2002 Rear hatch window trim cracked

[crazyfb]

Is there anywhere that I can get aftermarket trim, or at least cheaper than the dealer, I have a crack in the plastic on my rear hatch window on my 2002 explorer, and the dealer wants $150 for it, it seems high for a piece of plastic! Please email me at crazyfb@aol.com if you can help, thanks.

 

[RickM]

Very common problem. Perhaps the best thing to do is shop different dealers. BTW, if your dealer is charging $150 and thst includes paint and install it's a good deal.

 

[LVmounty]

bondo it up and paint it!

 

[surfincps91]

Welcome to the club! There isn't much you can do unfortunately. If you bondo it up then the expansion/contraction of the fiberglass and glue used to apply the applique will cause the paint/bondo to crack and you'll have to do it all over again.

Agreed on the $150 price if all is included. Cheapest I found for mine was roughly $200.

For a faster repsonse next time try and use the search feature as this topic has been discussed a million times on here.

 

[Install]

I'm in the same club too. But I was wondering if the mounties do the same thing? I've seen plenty of Explorers that the back trim is cracked, but I don't think I've ever seen this on the mounties. Just a thought.

 

[surfincps91]

Come to think of it, out of all the Explorers I've seen with the crack...I've yet to see a Mountaineer or even an Aviator with the problem. Maybe there just aren't enough of them on the road around here for me to notice.

 

[P-R Duce]

i have the same problem too. my buddy said he'll fix it for me but i have to remove the panel from the glass first. anyone know the correct way to remove it without cracking more? sorry bud not trying to jack your thread.

 

[P-R Duce]

i have the same problem too. my buddy said he'll fix it for me but i have to remove the panel from the glass first. anyone know the correct way to remove it without cracking more? sorry bud not trying to jack your thread.

nvm i found it...

 

[abarkl]

I purchased my replacement painted and delivered for about $130 from eBay seller autotrendnews almost 12 months ago. I installed it myself using the included flexible 3M tape instead of the factory "glue". It still looks great and hasn't cracked again!

 

[P-R Duce]

I purchased my replacement painted and delivered for about $130 from eBay seller autotrendnews almost 12 months ago. I installed it myself using the included flexible 3M tape instead of the factory "glue". It still looks great and hasn't cracked again!

i searched the seller autotrendnews. currently this person has poor ratings, 60% and is not selling anything anymore. glad you were satisfied with his business.

 

[AllFiredUp]

My sister's '04 XLT has the same broken piece...

I've been amazed at how many '02-'05 Explorers I see driving around this piece have a massive crack right in the middle! I had an '04 XLT 4WD that I sold to my sister in mid-2008 and that trim piece broke less than a month after she bought it from me!

I shopped around and several dealers quoted as much as $480 for a brand new trim piece painted to match (Medium Wedgewood Blue). Luckily, my brother-in-law works in the paint shop of a Honda/Acura body shop. He ordered an unpainted replacement part for under $100 and painted it himself in no time.

But it makes me wonder, since it seems to afflict the vast majority of '02-'05 models at some point, what is the source of the problem? Was the part defective (and Ford has never felt the need to recall or at least offer out-of-warranty coverage for these)? Hopefully, the replacement parts will hold up for the long haul.

 

[surfincps91]

If you use the search tool you can find a whole lot of info on this subject. Apparently, since it is purely a cosmetic issue Ford does not need to cover it as a warranty. There have been 2 TSB's propounded by them explaining the problem and the process to fix it though. Unfortunately, lawyer's just can't make any money off of taking this to court since it's not feasible that an injury or the like could occur as a result.

 

[abarkl]

Hopefully, the replacement parts will hold up for the long haul.

Not if was applied using the same "glue" originally used by Ford--since it cannot flex; when moisture gets under the part and freezes it causes it to crack.

 

[Exproblems]

Sorry I posted this here, but I couldn't post a "new thread" on my problem here. Something going on with the forum, others having problems posting new threads. So here it goes:

Today while opening the "rear tailgate" on my 2005 Ford Explorer, I found a vertical crack, top to bottom, in the fiberglass panel that holds the Ford Emblem in the center of it. This is the panel just under the rear tailgate window. This crack happened between 3pm 11/2 and 3pm 11/3 today. I researched this problem and found some old posts from 1 1/2 years ago and I guess it is common problem for 2002-2005 Explorers. Most people there talked about buying a replacement panel and have it painted.

