I dropped the tailgate off today for them to repair it. Just to be safe I also ordered new cables for the tailgate. Upon close inspection of the cables I noticed that both of the metal clips on the end of the cable were bent, this made it pretty easy to pull the cables off of the pickup. Thank you to everybody for your help and suggestions.
2008 Ford F350 dually
6.4 L Diesel
2010 Eagle Cap 1160
SoCalDesertRider wrote: $4000 for a tailgate???? I can build a very nice aluminum flat bed with headache rack and a couple storage boxes for that much money!
I have never had a tailgate come completely off. I have had them come unlatched and fall down a few times.
I'm with the others here who said someone was likely trying to steal the tailgate and got interrupted before they could take it off the truck.
$4000 for a tail gate! That's 2x what the truck is worth!!
gpascazio wrote: AS far as cost a new tailgate is about $1,100 and the repair will be $629. I took it to three places for an estimate and all three said it is a popular item to steal. If this is the case they must have seen me coming and didn't finish the job. Another theory is that I did not close it properly
I would check with a salvage yard for a take-off . It will be half that price or less for an excellent one in the right color .
Just a little FYI, for the '99 and newer GM trucks, there is a little part that sells for about $2 available from the stealership that will DETER tailgate theft. It uses one bolt of the tailgate hinge bracket to prevent lifting the tailgate out of the passenger side socket.
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I can build a very nice aluminum flat bed with headache rack and a couple storage boxes for that much money! 
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