How To: Dee Zee Tailgate Assist nutsert removal and delete.
This was driving me nuts. No pun intended. So I did it. I went to the other guys forum. It was horrible! There were blue ovals everywhere! My eyes hurt and I feel dirty. My God they all talk about their trucks like they are RAMS! I hope you all appreciate what I did for you...all.
Oh, these are all my pics when I did it today so don't worry about any silly old copyrights etc.
You will need the original black Allen head bolt (Or one that has the same thread pattern and length) that came with the kit and a BFH. Of course BFH stands for Big F@*#ing Hammer.
Thread the bolt in the nutsert. Make sure all of the nutsert threads are on the bolt.
Grab the BFH and hit the nut straight on driving it in to the tailgate. Be careful to not hit the tailgate. As the bolt goes in it will stretch out the nutsert allowing it to be pulled out. There should only be about 1/3 to 1/4 of the threads showing. This should be your final product:
This next part I have to admit I didn't get done 100%. I was 99% done and dropped the nut and washer down on to the street and watched it roll in to a drain. I know it will work because I got real, real close.
Again, you will need some of the original parts from the kit and some others. The black nut that you tighten to install the nutsert is perfect but again as long as it fits you are good. You will also need two washers. First thing you need to do is place one washer on the tailgate ball mount. Hand tighten the black (Or whatever one you use) nut down so it is flush against the washer. Next use some hot glue or household cement and glue the nut to the washer. Be careful nut to get any on the threads. You will be unscrewing the washer/nut from the ball mount after the glue sets. The ball mount is only a guide here to make sure the hole on the washer and nut line up for later.
While the glue is drying you will need to construct a tool using a 10mm box wrench, zip ties and a length of flat anything. I used an adjustable wrench. Just make sure the total length does not exceed 3/4 the width of the tailgate. You will be maneuvering this tool in the open tailgate.
After making sure the glue is dry. Place the washer/nut in the end of the wrench. Make sure the angled part is away from the nut. This will help in placing the nut later. Use some tape to tape this to the end of the wrench. Do not use to much because you will need to break this off later.
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If you do tape over the hole simply puncture it so the ball mount can be inserted later. Now take the ball mount and place the other washer over it. Put thread lock on the threads.
Now the tricky part. Remove the access hatch on the tailgate. Feed the wrench with the washer/net on the end in to the inside of the gate. Take your time. Do not hit the washer/nut on the side as it might fall off. Line the tool up with the far left slot against the tailgate. Now carefully insert it in the slot. This is a tight spot and not very welcoming for guys like me with big hands. Line up the nut with the hole that the nutsert came out of. Thread the ball mount in and tighten by hand. Then use a socket to tighten against the wrench in the tailgate.
Where did I go wrong you ask? Well I went to Home Depot to get new nuts and a new cheap box wrench. I figured if I was going to lose a wrench in my tailgate it was going to be a cheap one. I don't know if I just grabbed the wrong size or what but I grabbed an 11mm not a 10mm so when I pulled it out of the tailgate after taking the last pic to grab the ball mount I hit the side of my truck and the nut fell on the ground and rolled in to the drain. I sat there thinking "No, way did that just happen." I had another hardware kit from Dee Zee as a backup and just put a new nutsert in. If this one comes off I will do this for sure. I figured I would share now though.
This was driving me nuts. No pun intended. So I did it. I went to the other guys forum. It was horrible! There were blue ovals everywhere! My eyes hurt and I feel dirty. My God they all talk about their trucks like they are RAMS! I hope you all appreciate what I did for you...all.
Oh, these are all my pics when I did it today so don't worry about any silly old copyrights etc.
You will need the original black Allen head bolt (Or one that has the same thread pattern and length) that came with the kit and a BFH. Of course BFH stands for Big F@*#ing Hammer.
Thread the bolt in the nutsert. Make sure all of the nutsert threads are on the bolt.
Grab the BFH and hit the nut straight on driving it in to the tailgate. Be careful to not hit the tailgate. As the bolt goes in it will stretch out the nutsert allowing it to be pulled out. There should only be about 1/3 to 1/4 of the threads showing. This should be your final product:
This next part I have to admit I didn't get done 100%. I was 99% done and dropped the nut and washer down on to the street and watched it roll in to a drain. I know it will work because I got real, real close.
Again, you will need some of the original parts from the kit and some others. The black nut that you tighten to install the nutsert is perfect but again as long as it fits you are good. You will also need two washers. First thing you need to do is place one washer on the tailgate ball mount. Hand tighten the black (Or whatever one you use) nut down so it is flush against the washer. Next use some hot glue or household cement and glue the nut to the washer. Be careful nut to get any on the threads. You will be unscrewing the washer/nut from the ball mount after the glue sets. The ball mount is only a guide here to make sure the hole on the washer and nut line up for later.
While the glue is drying you will need to construct a tool using a 10mm box wrench, zip ties and a length of flat anything. I used an adjustable wrench. Just make sure the total length does not exceed 3/4 the width of the tailgate. You will be maneuvering this tool in the open tailgate.
After making sure the glue is dry. Place the washer/nut in the end of the wrench. Make sure the angled part is away from the nut. This will help in placing the nut later. Use some tape to tape this to the end of the wrench. Do not use to much because you will need to break this off later.
[
If you do tape over the hole simply puncture it so the ball mount can be inserted later. Now take the ball mount and place the other washer over it. Put thread lock on the threads.
Now the tricky part. Remove the access hatch on the tailgate. Feed the wrench with the washer/net on the end in to the inside of the gate. Take your time. Do not hit the washer/nut on the side as it might fall off. Line the tool up with the far left slot against the tailgate. Now carefully insert it in the slot. This is a tight spot and not very welcoming for guys like me with big hands. Line up the nut with the hole that the nutsert came out of. Thread the ball mount in and tighten by hand. Then use a socket to tighten against the wrench in the tailgate.
Where did I go wrong you ask? Well I went to Home Depot to get new nuts and a new cheap box wrench. I figured if I was going to lose a wrench in my tailgate it was going to be a cheap one. I don't know if I just grabbed the wrong size or what but I grabbed an 11mm not a 10mm so when I pulled it out of the tailgate after taking the last pic to grab the ball mount I hit the side of my truck and the nut fell on the ground and rolled in to the drain. I sat there thinking "No, way did that just happen." I had another hardware kit from Dee Zee as a backup and just put a new nutsert in. If this one comes off I will do this for sure. I figured I would share now though.
