You are standing at the back of the truck with a broken part in your hand and no idea what it is called. The gate is a Maxon, that much you know. The part is a bracket, or a pin, or a roller — something with no name written on it anywhere. Describing it over the phone gets you a guess, and a guess gets you the wrong part in three days.
That is the problem exploded‑view diagrams solve, and it is why we put ours online. At Ace Welding & Trailer Co. we have been supplying liftgate parts in San Antonio for more than 80 years, and the single biggest cause of a wrong part going out of the door has always been the same thing: a part described in words instead of pointed at on a drawing.
What the Part Finder Actually Is
The Part Finder is the same set of manufacturer parts breakdowns your dealer works from, put on screen and made clickable. Right now it holds:
- 26 liftgate models, across the Maxon range
- 1,432 assembly diagrams — not just the main assembly, but the sub‑assemblies too
- 42,948 clickable callouts — every numbered item on every one of those drawings
- 37,718 parts rows, each with the manufacturer part number and description
Click the number on the drawing, get the part number. No describing, no guessing, no waiting for someone to call you back.
How to Use It, Step by Step
- Pick your brand. Start at the top of the wizard.
- Pick the series. This is the family your gate belongs to — TE, GPT, BMR and so on.
- Pick your model. If you are not certain which one you have, stop here and read the data plate first — see the guides below.
- Pick the diagram. Most gates have several: main assembly, platform, hydraulics, controls. Choose the area your broken part came from.
- Click the numbered callout on the drawing that matches your part. That takes you to the part number, and to that part in our store if we carry it.
The whole thing takes about a minute once you know your model. Knowing your model is the part people get wrong, which is why it is worth doing that properly first.
Start With the Data Plate, Not the Diagram
Liftgate parts are model and serial specific. Two gates that look identical from ten feet away can take different cylinders, different springs and different control boxes. The data plate is what settles it, and every brand puts it somewhere different.
We wrote a guide for each of the three we see most:
- How to read a Maxon liftgate serial number
- How to read a Waltco liftgate serial number
- How to read a Tommy Gate serial number
Five minutes with one of those and you will have the model number the Part Finder is asking for. If the plate is gone or unreadable — and on a fifteen‑year‑old gate it often is — those guides also cover how we identify a unit without one.
Reading a Parts Breakdown Without Getting Lost
If you have never worked from an exploded view before, three things are worth knowing.
The number on the drawing is not the part number
The little number pointing at each item — the callout — is just an index. Item 7 on one drawing has nothing to do with item 7 on another. The callout points you at a row in the parts list, and that row carries the real manufacturer part number, the one that goes on an order.
Sub-assemblies have their own drawings
A liftgate is not one drawing. The platform, the columns or arms, the hydraulic pack and the control system are usually drawn separately. If you cannot find your part on the main assembly, it almost certainly lives on a sub‑assembly sheet — that is why there are 1,432 diagrams behind 26 models rather than 26.
Hardware is often not what you think it is
Pins, bushings, bolts and springs look generic and are not. A liftgate pivot pin is a specific diameter, a specific length and a specific grade because it carries the load of the platform. Matching it by eye at a hardware store is how gates come apart. Take the number off the drawing.
When Your Model Is Not in the List
The Part Finder does not yet cover everything we sell. Current‑production models in particular are thinner than the older ranges, because the manufacturers do not publish those breakdowns publicly the way they did with the legacy gates.
If your model is not there, that does not mean we cannot get the part. It means the drawing is not on the website yet. Call the parts desk on (210) 667‑1171 with your model and serial number, or text a photo of the data plate to (210) 778‑5916, and we will look it up on our side.
Real-World Examples from Our San Antonio Shop
A fleet mechanic called us about a Maxon gate that would not hold the platform level. He described the failed part as “the arm thing on the left”. On the phone that could have been four different components. We sent him to the diagram for his model, he clicked the callout, and we had the correct shackle on the counter before he arrived — a same‑day fix instead of a two‑day guess.
A body shop ordered pivot pins for a gate three times and got the wrong ones twice, working from a description. The third time they read the model off the data plate, went through the diagram, and the part fitted first time. The difference was not expertise; it was working from a drawing instead of from words.
And a moving company came to us with a gate whose plate had been painted over. We identified it from the pump casting and platform dimensions, then used the same diagrams to build a complete parts list for a full rebuild — every number verified against the drawing before anything was ordered.
When to Call Us Instead
The Part Finder is there so you do not have to call. But call anyway if: your model is not listed, the data plate is gone, the part you need does not appear on any diagram, or you simply want a second pair of eyes before spending money on a part that cannot be returned once it is ordered in.
We are on (210) 667‑1171, Monday to Friday, 8AM–5PM Central, at 9425 FM 1346 in San Antonio. Texting a photo of the data plate is usually the fastest way to get an answer.
Conclusion
A part described in words is a guess. A part pointed at on a diagram is a part number. That is the entire difference between a gate back in service this afternoon and a truck sitting until Thursday.
If you know your model, go straight to the Part Finder. If you do not, start with the data plate guide for your brand — it takes five minutes and it saves the rest of the week.