06 07 Explorer Door Handle / Pull Fix

[84convertablegt]

I'm used to my wife's 08 Explorer so when I got my 07 Sport Trac I was disturbed by the horrible design / lack of door pull on the front doors. I came up with a fix that works for me.

Parts & Tools needed: Rubber / plastic epoxy, Door cup(s) from 90's Civic or Accord, Razor knife, jig saw.

I made a template and then cut. Self explanatory pictures. See below.

 

[swetrid]

Nice, that was my number 1 complaint on my 06 Eddie Bauer.

 

[jupiterak]

Real cool idea. Is there any support besides the foam padding? I'd be worried after several uses or by pulling too hard could cause the armrest to rip.

 

[84convertablegt]

Real cool idea. Is there any support besides the foam padding? I'd be worried after several uses or by pulling too hard could cause the armrest to rip.

There is no other support. The foam seems pretty rigid though. The 08 up explorer is the same thing as this, but instead of a plastic cup the foam is just molded that way so I'd think it will be strong enough. If this doesnt last I will just replace the whole door panel. I just wanted to try the 1 dollar fix versus the 200 dollar fix first.

 

[waskly]

junk yard for a 07 and up door panels? the 06 do come with door close handles, they are just the most awkward handles i ever saw.


but nice idea, now you have 2 handles

 

[willied]

Excellent ingenuity. This is one of the biggest complaints I have on my '06. I'm definitely going to think about doing this.

 

[EX-SV]

Nice mod.

 

[willied]

Where did you get the door cups?

 

[Curtis]

how's the handle holding up?
Just got an 06, and this is a mod that must be done.

 

[84convertablegt]

how's the handle holding up?
Just got an 06, and this is a mod that must be done.

The handles are holding up fine. I used a pretty serious 2 part epoxy when installing this thing.

I got the door cup from an early 90's or late 80's Honda Accord I believe. I went to a junk yard looking for what I wanted. The only problem was the car only had one good one, the other side had been busted to get into the door for something else. They are usually sold on eBay though if you dont feel like digging around in a junk yard. The only difference is I paid 50 cents and they want way too much on ebay.

 

[willied]

I found 4 Civic door pulls on eBay for about $16 shipped or do you think I should go to the Pull-A-Part about 40 miles away from me and see what they have? I feel like the eBay auction is the safe bet.

 

[Explorer_PL]

This is exactly what I had in mind - great idea. I checked EB few months ago for same thing. Whoever designed that door panel in 06-07 is an idiot. I have people in my car looking how to open the door (the chrome lever) or to pull the door for a long while before I tell them where those things are.

Nice job.

 

[84convertablegt]

I found 4 Civic door pulls on eBay for about $16 shipped or do you think I should go to the Pull-A-Part about 40 miles away from me and see what they have? I feel like the eBay auction is the safe bet.

Ebay is convenient.

 

[Curtis]

Ebay is convenient.

Yip I just bought 4 on eBay too.
I have to mail them to my Dad in Canada, but I told him to take step by step pix so we can add to this thread for future 06 owners

 

[willied]

Ebay is convenient.

Yup. I bought them, so hopefully I can get them in sometime soon. I'll get pictures when I do.

 

[EX-SV]

My 2007 Eddie Bauer has the cutouts in front door armrests only.

 

[TowingExplorer]

How are these arm rests holding up for people?