How To - Coolest Tail Gate On The Block!
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How To - Coolest Tail Gate On The Block!
I know there is other how to articles about doing this. I am writing what worked for us. I have a little bit of OCD so i went above what most do for these mods. I bought enough parts to do the auto lock on 3 trucks. Between 3 actuators, 50' of Wire, 100' of Tech Flex, Assorted mix of Heatshrink, and a Deezee EZ down the bill was right at 100 bucks.
Links To Parts(All were bought from Amazon.com)
Galaxy Lock Actuator(I bought 3)
Monoprice 16AWG Double Insulated Speaker Wire 50'
Tech Flex 1/8" Wire Loom Protector 100'
16AWG Connector(Bought 3)
DeeZee EZ Down Tailgate Assist 43200
Bought the following from the local Ford dealership.
Stripper Pole Delete -
Panel 50.68each (Need 1) 9L3Z-9943121-AA
Screws 1.13each (Need 13) W710734-S439
I started with removing the stripper pole plastic and pole. I measure the amount of wire i would need to run from where the actuator would be mounted to just behind the hole in the bed where the factory camera wires passes through. I cut, soldered, and installed the tech flex over the wires. I then mounted the actuator the best way i saw fit. Instead of attaching the the actuator to a aluminum plate like most, i attached it directly to the tailgate. I did this by first using double sided tape and then used the mounting tab hole on the actuator itsself. I used a much longer screw than what came with the actuator to allow for more meat to grab onto for a tighter fit. I then ran the wires with connect through the tailgate and out the bottom of it passing it through the same hole the factory used for the camera. I choose to have the connector instead of one single wire incase you ever needed to remove the tail gate you wouldnt have to cut wires. Make sure that the connect that is on the truck side of the connections has the insulated positive so if you ever remove tail gate you wont risk a short with the connector hitting something. Then came the fun parts of bending the rod to make it work, which took some time. After the rod was bent i tightened everything up and moved onto running wires inside the frame rail. Come into the cab using a rubber grommet under the rear passenger door sill. Found the grey/brown and blue/green wire and tapped into them. Now just get the bed Line-Xed along with your new panel. There are 8 screws that hold your new panel on and the other 5 are used to fill in holes that are left over from removing the plastic from the stripper pole. Make sure you install the 5 before the bed is sprayed. And finally installed the EZ down using DeeZee supplied directions.
Now onto the pictures
Actuator
Connector
Actuator ready to be installed
Bending The Bar
How They Were Tapped Into The Truck
As you can see in this picture. Only one hole needed to be drilled for the screw.
The video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdZ4E...ature=youtu.be
Wayne
Links To Parts(All were bought from Amazon.com)
Galaxy Lock Actuator(I bought 3)
Monoprice 16AWG Double Insulated Speaker Wire 50'
Tech Flex 1/8" Wire Loom Protector 100'
16AWG Connector(Bought 3)
DeeZee EZ Down Tailgate Assist 43200
Bought the following from the local Ford dealership.
Stripper Pole Delete -
Panel 50.68each (Need 1) 9L3Z-9943121-AA
Screws 1.13each (Need 13) W710734-S439
I started with removing the stripper pole plastic and pole. I measure the amount of wire i would need to run from where the actuator would be mounted to just behind the hole in the bed where the factory camera wires passes through. I cut, soldered, and installed the tech flex over the wires. I then mounted the actuator the best way i saw fit. Instead of attaching the the actuator to a aluminum plate like most, i attached it directly to the tailgate. I did this by first using double sided tape and then used the mounting tab hole on the actuator itsself. I used a much longer screw than what came with the actuator to allow for more meat to grab onto for a tighter fit. I then ran the wires with connect through the tailgate and out the bottom of it passing it through the same hole the factory used for the camera. I choose to have the connector instead of one single wire incase you ever needed to remove the tail gate you wouldnt have to cut wires. Make sure that the connect that is on the truck side of the connections has the insulated positive so if you ever remove tail gate you wont risk a short with the connector hitting something. Then came the fun parts of bending the rod to make it work, which took some time. After the rod was bent i tightened everything up and moved onto running wires inside the frame rail. Come into the cab using a rubber grommet under the rear passenger door sill. Found the grey/brown and blue/green wire and tapped into them. Now just get the bed Line-Xed along with your new panel. There are 8 screws that hold your new panel on and the other 5 are used to fill in holes that are left over from removing the plastic from the stripper pole. Make sure you install the 5 before the bed is sprayed. And finally installed the EZ down using DeeZee supplied directions.
Now onto the pictures
Actuator
Connector
Actuator ready to be installed
Bending The Bar
How They Were Tapped Into The Truck
As you can see in this picture. Only one hole needed to be drilled for the screw.
The video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdZ4E...ature=youtu.be
Wayne
Last edited by Z7What; Feb 19, 2013 at 01:33 PM.
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From: Burleson/Athens/Brownsboro, TX
Pictures are showing up fine. How do you open the tailgate now? Is there a button inside the truck? Can you use the key fob? Just not clear on how you have done that part. Did you change the appearance of the tailgate in anyway?
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Jim
Jim
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From: New Orleans, LA
Wayne
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Joined: Feb 2013
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
No Pictures
Hey.. i cant see any pictures. Im new on here but have used may suggestions by others. This mod sounds awesome, but would like to see how you mounted everything inside the tailgate.
