Dee Zee DZ43203 Tailgate Assist Shock

Purchased this for my early '99 F250 crew cab 7.3 diesel. Installation was fairly straight forward and took me about 30 minutes. A couple of days ago, I was working underneath the truck and asked my daughter to hand me something that was in the back of the truck. She had to drop the tailgate to get the item I needed. She struggled to get it open and then the weight of the tailgate falling was more than she could handle and it almost knocked her down. I got to thinking about how much I myself struggle with the tailgate also because so many times when I go to let it down, I am doing it one handed and holding something with my other hand. I wondered if there was a way to make my old heavy tailgate fall softly like the new tailgates. Sure enough, I searched on Amazon and found this item. I ordered it and it is one of the best purchases I have ever made for my truck. It will be interesting to see how long the gas spring lasts as I usually do not have good luck with those lasting very long on other things like my toolbox lid. I was hoping to put this on the passenger side of the tailgate, but after receiving it, the directions said it could not be installed on the passenger side because the tailgate has to slide to the right to be taken off the truck. So far, I am very pleased with this and if for some reason my impression of this product changes, I will come back update this review. You definitely want to buy this if you have an older style heavy tailgate.

I recently installed the Dee Zee DZ43203 Tailgate Assist Shock on my truck, and I’m very satisfied with it. The installation process was straightforward and didn’t take much time. The instructions were clear, and all necessary hardware was included. This tailgate assist shock works perfectly. It slows down the tailgate’s descent, preventing it from slamming down. This makes it much safer and more convenient to use. The build quality is excellent. It feels sturdy and well-made, which gives me confidence that it will last a long time. For the price, this product offers great value. It enhances the functionality of my tailgate without breaking the bank. Overall, I highly recommend the Dee Zee DZ43203 Tailgate Assist Shock. It’s a reliable and high-quality product that makes using the tailgate much easier and safer.

I love these things!! It is an absolute 100% must have for any pickup truck owner!!! Easy to install. First one I had for my old truck took me 30min to install. The parts are very specific so read the instructions completely before installing. The second one I installed on my new F250 went even faster. I was done in 20min if that long. These tailgates in the full sized pickups are heavy! My wife can now open the tailgate and not have to worry about trying to catch it or me worrying about her NOT catching it. LOL A simple pull of the latch and the tailgate drops down in slow motion. Closing the tailgate is not affected at all. The tailgate lifts up and closes as it always did. So if you think it is going to make it easier to close...no it does not do that. It just catches the tail gate as it opens to make it a simple 1 handed operation. I don't plan on buying a new truck for a long time. But if I do I will order one of these immediately.

It's not a pair, Only on the drivers side. Only 1 is needed. It even came with a small tube of blue lock tight and special Torx Allen Wrench to remove the top bolt. It was easy to install with color instructions with pictures and everything!!! IN ENGLISH!!! It operates very smoothly and works great. My tailgate is heavy and this made it open and close with ease!! What was interesting is the bottom mount is in a blind hole. They included a special fastener that you put in the hole. Screw in a allen head bolt with a nut "tighten the nut while you hold the allen head" and it expands the flair inside the hole and locks the nut in. Kinda like those drywall flair fasteners for hanging a heavy picture.. It even had a 2 washers with ball bearing sleeve between them to make the process go smooth!! Top notch USA company!! I was really impressed with the quality and how good the engineering was! I would highly recommend this to anyone. Thanks, Marty