What I would like to find out is, what kind of temporary fixes has anyone used to seal up this crack? It's nearly winter here, and I'd like to temp seal this crack in the panel up. My Ex is Jet black in color, and I was thinking of using either black colored silicone or some bondo putty (stuff in tube) to seal it up, then use some touch paint to color the bondo putty if I use that stuff. I'm not very good using bondo and getting it to look right. Also, does anyone know how this panel is attached to the truck? Is it glued or bolted on? What about the Ford Emblem, is it glued on? Thanks in advance for any helpful advice or answers.

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

Sorry I posted this here, but I couldn't post a "new thread" on my problem here. Something going on with the forum, others having problems posting new threads. So here it goes:

Today while opening the "rear tailgate" on my 2005 Ford Explorer, I found a vertical crack, top to bottom, in the fiberglass panel that holds the Ford Emblem in the center of it. This is the panel just under the rear tailgate window. This crack happened between 3pm 11/2 and 3pm 11/3 today. I researched this problem and found some old posts from 1 1/2 years ago and I guess it is common problem for 2002-2005 Explorers. Most people there talked about buying a replacement panel and have it painted.

What I would like to find out is, what kind of temporary fixes has anyone used to seal up this crack? It's nearly winter here, and I'd like to temp seal this crack in the panel up. My Ex is Jet black in color, and I was thinking of using either black colored silicone or some bondo putty (stuff in tube) to seal it up, then use some touch paint to color the bondo putty if I use that stuff. I'm not very good using bondo and getting it to look right. Also, does anyone know how this panel is attached to the truck? Is it glued or bolted on? What about the Ford Emblem, is it glued on? Thanks in advance for any helpful advice or answers.

Welcome to the club I am not a member of..I am ocd about using latch and or wiper to shut mine... Mom has 04 x she's a lefty and hers cracked on the left side of emblem..
it isn't going to affect heating or anything but a cheap fix could be black silicone

 

[Exproblems]

Welcome to the club I am not a member of..I am ocd about using latch and or wiper to shut mine... Mom has 04 x she's a lefty and hers cracked on the left side of emblem..
it isn't going to affect heating or anything but a cheap fix could be black silicone

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Thanks for the reply! I'll probably go with the black silicone, easier to use and get into the crack. I usually close the tailgate by holding the wiper like you said, but not everytime. When I noticed it today, I thought it was a stream of water running down the tailgate, till I ran my finger over it and M-F'd it when I realized what it was. It must have happened yesterday, right after I finished washing it in the driveway and put my scrub brush in the rear cargo area and I shut the tailgate. Spotted it today when I opened the tailgate while swapping out some power steering fluid with new fluid and needed something from the cargo area. It's always something new with these SUV's.

 

[kelvin37]

hey just to let al those out there plumbers showing, i am i the glass business and i get the privlidge of replacing these things ALOT, seeing as how many there are out there. and i hate removing them and re installing them. i just recently bought an 02 for an insane deal, with the crack. and did not want to do it on my own car seeing as how they just crack again, so i got some flex bondo and some paint and it looks great, and it wont break, all in all it cost me 40 bucks and about an hour of work. now a side option out here in az is glass coverage, if for some strange reason your back window were to break and you had glass coverage like everyone out here in az, then your insurance company would pay to have it replaced. so just a thought. if anyone has any questions as to the best way to remove and replace one let me know. and i will try to post some pics and or a vid on how to do one.

 

[Geologist]

Come to think of it, out of all the Explorers I've seen with the crack...I've yet to see a Mountaineer or even an Aviator with the problem. Maybe there just aren't enough of them on the road around here for me to notice.

That is funny because last month as I was shopping around for a new Explorer I must have looked at a hundred or so trucks, Mounty's and X's, none of the Explorer's I looked at had this problem, but nearly every Mounty did. My son and I joked about it on the way to look at a few Mounty's until finally we stopped looking at them all together figuring it was a defect on them.

 

[esclamada]

Got them on my Mounty too, even the Aviators has the same butt crack.

It's a waste of money fixing this since there's no guarantee that the same applique will not crack again. Majority of the 3rd gens has it so I'm not bothered.

I noticed that on hot weather the crack tend to shrink and expand when it's cold, so putting in a filler will either put stress on other parts or will eventually make the whole piece out of the glass liftgate.





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MY MOUNTY
http://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer

 

[Exproblems]

It's a waste of money fixing this since there's no guarantee that the same applique will not crack again. Majority of the 3rd gens has it so I'm not bothered.

I noticed that on hot weather the crack tend to shrink and expand when it's cold, so putting in a filler will either put stress on other parts or will eventually make the whole piece out of the glass liftgate.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

On the hot and cold thing, that is why I thought of using black silicone to seal up this crack because it would expand and contract with temp changes. Doesn't look like I'll be replacing this cracked panel since it will most likely happen again to the new one. I'm clueless when it comes to body work anyhow.