Rear Hatch

[Gary prososki]

Replaced the white plastic, or neoprene bushings on the rear hatch pin's about a year ago. Since then after hitting a few bumps the passenger side clicks open. The door ajar light comes on. I push on the driver side and it latches again, until a few more miles then it opens again. Is there anyway to adjust it. I loosened it to move the metal latch with bushing, but it won't move in any direction. Need some input for this problem. Thank's Gary Has anyone ever had this problem

 

[NickB415]

i also have this same issue and also cannot figure out how to resolve it. Design issue?

 

[Gary prososki]

Haven't come up with a solution yet: eek: I have two thought's about the problem. The rear hatch plastic handle is very sensitive. It doesn't take much to open it. I can open it very easily with my little finger. The linkage inside the hatch for the locking assembly, are metal rod's with plastic connectors. THEY ARE, ALL OF THEM ADJUSTABLE. Maybe one of them is overly adjusted. And waiting for the opportunity to reopen, when I hit a bump in the road.: eek:. It's worth looking into Still don't understand, why the two locking assembly' pin's are not adjustable like most other automobiles.??? Also Hate the second fix ,Grind down the passenger locking assembly, a small amount at a time. And Hope it fixes the problem.: eek:

 

[Tbruz]

same problem on my 2003 2 door.
Haven't figured it out yet as it just started doing this.
Initially thought I hadn't closed it properly; now it seems to be popping open once per week.
Thanks
Tbruz

 

[Gary prososki]

Don't feel bad ,Mine opens after about 5 miles every trip. I'll get to bottom of this problem soon. Right now, I'm building a 10 by 10 shed in my back yard for storage. As soon as I finish it. I'll get back to the hatch issue, Thought Someone Else, had the same issue and fixed it: eek:

 

[Gary prososki]

Same problem pain in the buttt

Posted before same issue, 2001 ford explorer sport rear hatch door ajar light hard to get it to turn off. My wife forgot to check it yesterday, And it Killed the battery. Because the inside cabin lights, and the outside mirror lights stayed on all night. Anyone know which wire color going to hatch sensor switch I could cut???. To eliminate the rear hatch door ajar from sending a signal to keep the lights on. Still will have door sensors working. Any input will be Appreciated.

 

[koda2000]

Posted before same issue, 2001 ford explorer sport rear hatch door ajar light hard to get it to turn off. My wife forgot to check it yesterday, And it Killed the battery. Because the inside cabin lights, and the outside mirror lights stayed on all night. Anyone know which wire color going to hatch sensor switch I could cut???. To eliminate the rear hatch door ajar from sending a signal to keep the lights on. Still will have door sensors working. Any input will be Appreciated.

you could fix the problem by replacing the switch. lubing/cleaning it can also help. if you get into the lift-gate, you could simply unplug the switch. if your dead set on cutting wires, here' a link for free wiring diagrams. use rrcc and rebsco to log in.

http://search.ebscohost.com/

 

[Turdle]

I merged the 2 threads to prevent redundant suggestions. Please use one thread for each issue --it helps with others searching.

 

[Gary prososki]

rear door switch

Koda 2000 Thank you for the input ,and especially for the link . it's a Gold Mine of INFO Really Helped me. Have a nice day. Thank's again

 

[koda2000]

Koda 2000 Thank you for the input ,and especially for the link . it's a Gold Mine of INFO Really Helped me. Have a nice day. Thank's again

you're very welcome for the link. as far as your latch issue. i'm thinking the white plastic bushings you installed are slightly larger in diameter than the original OE's. this is preventing the "bear-claw" latches from closing all the way. were they Dorman parts? while the rod adjustment is fairly infinite, i don't believe changing the adjustment will help your problem (i could be wrong). perhaps finding a pair of Ford OE bushings is the answer.

 

[Torqueranger]

you're very welcome for the link. as far as your latch issue. i'm thinking the white plastic bushings you installed are slightly larger in diameter than the original OE's. this is preventing the "bear-claw" latches from closing all the way. were they Dorman parts? while the rod adjustment is fairly infinite, i don't believe changing the adjustment will help your problem (i could be wrong). perhaps finding a pair of Ford OE bushings is the answer.

+1


Also measure the OD and if the new one is bigger the you gthin it down with some sand paper and a drill...

 

[koda2000]

+1


Also measure the OD and if the new one is bigger the you gthin it down with some sand paper and a drill...

i agree with you're suggestion, but sanding down a nylon bushing may be difficult, as it sounds like he'd have to remove quite a bit of material. PO, if you want to try doing this, i'd suggest mounting the bushing on a bolt, chuck the bolt in your drill, put the drill in a vise, lock the switch ON (poor man's lathe) and maybe use a file to grind it down.

 

[Gary prososki]

hatch problem

I think somewhere, or sometime, since we purchased the vehicle, I must of sprung the right side passenger side of hatch, and that caused the problem. When I push on the right side it clickes and latches. But it's a hair trigger situation. a bump will spring it to turn on the door ajar light. The left side works perfect. I might try to take a air stone and remove some of the metal slowly to get the thing to latch properly. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Tbruz]

I tried adjusting the striker post on the body, added a wrap or two of teflon tape to thicken up the diameter of the post, lubed the ever loving %$#@ out of the latch assembly and even tried forcing the latch assembly back a hair with no luck.

I resolved my Hatch popping issue by getting a replacement hatch latch from a junkyard vehicle off of Ebay
Took about a half hour to R&R and it worked perfectly as soon as it was replaced.
I didn't see anything obviously wrong or broken on the latch I removed but I figured it somehow got worn out internally.

Been a good six to seven months and have not seen the issue return.
Thanks
Tbruz

 

[koda2000]

I think somewhere, or sometime, since we purchased the vehicle, I must of sprung the right side passenger side of hatch, and that caused the problem. When I push on the right side it clickes and latches. But it's a hair trigger situation. a bump will spring it to turn on the door ajar light. The left side works perfect. I might try to take a air stone and remove some of the metal slowly to get the thing to latch properly. Thanks again for the input.

Gary, if you think it may help you, i have a set good used of hatch latches. PM me if interested.

 

[Gary prososki]

Hatched again

I tried to adjust anything, and everything. There isn't anything to adjust......... Looked it over, and found that the 3/4 inch rubber bumper next to the rear hatch lift cylinder, on the right hand side was really getting compressed very hard. To the point it has removed the paint to bare metal. The left side has a slight scuff mark, where it barely contacts the paint. Removed the right side rubber bumper, and the hatch closes better Think it was compressing so hard at the end of travel, that it bounced back enough to cause a problem from over compression: eek: It doesn't rattle when going down the road. I'll keep a eye on it. And hope it was the problem. Only time will tell" Thanks all for the response to this post

 

[koda2000]

I tried to adjust anything, and everything. There isn't anything to adjust......... Looked it over, and found that the 3/4 inch rubber bumper next to the rear hatch lift cylinder, on the right hand side was really getting compressed very hard. To the point it has removed the paint to bare metal. The left side has a slight scuff mark, where it barely contacts the paint. Removed the right side rubber bumper, and the hatch closes better Think it was compressing so hard at the end of travel, that it bounced back enough to cause a problem from over compression: eek: It doesn't rattle when going down the road. I'll keep a eye on it. And hope it was the problem. Only time will tell" Thanks all for the response to this post

hope it will help. it sounds like your hatch is tweaked/twisted. you could try putting a board under the right side and pulling down on the left side to try to bend it back to straight.

 

[Gary prososki]

hatched better

So far so good. I think I'll leave it alone. It's working, and I don't have to go over to the right side any more to push on it's latching O.K. Thanks again.