1/2" PEX = Door Anti-Rattle Fix | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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1/2" PEX = Door Anti-Rattle Fix

drdoom

Explorer Addict
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VA
Year, Model & Trim Level
2005 Eddie Bauer 4.6L 4X4
I always have some short scraps of 1/2" PEX laying around, so I used a piece in lieu of a door anti-rattle kit. Just took a piece about four inches long and sized an inch or so down on the belt sander, cut it to fit, and no more rattling door. The reason I started with a longer length was so I would not have my fingers near the sanding belt. I tried a piece not sized down but it took a bit of force to open the door back up, and I didn't want to take a chance with those cheesy door handles. I'll see how it holds up.
 



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UPDATE: One month and the repair is holding up well.
 






What dimensions are you working with, the PEX original and as installed? I went through the hunt for proper replacements last year. Nothing was close enough to the proper size as cab be bought from Ford or Dorman. Unfortunately the only way to get the bushings is to buy the entire striker bolt. But RockAuto has them for just over $6 each plus shipping. I've bought about 12-15 so far this past year.

I would love a better choice, but the pipes I saw at hardware stores were way too far from the needed diameters, inside and outside. I took my dial caliper with me, the magic outside I think was close to 5/8". The assortment in HELP sections are huge, 3/4" or close to it. I spoke with Dorman, they have no plans to sell the proper bushing in a HELP kit, now will they properly remove that wrong large size from what they do sell. That one is made for older Fords, 70's and early 80's. I have tons of those, not needed.
 






Don I used 1/2" PEX with an OD of 5/8". I sanded it down a bit.
 






Okay, the outside you took down some. Which 1/2" version did you use, are all colors etc, the same sizing?
 






I used original PEX, the color coding does not matter.
 






Excellent thanks.
 






Any pictures of this fix?

I googled it but I don't know what I'm looking for and I never heard of an anit rattle kit.
 






I always have some short scraps of 1/2" PEX laying around, so I used a piece in lieu of a door anti-rattle kit. Just took a piece about four inches long and sized an inch or so down on the belt sander, cut it to fit, and no more rattling door. The reason I started with a longer length was so I would not have my fingers near the sanding belt. I tried a piece not sized down but it took a bit of force to open the door back up, and I didn't want to take a chance with those cheesy door handles. I'll see how it holds up.

Exactly where did you try to put your anti-rattle pieces?

I'm now wondering if my lift gate and ST's tailgate striker bushings are also 1/2". If so I'll make some new ones out of the PEX to replace those too.
 






I assume you're talking about the (plastic) insulators that go on the door striker?

I'd like to see a pic of that too. 3" length seems way too long, but we may be thinking of different things
 






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.
 






Driver's door on a '97 XLT. Still working perfectly.
 






Driver's door on a '97 XLT. Still working perfectly.

But my question was exactly where did you put the 4" of PEX you say you ground down to use as an anti-rattle aid? If the striker bushing is in place and the 2 rubber bumpers on the top/bottom of the door are in place what's to rattle? Or are you just saying you started with a 3-4" piece of PEX to make it easier to work with to create your striker bushing, which ends up being about 7/8" long? I found spinning the bolt with the 7/8" long piece of PEX installed in my drill allowed me to easily file it down evenly and uniformly. My 1/2" PEX OD was too large without filing (I didn't measure it before I started), but I took it down to about .525 of an inch and then it fit perfectly. It might be that different PEX manufacturers OD varies a bit.

BTW, I found the 1/2" PEX fit very tightly on my OE striker bolt. So tightly I had to use a 9/16" deep socket and a hammer to drive it all the way on. I find it interesting that the new Ford replacement striker bolt I installed in my ST has a different diameter than the original bolt. It's slightly smaller.
 






Koda, yes I started with a longer piece of PEX, then cut it to fit. BTW I really like the way you did it a lot better, chucked in the drill. Very nice technique.
 






This morning I decided to try to replace the tailgate striker bushings on my ST (which were almost cut in half from wear) with the 1/2" PEX. I cut new pieces to length and installed. No filing/diameter reducing necessary. They work great. Then I looked at my '01 EB lift-gate striker bushings. They still looked good, but looked larger than the door & tailgate bushings. I removed one to check and they are larger in diameter and so are their striker bolts. There's no way the 1/2" PEX will work there. While I was back there I finally got around to tightening the nuts on my rear window hinges. The glass was always shifting to one side or the other and rubbing on the paint. I found the nuts on the hinges were quite loose.
 






I have had those hinges rust and strip, becoming completely useless. Odd part. Might be worth having extras from salvage yard.
 






I did a field fix when I got tired of my lift gate rattling with a used plastic shotgun shell. I split it lengthwise, cut it to fit, wrapped it around the striker pins, and secured it with a few wraps of duct tape. Its still there after about five years.
 






Update:
A few weeks ago I'd asked about the striker bushings that fit the older Fords '78-?? I was informed that they didn't fit newer Fords, because they are to thick to use on doors. The 1/2 Pex is the cure for the door striker bushings, but I'd also mentioned that the regular Gen II Explorer lift-gate strikers are fatter than the door strikers. Well, guess what fits the lift-gate strikers perfectly? The older model door bushings, so I guess I didn't waste my $6 on eBay buying four of them. Yesterday I noticed that one of the lift-gate bushings on my daughter's '00 Mountaineer was missing and I tried the thicker bushing and it was a match and has stopped the lift-gate from rattling.
 






I've got a box of those older Ford bushings, from the first company who made separate striker bushings. They didn't know that there were two sizes, thanked me for the info, but they had tons(20k+) still left in stock.

I'll try those for the hatches when I figure out where I squirreled them away.
 



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