Tailgate Hinge Question

[dmsog]

(....been posted to FSC with no results:)

 

I've got a '98 Dually and the right side tail gate hinge is sloppy to the point of the gate banging around when I go over bumps. I looked it over and figured there was a bushing missing between the ball and socket, so I marched down to my dealer and apparently I was mistaken, because there's no part shown on the computer to go between these two pieces.

The left hinge is fine, and I'm sure I could figure this out by removing the gate. It's just that I want to have parts in hand so I don't have to remove it twice.

Can someone shed some light on what's going on here?

 

Thanks -

 

Doug

[MountaineerTom]

That one side might be wollowed out a good bit, allowing it to move around more that normal.  You could try measuring the diameter of the opening, then measure a couple others and see if there is a big difference.  If so, just swap out the hinge.  

 

I had that problem once, and swapping the hinge worked.