Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. We've been selling auto parts for over 30 years.
Hi, everyone. Sue here at 1A Auto, and today we're going to show you how to replace the tailgate drop cables, support cables, for your 2011 Ford F150. If you need this part or any other part for your car, click on the link below and head on over to 1aauto.com.
I'm going to end up replacing both cables for both sides. I'm going to do one side at a time, so that way I can detach it from the gate without worrying about it dropping down. So the first thing I'm going to do is detach it from the top part of the gate here. So you're going to raise and support the tailgate mid level, so you can have freedom of this cable, and you're just going to push this tab forward. And unhook it. Then you can drop your gate down.
Now that the pressure is off of that, you've got a T45, so it's a Torx bit T45. The other nice thing is you can see right through. See that bolt. So I'm going to take full advantage of that, and I'm going to spray it with a rust inhibitor. Then I'm going to let that sit for a second, and I'll pick this up. Now I'm going to take my T45 and just spin that bolt out. The bolt comes with this lock clip, so that way the tab and nothing falls down in.
Now we have to take the bolt out. It has that lock tab on there, so we're just going to take a pair of pliers, needle nose, and I'm just going to work it back up through. If you can spin it by hand, that's great. If not, you may have to put your Torx bit on there. Just hold that clip firmly. I'm going to reuse it, so that's why I don't want to destroy it. Perfect.
Here we have our tailgate cable from 1A Auto. Here we have the factory one I just removed. They're both the same length. They've got the same designed tabs to hold that in on the top. And the angles, there is a left and a right, so if you don't need both, make sure you click on the correct cable for the side of the bed line that you want to put up. So if you need this part or any other part for your car, click on the link below, and head on over to 1AAuto.com.
To reassemble this, what we're going to do is make sure that you out the shorter tab of the two that goes like that in the bed. The letter L in the opening of the cable will go towards the outside. You want the flat piece towards the bed, so I'm going to line that up so that this goes in between the two. Two tabs go between that one big tin tab. We're going to slide the bolt through this way. Spin it over, and then you'll put that lock tab on. This is something you can screw down with your hand. All you need to do is get a couple of threads started. Then push it down with your thumbs.
There, now we can start the bolt, lining up that tab on the body, and then putting that down with the T45 Torx. When tightening it down, do not over-tighten because then the cable won't pivot. So we want to just bottom it out and turn it back about maybe half a turn, and there's some freedom. To reattach the top, you have the flat piece against the body, and the lock tab on the outside, so you'll lift the gate up just a hair. Then you can put that bolt through the big slot. Pull it down. Now it's locked in.
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