Door Striker Bolts/Bushings

[koda2000]

I bought one of these for a rear door on my '01 ST, as mine had lost its plastic bushing piece. The part fit, but the threaded part of the bolt is slightly shorter (not by much) than my original. I thought I'd just swap the bushing over to my old bolt, but the bushing has a slightly smaller ID. I ended up installing the complete new part and it seems to work okay, but the OD of the bushing must be slightly larger than my original bushing as it take a little more effort to completely close and latch the door. The eBay ad said it fit the ST and other Fords and it's a Ford part, but it isn't an exact match.

 

[J_C]

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Guess it depends on how much more effort to close the door, if I'd leave it be and wait to see if it breaks in, instead of breaking, or use a caliper to size one of the other existing bushings then try to take lathe off some material or sand or file it down on some other rotary tool like a drill. There might be some other source for the bushing or whole striker assembly but I don't know of any.

 

[CDW6212R]

If you bought a Ford part, it should be right. Measure the bushings though, the parts stores carry only the size for old 70's Fords, which are too large. The old Fords take an 11/16" bushing, and the later cars need one right at .61" as I recall. The door ajar light will probably stay on if you use the wrong larger size.

The Dorman striker is the only way to get the bushing, besides the Ford striker. Ford used to get $12 for them, now it's closer to $25. The parts stores carry the Dorman part for around $9 or $10, Rock Auto sells them for about $6 plus shipping. I've got a bunch of them now.

 

[koda2000]

From what I've read the Dorman bushings don't work very well at all. That's why I figured I go with a Ford replacement part. The amount of effort required to get the door to latch isn't excessive, just a bit more than any other Explorer door I've closed (and I have a lot of doors to compare it to). Then again all my original bushings are 16-17 years old and have a bit of a grove in them from where the bear-claw hits. Such a simple part, you'd think someone would be able to make one that duplicates the original. I'm going to leave it on there and see what happens over time. If it breaks I think I'll try a piece of 1/2 PEX on the original bolt. I'll measure the bushings with my caliber and report back.

 

[drdoom]

My 1/2" PEX fix has been holding up for a good while now. If you recall in my thread, I sanded down the OD a bit on a belt sander.

 

[koda2000]

My 1/2" PEX fix has been holding up for a good while now. If you recall in my thread, I sanded down the OD a bit on a belt sander.

Yes I do recall your post on using PEX. That's where I got the idea. In retrospect I wish had tried that before spending $11 on what was supposed to be an OE part. Oh well, it's not worth the effort to return it.

Update: I just measured the OD on the new bushing and on an unworn section of one of my OE bushings and much to my surprise they're pretty much identical. 0.561" vs 0.565", so maybe the difference in feel is just due to that fact that the bushing is new.

 

[Indispensable Explorer]

I throw some black electrical tape on those worn out ones. Did that with my rear hatch and it closes a lot easier now, it's not shiny and new but doors close fine with it.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes I do recall your post on using PEX. That's where I got the idea. In retrospect I wish had tried that before spending $11 on what was supposed to be an OE part. Oh well, it's not worth the effort to return it.

Update: I just measured the OD on the new bushing and on an unworn section of one of my OE bushings and much to my surprise they're pretty much identical. 0.561" vs 0.565", so maybe the difference in feel is just due to that fact that the bushing is new.

Excellent, you have the right part. I had a few OEM like that, but tossed the bags years ago. I forgot the measurement too, that was a while back also. With the bigger bushings you have to shut the door hard to make it latch, and my one mistake with those I caught with the door ajar light.

The PEX sounds like the best answer if it's big enough.

 

[koda2000]

Excellent, you have the right part. I had a few OEM like that, but tossed the bags years ago. I forgot the measurement too, that was a while back also. With the bigger bushings you have to shut the door hard to make it latch, and my one mistake with those I caught with the door ajar light.

The PEX sounds like the best answer if it's big enough.

I have had no door ajar light issues. Actually the only reason I had to replace the one on my '01 ST is because I borrowed it to put on the XLT I was selling. I tried to get one off out '97 "parts truck" but found they both gone. I'll probablt try a piece of PEX on the'97 just as a test. drdoom said he had to turn his PEX down a bit, but other than that he reports it's still working fine.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I've used the PEX, it's actually decent, found a stick in the road a while ago that was the right size, and certainly the right price, makes them seemingly take more closing effort, but it works just fine, didn't have to turn mine down any, could be dependent on the pipe and everything relating to a particular batch.

