liftgate / hatch support failure

[pcbill]

Over this past weekend the upper support pin (right side) of the liftgate strut broke off and the liftgate fell right on my head . Yes it hurt, as the thing is quite heavy.

It appears that the pin was just rusting away, and the one on the left side doesn’t look healthy either. The strange part is there is no rust anywhere else on the liftgate and no other rust issues with the rest of the vehicle.

I called the local Ford Dealer this morning and they were not any help, just said well the vehicle is 10 years old.

I filled a complaint with the NHTSA and found a few other reports of the exact same issue with both 95 & 96 Explorers.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so did Ford pay to repair the problem? As this pin and bracket are welded parts of the liftgate I am not sure how you could repair this without a new liftgate unless you can get this stud and fabricate a bracket.

Any help would be appreciated.

Bill

 

[davidmmm69]

Wha Year

 

[pcbill]

Sorry

1996

 

[gijoecam]

There was a recall on some 95 and 96 Explorers for a similar issue, but it was to reinforce the spot welds on the bracket using a pair of rivits. It was not to repair the ball stud.

SAFETY RECALL
97S78 Certain 1996 Explorer and Certain 1997 Mountaineer Vehicles - Liftgate Bracket Welds

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




September 1997

To:
All Ford and Lincoln-Mercury Dealers

Subject:
Safety Recall 97S78 - Certain 1996 Model Year Explorers and Certain 1997 Model Year Mountaineer Vehicles - Liftgate Bracket Weld

Affected Vehicles

Certain 1996 model year Explorers and certain 1997 model year Mountaineer vehicles built on 6/5/96 through 6/7/96 at Louisville Assembly Plant.

Reason For Recall

On some of the affected vehicles, the lower right hand liftgate cylinder attachment bracket may separate from the bodyside. This may occur when the liftgate is being opened or closed or when the liftgate is in an open position. Unexpected closing of the liftgate caused by a separated bracket could result in injury to someone in its path.

Service Action

To correct this condition, reinforcement rivets will be installed on the lower right hand liftgate bracket.

Being 10 years old has nothing to do with the elgibility as it's still an open recall as of this morning. There was a specific set of build dates that were target for this recall. Yours may fall outside that range, and it doesn't sound like your problem is the same anyways.

-Joe

 

[ma96782]

You are NOT alone:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158897&highlight=hatch+supports


Aloha, Mark

 

[reserved50]

on my 92 I called Ford with my vin about 10 years ago and it was covered but was ok at the time, then a few months ago it bonked someone in the head when it broke. Ford fixed it for free , said it was covered, theres a TSB kit which includes rivets if the bracket broke not the ball stud.

 

[jrjr2u]

Sorry to drege up an old thread but I had this same issue and did not find a fix here so I thought I would add mine here.

My upper left ball mount broke off and the hatch wacked me in the head just like the OP. I cut what was left of the old ball stud off with my dremel and then ground it flat with an angle grinder. Slight tap with a hammer and punch drove the remaining old ball stud out and left a nice clean hole.

I then tapped a 1/4-20 nut between the hatch and ball mount plate. Next I threaded another nut on the 1/4-20 bolt and then threaded the bolt into the installed nut. I tried to get it to be just even with the outer side of the nut, then cinched the inboard nut down tight.

The bolt I used was not a hex head. It was a phillips head that had a slight roundness to it. Can't tell you where to get one, I just had it in my stock. The head was a tad bit smaller in diameter than a hex head bolt. You could probably use a hex head if you ground it down to fit into the support arm's head.

I have been using it like this for a short time and it seems just fine. One thought I had was that if it loosens up I will reassemble it with JB Weld - just smearing it on the threads and in the area of the hole. It should never be a problem after that, but may not be as it is.

See the picture and best of luck if you have this same issue!

 

[akcrxnj]

Would you be able to use something like this to fix the issue? I just had my right ball joint fail on me over the weekend.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...5ff5dd426&rvr_id=&ua=?*F?&itemid=170404579644

 

[jrjr2u]

Sure I don't see why not. As long as the ball is the right diameter, can't tell you for sure the dimension you need. Only other thing is the threaded end may be too long... or not. You can always cut that off. Use some loctite too! Mine is still holding strong.....

 

[Coach Mike]

I have the same issue on my 2000 Mountaineer. Does anyone know if this part of a recall year? I'm thinking of doing the same thing that was suggested above with replacing the threaded ball stud but concerned that it may work loose over time and become a bigger problem. Would like to confirm if Ford/Mercury will fix it first before I dive into doing it myself.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Coach Mike]

By the way, it is a 10 mm ball for this gate on my SUV.

 

[SamIam1998Mounty]

Both my ball mounts snapped off, so fixing these this week on my 98 mounty.
Figured I would post the process in case it might help someone else.

Materials needed:

dremel or similar rotary tool helps (for cutting the brackets)

drill and copper wire wheel

Some type of welder

angle grinder (optional)

bench grinder (optional)

New SS 10MM ball brackets, available here:
http://www.maxumhardware.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=16_28
these seemed to be the best option. MH-MBKT-AS Flat Mounting Bracket.
There is no direct bracket replacement so I knew a little fab work would have to be done. I bought the stainless steel so I would not have to worry about the rust again (hopefully). Just as a note, you have to buy the new brackets in 4's from this company, but they are only $2.18 a piece so it's not a big deal.

1. I used a drill with a copper wire wheel to remove the rust and paint fromthe bracket.
2. I then ground the area flat so the new mount could be welded in place
3. I had to cut and grind the new bracket a little bit to make it fit the area of the old bracket
4. last step is to weld the bracket in place which my buddy will be doing in his shop tomorrow, I'll post finished pictures after it's done.

Here is the bracket on one side of my truck before any grinding.


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This is the other bracket (driver's side) ground down


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The new brackets, one before modifying and one after.


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Finished bracket after welding.


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[Coach Mike]

Well, I did finally just get some threaded replacement ball studs on E-bay, ground down the old part on the door bracket, drilled a pilot hole where the old stud was, threaded the hole with the right sized bit, and screwed in the new stud (after cutting the length of the threads down to fit). So far it works great.

 

[98 5oh XLT]

Odd question. Was your guys/gals hatches making odd shuttering squeaking noises before it broke? My 98 is making some odd shuddering movements/noises when i open mine.

 

[Coach Mike]

No noise on mine but if I did not really take care to close it properly it would pop slightly open and the light would come on and drain the battery down.

 

[SamIam1998Mounty]

I did not notice anything out of the ordinary with my lift gate. It was functioning one day, the next the balls broke off the mounts. I would suggest looking at the mounts to see what kind of shape they are in.

 

[Jason c]

My 98 is making some odd shuddering movements/noises when i open mine.

My 2000 is doing the same thing. Only the first foot or so then smooth the rest of the way up.

 

[SoNic67]

You guys are scaring me! Mine is 2000 too and has rust undercarriage - I will check ASAP those tailgate shock pins!

 

[SamIam1998Mounty]

The top pins seem to rust faster than the bottom, as my bottoms are fine. It's really and easy fix, if you have access to some basic tools.

 

[rjmart01]

I'm noticing a pattern here

2000 model year

Upper right ball stud