Created on: 2018-03-30
How to replace a broken or loose tailgate striker on 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Ram 1500.
T45 Socket
Ratchet
Hi, I’m Mike from 1A Auto. We’ve been selling auto parts for over 30 years!
All right, we'll open up the tailgate. And up here you'll find your striker bolt. There's one on each side, and to remove it, it requires a t-45 Torx bit and a socket. You're going to want a good long ratchet or maybe a ratchet with a pipe on it or something like that because these are usually really tight. Maybe not in this case. This one actually is looser than I expected. These are usually quite tight, though. So, we'll go ahead and spin it right out. Where this truck is still new—it has this bolt inside that's a captured nut. I shouldn't say bolt—it's a captured nut, really—and it allows the nut to move around so you can actually adjust this and get your tailgate aligned properly. So, we're going to take this, slide it right back in, and thread it in lightly.
What you want to do with the existing one, if you're reusing it, or a new one, is just line it up with the mark and that way you know it's in the right spot. The other option, if you have like a newly painted vehicle or something like that, then you'll have to play with it in and out to get it adjusted properly. But, for us, we're just going to line it up with the previous spot and tighten it up. There we are.
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