So I checked out my tailgate last night and could not discern any warpage. Since I'm paranoid now what should I be looking for. Is it really noticeable and am I just lucky?
Tailgate Warpage (2 Viewers)
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The later vehicles have a lower gate with some additional bracing. They can still bend however. The easiest thing to do is look at the lower inner edge of the gate where it contacts the weatherstrip when the gate is closed. If the gate is bent it will not seal evenly against the weather strip. The gate will "bow out" away from the centerline of the vehicle.
Good to know. I thought I recalled something about more bracing in the later years.
I just found something that would have saved me some frustration. Nutserts or rivnuts are a pain in the Butt. Fortunately, Mcmaster would like to save anyone thinking of this the trouble.
http://www.mcmaster.com/ then search for Wellnuts the one you want is the rubber insulated rivet nuts. The metal rivet nuts need to be welded in unless you have the correct puller, even then its not always successful.
Little heads up.
http://www.mcmaster.com/ then search for Wellnuts the one you want is the rubber insulated rivet nuts. The metal rivet nuts need to be welded in unless you have the correct puller, even then its not always successful.
Little heads up.
Thread from the dead!
I know this is going to sound REALLY
, but has anyone used plywood in place of the aluminum to reinforce the tailgate? Any thoughts on the material? Think it'll actually do the job?
I just used CruiserDan's eyebolt and fender washer trick to straighten out my gate a little. I have plywood laying around but not a sheet of aluminum.
I know this is going to sound REALLY
, but has anyone used plywood in place of the aluminum to reinforce the tailgate? Any thoughts on the material? Think it'll actually do the job?I just used CruiserDan's eyebolt and fender washer trick to straighten out my gate a little. I have plywood laying around but not a sheet of aluminum.
Too flexible.
- Thread starter
- #47
X2. Go with Dan's original suggestion.
I turned mine into a storage bin. Now it is super stiff! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I should have made a seperate thread, but here is the link: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/204884-some-redneck-bodywork-finished.html
I had a feeling you guys would say that but it was worth the question. Thanks!
Do you have any finished pics of your box? That's more involved than a plate, but also might be more useful...
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
I think CDan did a great job with this idea on his 80 and it inspired me to consider doing the same with my 85 4Runner (not quite ready to "redo" the 80 interior yet). Knowing how anal-retentive some of us can get, I thought I would add something that I ran across while looking for some 1/4" 6061 aluminum sheet: 7075 alloy. It's a bit more expensive but both the tensile and yield strength are about 80% higher than 6061. Now 6061 is already 2x stronger than most other grades of aluminum so I was pretty impressed.
Just as a comparison, the yield strength of 316 stainless is 60,200 psi (2x 304 stainless). The yield strength of 6061 is 40,000 psi and the yield strength of 7075 is 73,000. I thought that information might interest the "stainless is stronger" crowd.
I need a 12" x 48" piece for the 4Runner and the prices (that I found so far) are $129 for the 6061 and $199 for the 7075.
I don't know how that size compares to what is needed for an 80 but the calculated weight of a 12" x 48" piece of either 6061 or 7075 is 14.5 lbs. (I didn't write it down but I think the 316 stainless was about 45 lbs.)
Just as a comparison, the yield strength of 316 stainless is 60,200 psi (2x 304 stainless). The yield strength of 6061 is 40,000 psi and the yield strength of 7075 is 73,000. I thought that information might interest the "stainless is stronger" crowd.
I need a 12" x 48" piece for the 4Runner and the prices (that I found so far) are $129 for the 6061 and $199 for the 7075.
I don't know how that size compares to what is needed for an 80 but the calculated weight of a 12" x 48" piece of either 6061 or 7075 is 14.5 lbs. (I didn't write it down but I think the 316 stainless was about 45 lbs.)
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If you make me one of those I'll make you a skid plate.
Deal! (No, I'm being serious...)
I never completely finished it... I still need to router the edges and add the hinges, But I will gladly snap some pics of what I got!
Well, if you did do one for me it'd better be finished. Otherwise I might "forget" to finish the skid plate.
Better make it purdy to, this is a Lexus we're talking about, not some beater LC!
Well, if you did do one for me it'd better be finished. Otherwise I might "forget" to finish the skid plate.
Better make it purdy to, this is a Lexus we're talking about, not some beater LC!
LOL! Of course! I wasn't going to give you my tailgate!
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
I actually found the equations and did the deflection calcs and you can ignore what I said above about 7075. Yes it is stronger but neither tensile or yield strength figure into the potential deflection under load. It's all about modulus of elasticity and although 7075 has a slightly higher modulus, it makes very little difference in the result under load.
If anyone wants to order a piece of 6061, I found a company that will cut to order with a waterjet and they don't charge an arm and a leg. I am getting a 1/4" piece of 6061-T6 cut for my 4Runner tailgate and they are only charging $86 (plus UPS shipping of about $20). I thought that was a pretty good price so I thought I would share.
I sent them a sketch in google Sketchup and they sent me this CAD approval drawing....all included in the price. They keep the drawings on file so if anyone does this for their 80 then please post the results and anyone can then order off that drawing number.
Here is the company link: Great Western Metals - Water Jet Cutting Specialists
Ask for Carol in sales.
Just to make sure we are perfectly clear, I included this sketch as an example of what they do; THIS SKETCH WILL NOT WORK FOR YOUR 80!
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I just ordered a section. They now have this drawing (#35610) on file:
Cost was $145 shipped from Texas to North Dakota.
I'll add some pictures once it arrives.
Cost was $145 shipped from Texas to North Dakota.
I'll add some pictures once it arrives.
