rattling doors

[89eddie89]

so when im riding down the street and i hit a few bumps my doors rattle. almost like the lock isnt closed all the way up.. but i dont know..

what tips do you all have about this?? is it something to be replaced?? or just tightened??

 

[BB33's]

Is it a rattle or a clunk? My 1985 F350 had doors that would cla clunk when I hit bumps. It was because on the door stryker(part that the door latche grabs onto) The rubber spacer that made a tight fit was worn to the point it was gone. after a few wraps of electrical tape it was good as new.

 

[Broncobill78]

As BB33 mentioned it could be the striker pad has lost the bushing that fits over the shaft part of it or it could be the hinges. AutoZone & others sell hinge rebuild kits because of this problem. Both are easy fixes.

 

[miesk5]

Also, watch out for the Dorman HELP brand stuff now....In my 96, the driver/passenger door striker kit w/ bushings, Dorman pn 38445 are not fffin good..bushing diameter is way off and striker frame is off as well....it will bolt-in, but aligning it for a no-rattle fit is efffin a waste of time.

the taillgate striker bushings pn 38424 are closer. but wont last as long as the OEM brand....the door bushings

driver/passenger bushings are incl. in this kit, which fit better than the above specific part..prob. made by a different junk factory in China!

38424 Ford Bronco 1996-83; Ford Bronco II 1990-84; Ford Explorer 2001-91; Ford Explorer Sport 2003-02. Helps prevent tailgate & liftgate rattle. Includes 2 sets of bushings. Made from durable urethane thermoplastic.

buy bushings from Ford for a good fit.. better to pay a few bucks more for somethAng that is made well enuf to use. The 38424 bushings are in for a year now, but showing signs of failure, The original bushings lasted 11 years.

and if bushings are ok,,,;

Door Alignment by Steve83

 

[89eddie89]

im pretty sure that it is not the hinges. so i think that it is the bushings, i am going to try and make it to an auto parts place this weekend to find some replacements..

 

[Justshootme84]

Just a thought, if you would like to make your doors easy to remove for offroading and cure the rattle problem at the same time, consider doing the "quick disconnect" mod. Cut off the old pins, drill out the old bushings to 3/8", and insert some 4.5" long 3/8" bolts in place of the pins. You can either drill a small hole in the end of the bolts for a cotter key, or just use a nut and washers. I did this on both the 84 and the 78 Broncos. JSM84

http://www.supermotors.net/clubs/superford...ry/1133/55239-4

 

[89eddie89]

yeah im wanting to take off the doors when i take the top off this summer, but it seems like it would take a long time to get them off and unhooked from everything..

:wacko:

 

[Justshootme84]

yeah im wanting to take off the doors when i take the top off this summer, but it seems like it would take a long time to get them off and unhooked from everything..
:wacko:

If you install the bolts in place of the pins, it will take less than a minute to pull them out, unplug the wiring and take the doors off. Putting them back on is the same. Good thing is the doors will stay aligned since you're not moving the hinges, only taking them apart. If you were to unbolt the two hinges from the body, that will take 30 minutes. Then it'll take a couple hours to put the doors back on since you have to re-align the door again. That's why they're called "quick-disconect". The doors are heavy, about 80 pounds, so it's better to have your brother or a friend to hold the door why you remove or insert the pins/ bolts. I did the mod in the pics to an extra set of doors i had from an 88 Bronco with manual windows and locks, so there's no wiring to mess with. But if you have power glass and locks, there are two connectors in the kick panel at the bottom in front of the door that you can pull apart or snap back together. Last thing to address is the dome light, since it will be on whenver the doors are off. Either pull the bulb or pull the fuse to keep it from draining the battery. In my case, I just pulled the fuse. But be sure it doesn't affect any other items like your electric fuel pump, wipers, etc. JSM84

 

[Broncobill78]

Another way to go is the half-door mod. I'm partial to this one myself but need to wait until I can get a good welder, those $99 "gasless" MIGs just won't cut it on thin gauge sheetmetal (well, I guess to be more accurate they do indeed "cut" the thin stuff <grin&gt and I need to save for something better. I'm shooting for this one as a summer project once I get the moonroof cut into the cap.

http://www.supermotors.net/vehicles/registry/media/536894

Better still might be to combine the two and cut down a set of junkyard doors AND set the hinges up as quick disconnects to be able to swap doors as the spirit moves you.