 

[koda2000]

In my never-ending quest to find replacement door striker bushings that simply replace the broken ones on my Explorers/Mountaineers I came across these on eBay. It doesn't say who the manufacturer is (hoping it's not Dorman) and it doesn't says they'll fit a Gen II Explorer, but the measurements are correct - 7/8" long, 1/2" ID, 11/16" OD. They're only $6.85 w/free shipping for 4 so I think I'm going to give them a try. I'll let you know what happens.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-FORD-MUST...ash=item465f642a45:g:66MAAOSwc1FXZXpB&vxp=mtr

 

[swshawaii]

Koda, how did you arrive at 11/16" O.D. bushings? Unless Gen 2 door striker sizes are different, they should be 9/16" O.D. Your eBay description sounds like the Dorman 38424 kit.
https://www.explorerforum.com/forum...striker-bolt-bushing-kit.340603/#post-3386113

After four months my metal striker bushings are doing well. Interesting thing is I found several strikers from the CarID web site that use metal bushings.
https://www.explorerforum.com/forum...r-bolt-bushing-kit.340603/page-2#post-3578440

 

[drdoom]

IIRC 1/2" PEX has an O.D. of 5/8", and my experiment showed that to be somewhat large.

 

[koda2000]

IIRC 1/2" PEX has an O.D. of 5/8", and my experiment showed that to be somewhat large.

The final word:
Well, I happened to be at the Home Depot this morning and I took a spare striker bolt with me. I found that 1/2 PEX fit the striker bolt shank perfectly. I bought a 5' length of blue PEX for $1.86 and took it home.

I cut a 7/8" long piece of PEX, using a pipe cutter to mark a grove and finished the cut with a hacksaw, and tried it on the truck. The door didn't close all the way. Using a caliper (or an adjustable wrench) I saw that the PEX OD was too large, so I chunked the bolt in my poor man's lathe (my cordless drill) and spun it while using a wood rasp to file off excess material until the OD was the same size as a stock bushing. The 1/2" PEX fits tight enough on the bolt's shank to allow it to spin with the bolt while I filed. I finished off with a fine file. It works perfectly. Now I have enough 1/2" PEX left over to make at least 60 more bushings. Maybe I should make them and sell them to the forum members... LOL.

When I was done with my daughter's Mountaineer, I decided to take a closer look at my ST (the one I installed the new OE striker on last weekend) to so see why the door was a bit harder to close with the new striker. It turned out that when I installed the new striker I installed it about 1/8" too high. I could tell by the clean spot where the old one was. So I lowered it 1/8" and now it works perfectly too.

So - I you have a little time and some simple hand tools you can make yourself a lifetime supply of replacement striker bushings for under $2, or you can buy new OE striker bolts off eBay for $11.37 apiece. I believe the PEX will be at least as durable as the OE bushings.

I think the bushings I was looking at on eBay would have been way to large in OD. The main reason the diameter of the plastic bushings is so critical is not so much for the bear-claw latch as much it is for the "V" of the latch body to allow the door to close completely and align.

 

[CDW6212R]

Those four bushings in a kit are the old 70's Ford door striker bushings. Dorman used to make a variety kit which did include the later model Fords. But they stopped making it, and they have no plans to resume, from what they told me.

I'm glad to hear you could make the PEX work, I wondered if it could be sanded down evenly. The proper Dorman 38445 individual strikers are still cheapest from Rock Auto, for $6.16 each plus shipping. I bought several along with other items I was buying before.

Try this link to find it and be able to add it to a cart. They list it with my Mark VII and 1st gen Explorers, but not from 96 up(those show that wrong four piece kit).
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=13979&cc=1188479&jsn=1

 

[koda2000]

Those four bushings in a kit are the old 70's Ford door striker bushings. Dorman used to make a variety kit which did include the later model Fords. But they stopped making it, and they have no plans to resume, from what they told me.

I'm glad to hear you could make the PEX work, I wondered if it could be sanded down evenly. The proper Dorman 38445 individual strikers are still cheapest from Rock Auto, for $6.16 each plus shipping. I bought several along with other items I was buying before.

Try this link to find it and be able to add it to a cart. They list it with my Mark VII and 1st gen Explorers, but not from 96 up(those show that wrong four piece kit).
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=13979&cc=1188479&jsn=1

Thanks for the RA link, but I couldn't be more pleased with the PEX. Filing it down in the drill is what took a few minutes, but wasn't difficult to do.

 

[drdoom]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/1-2-pex-door-anti-rattle-fix.443315/

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Did this project using PEX last Summer. Certainly worked well, and appeared to be extremely durable (and super cost effective).

Did not file down the outer diameter. After several months, the fit is now perfect.

JUST AN IDEA*** Striker placement was critical. After twenty years and hundreds of thousands of miles, the original striker positions were no longer ideal.... I used the upper edge of blue painters tape on the inside door frame to mark the horizontal travel path of the center of the door latch. This allowed for ideal up/down fitment, even after the outside of the door blocked the view of the striker. The in/out adjustment followed rather easily.

Good luck with the project.

 

[massacre]

I know this thread is old but I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting about the 1/2” Pex tubing, I just made and installed all 6 bushings in a couple hours. The 4 door pieces I had to take the OD down to around .570 to get them to close correctly but the 2 for the tailgate I just left alone. Those striker bolts are a little bigger but I just drove the tubing over it gently and cut to length.
I haven’t even driven the truck yet and I already see a huge difference, the doors close tight and no longer rattle.
Drivers front top hinge pin is loose so I want to get that done today going to see who has it in stock locally

Thanks again!

 

[Mr. Alligator]

Well done on your fix!

Congratulations.