Rear glass hinges-- 1999 mountaineer please help

[cuddlefish]

So like many of you I have been dealing with the rear glass hinges breaking. I replaced a broken hinge once with a used part. The threads on the new used part then stripped out and i am back in the same boat.

The part number on my stock hinges

f87b78420a68
f87b78420a69

I ordered two new hinges that are supposed to be a direct fit OEM replacement according to ford

Part numbers
1l2z98420a68 aa
1l2z98420a69 aa

After looking further the part numbers on the backside of the brand new parts match my old parts

f87b78420a68
f87b78420a69

However...

The stud that attaches the hinge to the gate is much wider than the stud on my stock parts. The new stud will not even fit through the hole for the stud. I have been all over google trying to find a correct replacement but I cannot. Has anyone else ran into this issue? Am i stuck with drilling the hole larger for the stud and hoping everything else lines up?

 

[Robman]

I drilled a hole right through the stripped out hinge part at the top.(The part of the hinge that attaches to the gate, not the glass)
The hole was slightly smaller in diameter than the longer bolt I threaded into it, it feels stronger and has been holding for quite sometime now.

The whole rear hatch situation kinda sucks on these trucks, ah well.

 

[MDmounty]

I ended up taking mine to a ford dealership and the shop there got it all taken care of for me

 

[cuddlefish]

Anyone else have any experience with these replacement parts? I figured I would ask one last time before I try to drill the hole out.

 

[Tedybear]

I wound up purchasing a spare set when I was at the local pick and pull yard. My family also has an 05 Explorer...same issue. She (mother) never used the rear glass, and the hinge snapped off. I got lucky and found a set that we installed on her's. I wound up soaking the hinges in "Fluid Film" as both to protect the metal, and to get 'em freed up a bit. Cheap enough at a pick and pull yard ($14 for a pair) But they are rare. Most have been removed already.

S-

 

[Robman]

Don't strip the new ones while installing them... it's insanely easy to do.

 

[Tedybear]

If ever there was a time for Ford to step up and redesign these POS parts? Maybe a full recall and replacement. This was just a lousy design. Considering almost every Ford that uses these hinges in the pick an pull yard has them all removed! Pattern fail would be 2 words that come to mind.

In regards to tightening them down? Snug hand tight, and 1/16 turn. Make sure the glass doesn't shift around and it's fairly snugged down. (And yeah, I've had a few strip out as well when trying to install. Why does anyone think I have a set of spares handy?)

S-