I screwed up my liftgate!!!!!!

[dutchman60]

I put a big dent on the top of my liftgate while attempted to adjust and it dropped while the hinge screws were loosened...I can fix the dent....just some minor body work....but now the top of liftgate is 3/4 in. Off of body...I have tried & tried but I cant get it to float properly ...the vertical height is correct to to the body....could I have bent the hinges? Any thoughts would be great....thx......

 

[crunchie_frog]

Well, on mine, over time and use, the metal on the body of the liftgate itself where the hinges bolt into had bent/changed shape and eventually there was a crack in the metal. I replaced the liftgate. I went to the junk yard, bought one and had it painted to match. When I had it painted, I told the shop owner what I was doing and he said he used to work at Ford dealership and they had seen the liftgate body metal bend and crack where it bolts to the hinges.

I can say however that until it cracked, I was able to adjust it until it closed, but it was sort of a PIA as it would take several tries and readjustments before I was able to get a good fit. After it cracked and I decided to replace it, I was not able to get it to latch on both sides and that made it sometimes hard to open.