. I looked into a lot of the silver color ones on YouTube (for reference, as there isn’t any in the lot) and they are all seem to have primer white inside. Doesn’t bother me as much but just a craftsmanship thing.

as far as tailgate, I wonder if the gap is to help while under stress, so the tailgate can still open?

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Big Dog Daddy

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Anyone else notice the gap on either side?

Driver and passenger for reference

2BCC698B-E2E2-45F5-B968-EA5D15614391.jpeg


429BE033-4F3F-414A-BA92-6AA3D84EEA94.jpeg
Anyone else notice the gap on either side?

Driver and passenger for reference

Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 2BCC698B-E2E2-45F5-B968-EA5D15614391


Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 429BE033-4F3F-414A-BA92-6AA3D84EEA94
For your reference I measured the gap from gate to box wall on my truck with a caliper and tape measure which can be deceiving but I came up with about 3/16" on average for both sides. Hope this helps

Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 20210711_162705


Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 20210711_162438
 

diesel97

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At the bottom of the gate is there that much space also? The bottom looks normal from the picture, looks the bedrails are sprung
 

Big Dog Daddy

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At the bottom of the gate is there that much space also? The bottom looks normal from the picture, looks the bedrails are sprung
The gate and tail light lenses are parallel on both sides and measure 9/64 th's of an inch on both sides, so just slightly smaller than the gate to box measurement of 3/16"
 

85Mustangman

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@Whoskyle -

I believe that the 'Orange Peel' finish may be by design. I've noticed it under the door sill while washing my (SQ) truck and having the running boards deployed. Its not visible from street view. My guess is that area is prone to rocks and other debris causing damage. (The orange arrows point to the pebbled finish underneath the sill and the yellow arrows point to the smooth glossy finish on the doors and side of the sill.)

Anecdotally, my wife's (Red) Explorer was recently in a minor accident. I brought it to a friend who owns a body shop. While there, I had him address some other minor issues - including paint flaking on the leading edge of the hood. He explained to me that it will eventually happen to all of these aluminum body vehicles, regardless of make, as they are more prone than steel body vehicles to rocks et al chipping the paint over time. He recommended (and I agreed) to go with the 'Orange Peel' across the width of the hood, about 2 inches wide, as a protective measure. It came out looking great - almost like a bra from the factory.

I don't know if this is exactly what you're talking about but its something to consider.

IMG-6048.jpg


IMG-6047.jpg


Truck Paint Finish.jpg
Assume this is like a super thick paint application? That presumably, would provide a little more protection against rogue flying rocks?
 

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ZWARRIOR

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So are we all gonna ignore that GT350 on the background :sneaky:
 
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Whoskyle

Whoskyle

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Assume this is like a super thick paint application? That presumably, would provide a little more protection against rogue flying rocks?
I wonder, it seems a little strange, to me it’s almost like “out of sight out of mind”
 

Rod507

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For your reference I measured the gap from gate to box wall on my truck with a caliper and tape measure which can be deceiving but I came up with about 3/16" on average for both sides. Hope this helps

20210711_162705.jpg


20210711_162438.jpg
mine has the gap similar to yours, but the passenger side is definitely wider. Does any of the sides also stick out as well? My passenger side corner just sticks out as of it was bent, but closes just fine. Driver side not as much.

Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 7264F02B-10D4-4010-949A-1E40C97D958D


Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap F360FE83-E1B0-47E9-8ADC-F40F6F304D54
 

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Big Dog Daddy

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mine has the gap similar to yours, but the passenger side is definitely wider. Does any of the sides also stick out as well? My passenger side corner just sticks out as of it was bent, but closes just fine. Driver side not as much.

7264F02B-10D4-4010-949A-1E40C97D958D.jpeg


F360FE83-E1B0-47E9-8ADC-F40F6F304D54.jpeg
Hi Rod507 the left side view on my truck is near perfect. But the right "passenger" side is definitely more pronounced. It doesn't appear to be as much as yours. It is difficult to get a good photo because of the radius of the quarter panel meeting with the gate. You may be able to tweak the adjustment a little, not sure though. I guess these are production variations as some look perfect. I guess you and I didn't get "perfect"

Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 20210716_182603


Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 20210716_182533
 

RT21KRH

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Anyone else notice the gap on either side?

Driver and passenger for reference

2BCC698B-E2E2-45F5-B968-EA5D15614391.jpeg


429BE033-4F3F-414A-BA92-6AA3D84EEA94.jpeg
Mine seem near perfect, 3/16 of an inch on both sides. All my gaps are good and the paint is pretty good too. Entire front covered in film. King Ranch PB 7000 miles no issues.

Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap FB3AF45F-1C99-44C5-89B0-7D42E32833A7


Ford F-150 Tailgate Gap 5F26FE4E-5228-4162-B6A6-A3C5C763ACCF
 

Rod507

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Hi Rod507 the left side view on my truck is near perfect. But the right "passenger" side is definitely more pronounced. It doesn't appear to be as much as yours. It is difficult to get a good photo because of the radius of the quarter panel meeting with the gate. You may be able to tweak the adjustment a little, not sure though. I guess these are production variations as some look perfect. I guess you and I didn't get "perfect"

20210716_182603.jpg


20210716_182533.jpg
Thank you for the response. I’ll try to play with it and see if it can be adjusted somehow. I did try to push on that corner, and there’s no give… making me think it’s possibly bent out. Anyways, we didn’t get perfect but at least it closes fine
 

Big Dog Daddy

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Thank you for the response. I’ll try to play with it and see if it can be adjusted somehow. I did try to push on that corner, and there’s no give… making me think it’s possibly bent out. Anyways, we didn’t get perfect but at least it closes fine
Thanks, let me know how you do. The contour of the 2 panels, gate and quarter on the trucks seem to be a little off. Adjustment might only yield a best compromise, and Ford may have already done that at the factory. I'm going to live with it, It's minor. Living in the north east with the winter snow & salt on the roads I don't want to crack the painted bolts loose to adjust for fear of corrosion around the fasteners. That might be worse than the fix.
 
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Whoskyle

Whoskyle

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@Rod507 And others, have you also noticed on your tailgate, that one of your cables has some slack and the other is tight? My passenger side is tight and driver side has slack
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