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Door and Hinge Issues

Choochmaster

Member
Joined
February 3, 2019
Messages
12
Reaction score
1
City, State
Woodstock, GA
Year, Model & Trim Level
1999 Explorer Sport
Hey guys, this is my first post so go easy on me.

I have a 1999 Explorer Sport 4.0 OHV and I've been slowly pulling it back from the grave over the course of many months, and I'm focusing more on quality of life improvements for the little beastie. My driver side door doesn't close unless I lift it from the top of the door and send a calibrated force to it. My trunk door also leaks because of a gap between the body and the door.

I think what's happening with the driver side door is the hinge is going out and it's letting the latch sink below the striker bolt, causing it to just bounce back when I close the door, but I'm not sure.

With the trunk door though I have no idea what to do. I've already replaced the hinges in that and it didn't do anything for me. I think previous owner must've backed into a garage or something with the gate up because it's mangled to all hell at the top, and that would lead me to believe I need to buy a whole new trunk door.

Any help is greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading.
 



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Replace the door hinges with good used, or new hinges if you can find them. The "repair pins" don't work very well (like most Dorman stuff). The pin on the body side is adjustable and must have its plastic bushing in place to work well (and quietly). I find 1/2" PEX tubing makes a good repair for the pin's bushing and is more durable than replacement bushings (Dorman or Ford OE). You will have to reduce the PEX's outside diameter slightly. I chuck the pin with PEX attached in a drill and cut it down with a rasp.

The rear hatch hinges may be sprung and may require replacement too. This is a pretty common problem.
 






Replace the door hinges with good used, or new hinges if you can find them. The "repair pins" don't work very well (like most Dorman stuff). The pin on the body side is adjustable and must have its plastic bushing in place to work well (and quietly). I find 1/2" PEX tubing makes a good repair for the pin's bushing and is more durable than replacement bushings (Dorman or Ford OE). You will have to reduce the PEX's outside diameter slightly. I chuck the pin with PEX attached in a drill and cut it down with a rasp.

The rear hatch hinges may be sprung and may require replacement too. This is a pretty common problem.

Ah okay. Man I wish I could post pics or videos. Thanks for the insight, and I'll definitely have to buy the membership for this site.
 






Ah okay. Man I wish I could post pics or videos. Thanks for the insight, and I'll definitely have to buy the membership for this site.

You can post pics by uploading them to Imgru first. Copy them with BBCode and paste.
 






Replace the door hinges with good used, or new hinges if you can find them. The "repair pins" don't work very well (like most Dorman stuff)

Agreed! I bought door bushings that failed within six months. Door bushings! Metal spacers! How do they screw that up? Junk!!! Good advice to try find good used or new hinges.
 






Found a hinge at a pick and pull and slapped it into the exploder. Problem solved, thanks everyone for your help!
 






I need to replace the passenger front door hinge on my 98. I think it's just the lower that's bad. Does the fender need to come off to replace the hinge?












i
 






Oh, no the fender definitely doesn't need to come off for that. I replaced my lower hinge on the driver side by taking the door off though.
 






I need to replace the passenger front door hinge on my 98. I think it's just the lower that's bad. Does the fender need to come off to replace the hinge?

No.












i
 






Ok. Thanks
 






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