New Tailgate advice??

[NYC Diesel]

My old girl (97 F250 Extended Cab 4x4 PSD) needs a new tailgate. Old one a little dinged up and rusted through at bottom. Would appreciate advice on where to get a new one or even if I need a new one.

I am new to trucks and PSDs and the new gate doesn't need to be show worthy. Really just looking for a solid, serviceable, better looking replacement. I have done a little looking online and see prices that vary from under $200 to well over $500. My hardware seems to be intact but one of the side latches does seem to have a mind of its own and I often need to manually flip it into the open position for it to relatch onto the truck when I close the gate.

Any advice appreciated.

[zROCK]

Look through the local junk yards you may find a good one that will match your truck for cheep. Usually the latches are a easy fix pull off the back pannel and lube everything up and make sure nothing is binding

[NYC Diesel]

Thanks. I will snoop around a few junkyards. Anybody have any idea how cheap I may get one there? I would say one that is rust free, dont mind a few dings or scratches but no rust. I would still need to get it painted to match though if I wanted to go that far.

I have seen new ones online for about $200 bucks (no hardware included on that). Would still need to get that painted too but I would have a pristine looking gate. My real question would be how would it match up strength wise with the original?

I am going to tear into mine soon to see what is up with the latching mechanism. Hopefully I wont find anything busted and only requiring a little lubing.

Thanks again.

[wyocountryboy]

i got my replacement tailgate at a junkyard in Laramie WY for 75 bucks. it has no rust and is in perfect working condition. it is from an older obs, such as a 92 i beleive but i have to repaint it to match my red rig. while i was there i saw at least 5 other OBS fords there with decent tailgates. shouldnt be to hard to find one in a junk yard for way less than whats on the internet!!

[alberta 7.3]

Keep an eye on local for-sale ads like craigslist. I scored a tailgate that was sitting in a warehouse for 17 years for $60.00 that a company stored when they put a liftgate on the truck.