I stumbled upon this this thread some time back and was impressed by cdan's idea to straighten out the tail gate and replace the carpet with a stiff 1/4" thick sheet of 6061 aluminum. I checked local steel supply shop and they let me browse the s**** aluminum "pile". I found s**** sheets of both 6061 and 5052 - both were 1/4", but 6061 is definitely heavier. Being the cheapskate that I am, I chose the 5052 which they cut me my dimensions (53.250" X 15") for $64.75. BTW, the 6061 would have cost me $116. The weight difference for this cut piece compared to cdan's 6061 was: 5052 = 19 Lbs vs. 6061 = 23 Lbs.
Got it home and removed the carpet (which I used as a template for dimensions and mounting holes) and the clips which, BTW, are the same as the door panel clips - so now I have spares. I marked out the rounded bottom corners on the aluminum and used my trusty saber saw for the cuts and cleaned up all edges with a file. The tricky part was getting the mounting holes precise because they need to be.
I purchased 6-32 nutserts at local True Value hardware store (Home Depot & Lowes didn't have). They are like the expandable moly screws that are used on drywall and a $1.65 tool is available for installation and make sure you have a couple of spare nutserts and screws, because: Don't be tempted to use a Makita, like I did to try and save time. I stripped one out and was lucky to extract it out of the hole. Get flat head screws with Phillips head for ease in installing.
Countersinking the holes in the aluminum is necessary, as cdan pointed out, for screws to be flush. Using the carpet piece was the trick for accurately locating the holes (with the absence of a blueprint). I chose to lay the carpet upside down, on the back side of the sheet of aluminum. Then I could take a very sharp hole punch, (used for marking holes to be drilled on metal) and center it in each clip hole (in the masonite backing of the carpet) and hit with a hammer right through carpet to mark holes to be drilled. Remember, this is the back side of sheet and after holes are drilled, you want to countersink the top side of the holes. After countersinking holes and cleaning up aluminum sheet, set it topside up and site through holes to verify alignment. The nutserts that I used would "float" a small amount, but you need good alignment so scews are perpendicular and screwheads recess into the countersunk holes.
I think cdan used chrome head screws that prolly look better. I just used regular flathead 6-32 1 1/4" in length. They turned out to be long enough to install nutserts, also. The tailgate is now, significantly heavier, but I also feel that it is much stronger and resistant to warpage, especially from "fatbodies" such as myself kneeling or standing on tailgate. Once again: Thank you, cdan!!! A couple of pics of finished project:
Got it home and removed the carpet (which I used as a template for dimensions and mounting holes) and the clips which, BTW, are the same as the door panel clips - so now I have spares. I marked out the rounded bottom corners on the aluminum and used my trusty saber saw for the cuts and cleaned up all edges with a file. The tricky part was getting the mounting holes precise because they need to be.
I purchased 6-32 nutserts at local True Value hardware store (Home Depot & Lowes didn't have). They are like the expandable moly screws that are used on drywall and a $1.65 tool is available for installation and make sure you have a couple of spare nutserts and screws, because: Don't be tempted to use a Makita, like I did to try and save time. I stripped one out and was lucky to extract it out of the hole. Get flat head screws with Phillips head for ease in installing.
Countersinking the holes in the aluminum is necessary, as cdan pointed out, for screws to be flush. Using the carpet piece was the trick for accurately locating the holes (with the absence of a blueprint). I chose to lay the carpet upside down, on the back side of the sheet of aluminum. Then I could take a very sharp hole punch, (used for marking holes to be drilled on metal) and center it in each clip hole (in the masonite backing of the carpet) and hit with a hammer right through carpet to mark holes to be drilled. Remember, this is the back side of sheet and after holes are drilled, you want to countersink the top side of the holes. After countersinking holes and cleaning up aluminum sheet, set it topside up and site through holes to verify alignment. The nutserts that I used would "float" a small amount, but you need good alignment so scews are perpendicular and screwheads recess into the countersunk holes.
I think cdan used chrome head screws that prolly look better. I just used regular flathead 6-32 1 1/4" in length. They turned out to be long enough to install nutserts, also. The tailgate is now, significantly heavier, but I also feel that it is much stronger and resistant to warpage, especially from "fatbodies" such as myself kneeling or standing on tailgate. Once again: Thank you, cdan!!! A couple of pics of finished project:
80t0ylc,
Nice writeup of the install. It sounds like you did it almost exactly like how I was planning. I'll add anything I can once I get all the parts and start up with this next week.
Nice writeup of the install. It sounds like you did it almost exactly like how I was planning. I'll add anything I can once I get all the parts and start up with this next week.
WarDamnEagle
SILVER Star
You might find the install thread for my 4Runner helpful:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyota-truck-tech/260316-ott-4runner-tailgate.html
I used 8mm allen-head, stainless screws with 8mm stainless nutserts. I also bought a countersink matched to the screws so that I could get the tops perfectly flush. You have to drill the holes and run the countersink in a drill press if you want them perfect.
I also bought a 1/16" carbide, roundover router bit and routed the edges before I installed the plate. It really made a nice smooth edge.
I was doing a lot of diving this summer and I'm already thinking about changing the 80 tailgate to aluminum. That will be much easier now that you have already ordered one from Great Western.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyota-truck-tech/260316-ott-4runner-tailgate.html
I used 8mm allen-head, stainless screws with 8mm stainless nutserts. I also bought a countersink matched to the screws so that I could get the tops perfectly flush. You have to drill the holes and run the countersink in a drill press if you want them perfect.
I also bought a 1/16" carbide, roundover router bit and routed the edges before I installed the plate. It really made a nice smooth edge.
I was doing a lot of diving this summer and I'm already thinking about changing the 80 tailgate to aluminum. That will be much easier now that you have already ordered one from Great Western.
