Rear applique cracked, anyone know where to get another online?

[ReinIse]

my 04's rear applique, the plastic piece with the ford emblem in the middle under the rear window, cracked...just like the majority of explorers. why there's still no recall, i dont know. but anyways, i dont want to pay ford to give me an over priced piece of plastic that's just going to break again. however, i can't find one online ANYWHERE! anyone know where i can get one offline? i dont care if its painted or not, i'll paint it myself. if anyone has a used one, let me know! i might try a junk yard if they dont charge out the ass for that piece.

 

[zerodevil]

no luck bud ive looked all over as well, just suck it up and head down to a dealership to get one. You could also do a gen 4 rear hatch swap...or just deal with the crack like i did....although im considering a rear hatch swap just for looks.

 

[JarheadK5]

You could also do a gen 4 rear hatch swap...

Details, please...

 

[zerodevil]

the entire rear hatch off of the new 4th gens can and will bolt right up to the 3rd gens.

 

[ReinIse]

well where can i get a used 4th gen one or one online somewhere?

 

[ReinIse]

idc about the ford emblem in the middle, that ***** coming off, im gonna debadge my ex, can you just pop the ford emblem out and bondo overe the hole to make it flush? then paint it? or would that be stupid?

 

[ReinIse]

scratch that, i dont like the 4th gen rear hatch, its all one piece, lame....i guess that solves the cracck problem though...

 

[Layinhp]

www.google.com

 

[ReinIse]

www.google.com

good one! ...not!

the only thing you get when you search google is forums of the same problem and dora the explorer applique's (i have no idea wtf that is though)

i think i'm going to try junk yards

 

[jhard]

oemdirectsolutions.com is where I got mine. Still haven't put it on though, but the factory paint looks well done on the panel.

 

[jrford]

junkyard you may have to grab the whole Glass thing. . .its glued on. Another thought is to use super strong fishing line wrapped around two sticks to cut the glue/tape thing, but then you have to clean up the glue etc. . . paint . . .reglue. . .it might be a lot easier to buy new, i thought the stealer had-em for $200 primed.

 

[alexk]

scratch that, i dont like the 4th gen rear hatch, its all one piece, lame....i guess that solves the cracck problem though...

Im pretty sure the 4th gen has seperate opening glass too, it just doesnt have the plastic around it.

 

[Joe Dirt]

you can try www.car-part.com also.

 

[mounty2004]

I change mine too which cost around $265. I think thats the problem with this model.

 

[Curtis]

The 4th gen does have the lift glass, just that its not as low as ours so there is no requirement for the plastic panel on the bottom.

Just this morning I looked at mine and it has expanded the most Ive ever seen.

I guess this is whats keeping mine from cracking, the glue has let go in some spots allowing it to expand and contract. When its expanded like this I cannot even push it flat.
On a cool day, the panel lays perfectly flat.

That's the problem, the glue used on these panels from the factory is to rigid and does not allow movement. If you get a new panel install it with 3M double sided foam tape. That will allow some movement and prevent a future crack.

Here is a video of one being replaced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huPRBzqF1zc

The guy is a bit rough taking the old one off though.
The same company used to have them on eBay but I don't see any current auctions from them.
In the video you'll also see the indentation for the ford emblem so debadging here is not that simple.
Also they use the 3M tape to put the panel back on too

I did find another on eBay though.
Auction Number 230357721548 <--Click here

The guy has 6 panels @ $149 each and they are all white. You'd have to paint it anyway. The only problem is that they are pick-up only, no shipping. There is a customer service email where you might talk them into shipping one.

Hope that helps anyone looking into repairing this.

 

[ReinIse]

The 4th gen does have the lift glass, just that its not as low as ours so there is no requirement for the plastic panel on the bottom.

Just this morning I looked at mine and it has expanded the most Ive ever seen.

I guess this is whats keeping mine from cracking, the glue has let go in some spots allowing it to expand and contract. When its expanded like this I cannot even push it flat.
On a cool day, the panel lays perfectly flat.

That's the problem, the glue used on these panels from the factory is to rigid and does not allow movement. If you get a new panel install it with 3M double sided foam tape. That will allow some movement and prevent a future crack.

Here is a video of one being replaced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huPRBzqF1zc

The guy is a bit rough taking the old one off though.
The same company used to have them on eBay but I don't see any current auctions from them.
In the video you'll also see the indentation for the ford emblem so debadging here is not that simple.
Also they use the 3M tape to put the panel back on too

I did find another on eBay though.
Auction Number 230357721548 <--Click here

The guy has 6 panels @ $149 each and they are all white. You'd have to paint it anyway. The only problem is that they are pick-up only, no shipping. There is a customer service email where you might talk them into shipping one.

Hope that helps anyone looking into repairing this.

wow, that's really weird that yours didnt crack, just expanded like that...thanks for all the info, i really appreciate it. as for the debadging, i watched that video, it doesnt look like it'd be hard at all to fill the dip where the ford emblem goes...sense bondo doesnt bond to plastic, is there something else i could use that's like bondo that would fill that dip, that i could sand down and paint over that bonds to plastic? (hope that made sense haha).

as for the ebay link you posted, the piece of plastic looks much more narrow than the 3rd gen ones...maybe its just the pics though.

 

[ReinIse]

Need access to Ford mechanic Service Information? I can supply PDF's for anything in the manual for 02-05 Explorers on request.

what exactly do you mean by this?

 

[Curtis]

wow, that's really weird that yours didnt crack, just expanded like that...thanks for all the info, i really appreciate it. as for the debadging, i watched that video, it doesnt look like it'd be hard at all to fill the dip where the ford emblem goes...sense bondo doesnt bond to plastic, is there something else i could use that's like bondo that would fill that dip, that i could sand down and paint over that bonds to plastic? (hope that made sense haha).

as for the ebay link you posted, the piece of plastic looks much more narrow than the 3rd gen ones...maybe its just the pics though.

In the auction it says the panel is 55.5" X 7.5"
which is what it should be, I think its just the way its laying on the floor that makes it look thin.

As for filling... I think you'd need something that has some flex to it as like you mention, bondo wont expand and contract like this panel and I dont think it would take log for the bondo to crack and pop out.

Maybe there is something out there that they repair bumpers with that you could use... Ive seen 2 part resins for bumper repairs.. maybe that may work and then skim with putty.

 

[jad2411]

I saw a green one the other day, the guy bondoed the plastic and tried to fill the logo part and it looked really really crappy

BTW I've never seen anyone else call this thing an applique, is this the propper name?

 

[ReinIse]

I saw a green one the other day, the guy bondoed the plastic and tried to fill the logo part and it looked really really crappy

BTW I've never seen anyone else call this thing an applique, is this the propper name?

Any suggestions on what to use besides bondo that would work better?


I called my local ford dealership and asked what the part was called and he told me it's called an appliqué. He had to look up how to spell it lol.