Broken tailgate hinge

^^ Nice !

Question, how slow does the tailgate supposed to drop ? I put in the new hinge piece ... when opening it starts slow at 90 Degree, then drops and 'catches' again at 40 ish degree. Was thinking of getting new strut, but does this seem about right ? ..def better than before !

 

Mine did the same with oem/used/maybe damaged strut. New strut is one slow smooth motion.

May have done the two stage since new, just never paid close attention until it broke.

 

Is this the shock you used ?

https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/stabilus-4b-256726-lift-support-4b-256726-w/

 

Yes, that is it. Came with rubber boot too.

 

I just got my 2007 from the dealer yesterday (new to me!) and busted my driver side bushing yesterday. Opened the tailgate and it hung up about 1/2 way down... hindsight is the strut must've been frozen, but I forced it open/down and the bushing twisted and busted off. I subsequently broke the handle too... cheap brittle plastic in -10 degree weather. Great info on here; I ordered a new handle. I'll have to take apart the tail light and look at the hinge and stuff when we get back above zero. Thanks for the great info everyone!

 

I believe the 07 uses a replaceable plastic bushing rather than how the 14+ needs to replace the entire hinge, I could be wrong though.

 

I have the same broken bushing part. (Found it just after I replaced the dampener and nothing much changed. )
Were you able to locate just that part or did you have to buy the whole hinge kit?

 

Unfortunately you have to replace the whole hinge. Part number

$25 66102-0C021 Casrram Upgrade Aluminum Tailgate Hinge Bushing Compatible with Toyota Tundra 2007-2021 for Rear Tail Gate Left Driver Side

66102-0C021

 

Yup whole piece like Joe333x mentioned ... good news though, it's 4th of July savings ..I paid over 60 for it.

66102-0C021 - Tailgate Hinge (Left) - 2007-2021 Toyota Tundra | Sparks Parts

2007-2021 Toyota Tundra Tailgate Hinge (Left) 66102-0C021 | Toyota Parts (mcgeorgetoyota.com)

 

Does anyone have the part number for the torqs bolts for the hinge? I made the mistake of stripping mine

@Joe333x

 

I don't know for absolutely certain but this sounds correct https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/p/__/Tailgate-Hinge-Bolt/4105825/90148A0008.html

 

I just got a used ‘17. The only issue was the tailgate wouldn’t go down completely. It was a good deal & I thought I’d just need to replace a cheap plastic bushing on the drivers side so I bought it. Boy was I wrong. I figured out you can’t just buy the bushing so I had to buy the whole hinge (Toyota part #

$25 66102-0C021 Casrram Upgrade Aluminum Tailgate Hinge Bushing Compatible with Toyota Tundra 2007-2021 for Rear Tail Gate Left Driver Side

66102-0C021). I figured I should replace the lift support (strut) so I ordered

$24 4B256726 Premium Quality Brand Stabilus Tailgate Lift Support Compatible with 2019-2007, Toyota Tundra, Black (4B-256726)

4B256726 from O’Reillys. After I took the tailgate & lift support off I figured out the hinge was completely frozen with rust and the lift support wasn’t moving either. The tailgate was only opening at all because there wasn’t much plastic left on that hinge. Despite using a new T40 bit and being very careful I partially stripped both bolts. So I ordered new 90148-A0008 bolts from the dealer. Then I used a pointed punch and flat chisel on the OD of the upper screw to try to get it started hoping I’d be able to unscrew it with the bit after I got it started. Nope. I got it to rotate but I had to create grooves all the way around the OD and keep smacking it hard. After 2-3 rotations the welds on the nut on the backside broke. Both bolts were rusted in the welded nuts so the only choice was to drill them out. I should have done that from the beginning because that was much easier. A 5/16” drill caused the head to pop off pretty quickly. The upper nut was already off. I couldn’t get the drill bit quite in line with the lower bolt because the bumper interferes a little but it worked fine. The remainder of the bolt was still in the lower nut & it would have been difficult to drill out straight & retap so I just used the chisel to break the welds on that nut. I replaced both of those nuts with M8x1.25 stainless steel nuts. So now I can remove those with a ratchet in the brake light opening so I won’t have to worry about stripping the torx sockets if I ever need to replace that hinge again. I’ll try to remember to remove the brake light & spray some lithium grease on that hinge every year or so. I put some lithium grease in the plastic bushing on the passenger side hinge too. It opens & closed very smoothly now

 

Did you replace the strut or not? If so, whats the PN of the replacement? Mine busted the same way, so want to replace strut in case it caused any issues. Thanks!

 

Heck YEAH!! Thank you so much for posting, with pics even! Mine recently busted the same was and was wondering how i was going to macgyver my way out of it!

I also sent you a pm in the rare case you may have a few parts still lying around you wouldn't mind shipping over.

 

I didn't replace the strut just the ball. Since then plastic part of the hinge cracked again after replacing it but I'm just leaving it like that, it still works and clearly will just happen again, Toyota should have made it so you can replace the the plastic clover without replacing the entire hinge.

 

this is the solution ive been looking for, thanks for making it so clear and easy for my dumbass to understand.

 

Not sure if this has been shared before or if this is of value here, but I'll share just in case. I believe it's an aluminum replacement for that fragile left side plastic bushing.
https://a.co/d/0dDrPbu

 

Interesting, I wonder how it mounts into the hinge, just slides over? The cost is the same as an entire new hinge though but I guess you won't need to worry about replacing it again

 

Just installed the aluminum bushing on my 21 SR. Fit like a glove and tailgate operates like new again. It’s a very good fitting upgrade to that plastic bushing.

 

Here's the link to the US Amazon one. I just ordered one, I'm on my second hinge so figured might as well.

$25 Casrram Upgrade Aluminum Tailgate Hinge Bushing Compatible with Toyota Tundra 2007-2021 for Rear Tail Gate Left Driver Side

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKCT5KF5 half the price of the Canada link.

 

Just installed the aluminum bushing, for $25 it was cheaper than replacing the hinge again and this should last forever. Not sure what Toyota was thinking with this silly plastic bushing that you can't even replace, glad someone made this aluminum one though.

 

Can I replace it even though mine isn't broken at the moment?

 

You'd have to break the plastic one off in order to put the metal one on. I'd say don't bother if yours is not broken, maybe if you wanted to throw the metal one in the glove box in case the plastic one does break?

 

I didn’t think to look at my bushings. Think mine's due

 

You'd know if it was broken because the tailgate won't dampen like it's supposed to. I'm sure many people never have an issue but I use my tailgate every day multiple times having my dogs get in and out, I'm sure them pushing it down hasn't helped either.