Received my unit today and as is the norm most of the time with Amazon, on-time and in good shape. Packaging was good and it was exactly what I ordered. Directions are good yet every truck may be a little different so I took the time to do a "walk thru" before I started wrenching on anything. All in all spent about 20 minutes and that was completely taking my time. My truck had been without this for 17 years, there was no need to rush the install...... Probably the biggest mystery (simply because I had never used one) was the Nutsert for the lower Ball mount. Once you get the concept, the install is pretty simple. The instructions with mine indicated marking the nut and tightening clockwise only 9 times times. For me 9 times was not near enough. The Nutsert had not even started to compress / grab, so a little more turning and common sense and it was in. I am holding-on to Nutsert install bolt & assembly so if it starts to get loose, I can tighten it up a little more. If it does come loose, I may put a drop or two of red lock-tight where the Nutsert contacts the tailgate. Had I thought about this ahead of time may have put a little on before I inserted the Nutsert. You can use some of the Blue Lock-Tight that comes with it, as you get plenty to do the job. Once the Nutsert was installed, the Ball Mount assembly screwed right in. I did a "slow" test closing of the tailgate at this point just to verify clearance before I moved on. It is close, but clears with no issues. The upper bracket was an easy install. The T-50 torx wrench that came with it is hefty, yet was a little wiggly in the bolt so I used my set. This is a bolt that had never been removed and it was a little rusty but once loose came right out. The truck has a cap and this bolt has been out of the elements all its life so on an open bed, this bolt may be tricky. Upper Ball mount Plate lined up fine and added a little anti-seize before I put the bolt back in. Shock installed with zero issues. Put the top in first, then expanded the shock down to attach top the bottom Ball Mount. Again I first closed the tailgate slowly to verify clearance. No issues.... as I let it down, the shock starts to kick in once it is about 3/4 down. Yes, if you are accustomed to bearing all the weight all the way down, it is a little strange to have it suddenly slow things down but that is exactly what we were looking for. I did notice that the upper part of my metal cable now came to rest on the upper ball part of the shock. Not an issue as far as functionality, yet I could see in time those two points rubbing the paint off the shock. Easy fix, I wrapped the metal part of the clip that touches the shock with some electrical tape. At least it is not metal on metal now...... All in all for $30, it seems like a good addition to the truck. Like any shock, in time it will wear out, but replacement will be a 60 second issue at most. If everything holds up, I would have no issues recommending it to others. Since only time will tell, if I remember in 6-8 months, I will add to this review.

My 2008 F250 has a heavy tailgate with the internal step. I've had it slam down unintentionally and when I saw this product I had to try it. It now comes down easily and slowly. The only thing I did different from the instructions was to install it on the passenger side. The oblong hole on the drivers side they tell you to use was already taken up with wiring for my backup camera, and I didn't want to redo it all. And since it was an oblong hole as opposed to the round hole on the passenger side, it seemed obvious to me to just drill out the hole a little bit to make it fit better. But if you use the passenger side, a hose clamp needs to be installed on the lower socket that is used to remove the tailgate. Otherwise it will try to jump out of the socket while operating. One hose clamp in addition to what they sent and now my tailgate operates like the more modern trucks. Highly recommended!

Really good instructions come with this shock. I just followed step-by-step and was done before I knew it. The hardest part was stretching that stiff shock out to its full length so it could be popped onto the lower mount, and that just took a couple of extra grunts and a groan. I have been completely satisfied with the way it slows the tailgate when I "drop" it. All I have to do is pull the handle and get it open just a crack, and the tailgate then eases on down slowly to a soft landing. Putting the gate up again takes less than half the strength than before. No permanent modifications, they supply simple hand tools (but I used my own because I like them better) and thread-locker. It just doesn't get easier than this, and it's one of the least expensive and most useful things to make it easier to live with your truck.

I can attest first hand that this product works as described by DeeZee and my kids now have no fear of opening my tailgate. That is if you install it exactly per the instructions. Like other reviewers have stated, I have the oval hole on the drivers side of my truck and was hesitant to install it on that side, but I have a Master Lock Tail Gate lock on the passenger side so I decided to give it a shot. I followed the instructions provided and also watched the Youtube installation video by DeeZee (note the non-DeeZee videos show the incorrect way to install). Make sure when you are tightening the the insert that you DO NOT turn the alan key, rather you should be tightening with the wrench. I did a full 10 turns. Also make sure when you insert the nut with the locktite that you do not torque more than 12lbs (as per the instructions) as this may cause the insert to slip and loose its grip on the tailgate. Just for information my Super Duty has the built in step and pole along with the back-up camera so my tailgate is pretty heavy and I only needed to install the one Tailgate Assist Shock on the drivers side. Thanks for the great product DeeZee and Amazon for the great price and speedy shipping!

I bought two of these Tailgate Assist one for a 2010 Ford FX4 and One for a 2008 Chev Silverado and I just nicely got the one put on my 2010 Ford FX4 and it is very easy to put on and it sure stops the Tailgate from Slamming down and they are so easy to install. I'll be putting the one on my other truck 2008 Chev Silverado in a little bit and I'm sure it will work just fine like the one Ijust installed on my other truck. Awesome Tailgate Assist by Dee Zee and Thanks to Shopeddies.com for having both of them in stock and Shipping them so Quickly to me. Awesome product..

Muy Útil , muy facil de colocar y funciona bien en mi Ford f250 ,saludos

Funktioniert perfekt, für den nissan navara war logischerweise eine kleine modifikation nötig, da das produkt ja für ein anderes auto ist. Montiert, schon senkt sich die klappe langsam ab. Lieferung von usa ging auch flott. 5 sterne!

No funciono la rosca que va en la caja

Not over-priced and easy to install. I love this and have it on both my F150 and F350. Great value for the money..... I have had it on my F150 for about 4 years and it continues to work well.