4th gen hatch on a 3rd gen? will it fit

[Number4]

I have not and it will not fit. The 4th generation is shifted about 2 cm left of the original 33rd gen. It doesn’t align up and you have to get your hand and shove it to catch the latches or even different on the side.. just thought I would share that for future reference in case anybody else needs to know here is my old door in the new door that doesn’t fit. I tried to swap yesterday the wiring fits, but everything else doesn’t. It doesn’t match up.

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Not sure what you are conveying here. You are showing a 3rd Gen rear hatch on a 3rd Gen explorer.

The 4th gen Explorer hatch fits perfectly fine and the wires do NOT simply plug in. You HAVE to rewire the plugs.

 

[JB05Limited4x4]

bump

Anyone been able to successfully do this swap?

I bought a 2005 3rd gen with a 4th gen hatch (unknowingly at the time). Size and mechanically they are an exact match.
I had issue with my 3rd gen when I bought it and the solve was switching back to a 3rd gen hatch. The issues I had, washer fluid not working at all, front or back, rear wiper not working at all, and rear locks not unlocking or lock electronically. I replaced the washer pump twice (a few months apart forgetting that I had already done it) and that didn’t fix that problem, I bought a replacement rear wiper motor for a 3rd gen only to open mine and see a 4th gen, so I bought a 4th gen and it still didn’t fix the issues. I researched rewiring everything, it got overwhelming and brought to a specialist (DIY-type at his house, but recommended by the local dealer) that wanted to charge me over $1k. He suggested the hatch was a newer gen and to try converting back to original, even though it matched inside and out, had small body line gaps and was perfect looking otherwise. So I contacted a local junk yard, bought a new-to-me 3rd gen hatch and everything worked perfectly instantly!
So to answer everyone, yes it will physically fit but it’ll cause more issues than it’s worth!!!!

 

[Number4]

I bought a 2005 3rd gen with a 4th gen hatch (unknowingly at the time). Size and mechanically they are an exact match.
I had issue with my 3rd gen when I bought it and the solve was switching back to a 3rd gen hatch. The issues I had, washer fluid not working at all, front or back, rear wiper not working at all, and rear locks not unlocking or lock electronically. I replaced the washer pump twice (a few months apart forgetting that I had already done it) and that didn’t fix that problem, I bought a replacement rear wiper motor for a 3rd gen only to open mine and see a 4th gen, so I bought a 4th gen and it still didn’t fix the issues. I researched rewiring everything, it got overwhelming and brought to a specialist (DIY-type at his house, but recommended by the local dealer) that wanted to charge me over $1k. He suggested the hatch was a newer gen and to try converting back to original, even though it matched inside and out, had small body line gaps and was perfect looking otherwise. So I contacted a local junk yard, bought a new-to-me 3rd gen hatch and everything worked perfectly instantly!
So to answer everyone, yes it will physically fit but it’ll cause more issues than it’s worth!!!!

It sounds like the previous owner did not reconfigure the wiring. Everything needed to do so is found in this listing. And it’s fairly simple. Any of your mechanics that could swap the doors back could’ve simply fixed the wiring for you.