Quality rear glass hinge at a reasonable price

[Exploder-Bauer44]

DON'T say Ford.....
I refuse to give them money for parts that should not have broken. I've never had this happen on other cars. I've primarily owned wagons & such.

Both rear hinges were trashed in at least 3 ways so I bought the best 'deal' on Ebay to replace them. Well, those turned out to be even cheaper junk (at least, one of them) and the stud pulled right out of the top of the hinge when I attempted to shut the glass after NYS Inspection the other day.

So, the cheapos came to $26 per hinge. Advance sells Dorman ones, a decent OEM replacement brand, for $72 per hinge.

Anything good in between? Or should I just go with Dorman, and not have to wait for shipping again.

 

[AIRBLUE]

Believe there is a recall on those. I received a notice but have not had it in to be done yet.

 

[Exproblems]

Both rear hinges were trashed in at least 3 ways so I bought the best 'deal' on Ebay to replace them. Well, those turned out to be even cheaper junk (at least, one of them) and the stud pulled right out of the top of the hinge when I attempted to shut the glass after NYS Inspection the other day.

So, the cheapos came to $26 per hinge. Advance sells Dorman ones, a decent OEM replacement brand, for $72 per hinge.

Anything good in between? Or should I just go with Dorman, and not have to wait for shipping again.

A few months ago I stopped up at a nearby Collision shop for some tips on removing the rear glass hinges to de-rust and re-paint them(the bolt heads), and the owner of the shop told me that rear glass hinges on these Explorers usually break at some point and need to be replaced. He told me I could just pick up new ones up at a local Ford Dealership. Mine (the hinges) appeared to be fine, still working, just needed some rust touch up to the bolt heads. One of the plastic washers was sort of trashed, but I made it work with some silicone. BTW, I saw the ones on E-Bay back then for around $50 or so for the pair. If you decide to buy the Dorman ones from Advance Auto Parts, go to www.couponcabin.com and order them online using the online coupon for Advance and select to pick them up from the store nearest you, if in stock there. Based on the Dorman price, you should be able to save around $40 or so using the online coupons.
Just a tip on removing the rear glass hinges by yourself, if you haven't done it before. Make sure you remove the window struts first and leave the window closed and latched to the tailgate, before un-screwing the bolt to the glass hinge. Remove and replace one hinge at a time. I just opened the whole tailgate as one unit to work on mine.

 

[jojotheclown]

I had the recall done years ago, the new updated ones haven't failed. I wouldn't bother with others because you don't know if they are coping the old design or new.

 

[Exploder-Bauer44]

Interesting stuff guys, thanks.
New design you say? Hmm.
I have already replaced the hinges once, didn't bother to remove the window struts but I'm sure that would have made the battle easier. Instead I got the 'umbrella prop trick' down to a science

As for the recall, my research shows that was only for 2002 models (even know it's all the same sh*t in 2004) but I will still try asking Ford.

 

[Exproblems]

I have already replaced the hinges once, didn't bother to remove the window struts but I'm sure that would have made the battle easier. Instead I got the 'umbrella prop trick' down to a science

.

The window struts just "pop" on and off by lifting up on the small metal retaining tab at the rounded head portion of the strut. You probably were okay doing it your way by having just the window panel open (not the whole tailgate) and the window strut pressure released. The way I did mine was to let the weight of glass panel rest in place on top of open tailgate with the window struts removed first and the bottom center of the window pane latched to the tailgate, then removed one hinge at a time. What ever way you do it, don't break that rear glass panel, it's expensive to replace.