rear liftgate rattle...

[cngizbleevng]

The Explorer has the rattle of the rear liftgate when driving over even small bumps in the road. I got in the back of the car the other day when my daughter was driving it, and the sound definitely comes from the lower part of the tailgate, in the area where it latches.

I did a search and found some threads, but nothing that seemed to address this particular problem.

Any solutions out there?

 

[stahrman]

AMEN brother!!! I have the same problem. I think I'm going to buy some of that thick weather stripping that acts like memory foam and try putting some around the rear hatch door and see if that helps with those god awful noises...lol.

 

[swshawaii]

Apply HEAVY grease to the hinge pivot cup(s). TSB may not be specific to your vehicle, but should apply. GL
http://www.revbase.com/BBBMOTOR/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=114949

ALL TSB's (FREE)
http://www.bbbind.com/free_tsb.html

 

[swshawaii]

Or...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=238943

 

[rocco123]

I have cut several 1 in peices of small rubber tubing and then sliced along length. Then place them along the edge of the plastic trim that goes around the rear liftgate panel. Fixed my rattle that way.

 

[nestorb]

It would be great if we could revive this thread? I just bought a 2005 Ex Limited and the noise from the rear hatch has been bothering me so I decided to do some experimenting just to see what would happen. So I took a small piece of Velcro (the furry side) and wrapped it almost all the way around the liftgate window latch which makes it fit a lot tighter.

Then I took a couple of Magic Erasers and sat them right where the bottom of the liftgate meets that sort of plastic sill that is in front of you when its opened. I went for a drive and there is no noise at all from the hatch. I know I can't leave the Magic Erasers there but its encouraging to have figured out the answer to a problem--well sort of anyway. Now I just need to figure out a permanent solution.

Barry

 

[TechGuru]

First be sure it's not the license plate. Make sure you have 4 screws not 2 and that it can't slide around.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

did you check the latch by wiggling it? the bracket behind them gets rusted if you have a butt crack.

https://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer/videos/887627554638730/

 

[TechGuru]

did you check the latch by wiggling it? the bracket behind them gets rusted if you have a butt crack.

https://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer/videos/887627554638730/

Mine cracked maybe 6-9 months ago, I guess I should seal the crack with some clear silicone ASAP???

 

[ROBinGa]

I have cut several 1 in peices of small rubber tubing and then sliced along length. Then place them along the edge of the plastic trim that goes around the rear liftgate panel. Fixed my rattle that way.

What Rocco says here is exactly the problem I had and what I did to cure it. I had some clear plastic tubing about 3/8" ID and cut pieces about 3 inches in length and then cut it/split down the length so I could place the slit over the edge of the plastic trim where the inside plastic trim meets the window glass. That took care of my rattles

 

[faberj]

Just adding to an old thread. I have a 04 with the door rattle in the back. It's been there since new and sounds like a old station wagon. I tried adding narrow window insulation foam around the door with no success. Towards the bottom of the lift gate on each side there's a rubber block for lack of knowing what you call it . I used a felt pad the size of a quarter ( normally used on a wood chair leg to protect a wood floor) and double sided carpet tape to hold it in place. closed the rear hatch and so far no rattle. Not sure on long this will last, only time will tell.

 

[kydirtscooter]

A couple things, if it is creaking especially when crossing something diagonally (like a ditch), I would bet your rear window hinges are shot and or need adjustment.

If you push in on the rear applique panel you can hear the inner trim rub the weatherstrip making a lot of noise. To verify, put some silicone grease on the weatherstrip top and mating surface. If noise is gone, hinges!

There is a small nib above the mounting stud where the glass hinge attaches to the liftgate. If you take a hinge off and look, these more than likely are broken off or bent. This causes the whole hinge assembly to slowly lower until the bottom of you applique hits the liftgate and the inner trim rubs the weather strip. You then need to adjust glass side of hinge.


If you have rattles, that could be the inner plastic trim on the glass being loose where it contacts the glass, or liftgate alignment is off or loose. You can adjust the striker on the body side quite a bit to make up for collapsed/memory effect of weatherstrip. Or you can buy latex surgical tubing and feed it through the weather strip to restore the original profile. This will increase pressure on the gate to help stop gate shudder/noise.