help, cant get tailgate back on

[goldxlt]

i took the tail gate off of my 03 stepside, now i cant get the damn thing on. i had a hell of a time getting it off too. i cant get the left side to go on, i bought new bushings and that didnt help. the new bushing slides onto the knob of the truck and into place in the gate, but once its in the gate i cant get it to slide onto the knob. anyone else have this problem or know what it might be? im looking for any suggestions at this point

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It should go back on as easy as it came off even with the old bushings. You have to hold the gate fairly close to being how it sits on the truck for the nub to make the corner.

The only problem I have with mine is the thing that rotates on the right hinge rotates more than it should after I take the gate off and I have to try to reach down and rotate it so the slot is pointing the right way as I am holding the tailgate, everytime I take the gate off... guarenteed

 

[goldxlt]

the problem was it didnt come off easy, i origianlly thought it was just stuck, first time comming off so i had to use a mallet, never put anythought to it not going back on. i think im going to pull the mount off the bad and make sure nothing is out of shape

 

[machine090767]

my damned tailgate also takes about anhour to put back on. i can get the left side on (which you need to do first) but sliding the right side onto the "hinge" part is so damn tricky. The bushing if it's even a fraction off, will not allow the tailgate to drop into place.
I even had a friend who is a mechanic work on it. he would line everything up while i pounded on the top of the tailgate with a rubber mallet to get it on. After it was on, he said "Never remove this again!"
funny thing is, all of my previous rangers, I could remove and put on my tailgate in about 30 seconds, maybe less.