Rattling Noise from Driver-Side Door

[Rod240sx]

yeah not sure on the technical name, but all I did was wrap black electrical tape on the chassis anchor... It is somewhat shaped like a U and is bolted on to the chassis - not the door.

It is where the door locks on to. Just wrap the contact area with electrical tape maybe 2-3 times and that should be enough. Don't put too much tape cause your door wont close.

 

[TNTitan]

Sorry for the late update, but finally had the chance to spend some time looking for the culprit last week.

As it turns out, the rattling noises were coming from the actual door lock mechanism on the doors - the piece that locks the door to the truck body. Looks like who ever owned the truck before me loved to SLAM doors. The impact absorption piece inside locking mechanism were crushed on all 4 doors, but mostly on the drivers side rear door - thus the sensation of the door being open when driving.

I'm not going to replace all 4 door locks; so the poor mans fix was to use a little bit of electrical tape around the metal anchors on the chassis to compensate for the crushed absorption piece.

Truck runs like new and reduced the interior cabin noise by 1000%. I'm yet to hear a rattle and the truck "feels" solid now.

BINGO! This solved the problem for me on my 06. The rattle sounded like birds chirping when driving. The rubber coating on the door "anchor" had worn off and exposed the bare steel which was clicking against the door lock mechanism. A VERY TINY amount of black electrical tape (one layer only) was a perfect fix. Too much tape (2 or 3 layers wound around the anchor) was too much and the door was hard to close and open. The expy sounds solid again, no rattles or chirps.

Big props to Rod240sx!

 

[amahay]

is that the strike you are talking about?

 

[JThale13]

Just tried this on mine I had a rattle on drivers side and squeak on passenger side. Rattle is gone and squeak seems to be not as bad. Might experiment between more and less tape on passenger side compared to what I've got on there now and see what that gets me.

 

[MUSKYMAN52]

Has anyone checked the window arms? if there is play that could be your rattle had that on an old merc i had

 

[Hamfisted]

The striker plate can be moved in slightly to take up some slack. There are two T-40 Torx bolts that hold the strikers on. Loosen them and push in on the striker with a piece of wood while retightening the bolts. There's also a TSB out for the '03 Expeditions that says replace the door weatherstripping with that from the '04 model year Expeditions. Seems Ford used a slightly thicker weatherstrip on the '04 and later trucks. If the striker is visibly worn you can buy new ones from a Ford dealer.


-Mike

 

[InocentRoadkill]

Sorry for the late update, but finally had the chance to spend some time looking for the culprit last week.

As it turns out, the rattling noises were coming from the actual door lock mechanism on the doors - the piece that locks the door to the truck body. Looks like who ever owned the truck before me loved to SLAM doors. The impact absorption piece inside locking mechanism were crushed on all 4 doors, but mostly on the drivers side rear door - thus the sensation of the door being open when driving.

I'm not going to replace all 4 door locks; so the poor mans fix was to use a little bit of electrical tape around the metal anchors on the chassis to compensate for the crushed absorption piece.

Truck runs like new and reduced the interior cabin noise by 1000%. I'm yet to hear a rattle and the truck "feels" solid now.

'04 xls here. Same problem. The rubber behind the latch inside the door is ripped in a few spots. Looks like this is a common issue for these trucks. Electrical tape fixed it for now but I am looking for a lock rebuild or something to fix it for real.

 

[Moemantha]

I had just adjusted the striker in to snug up the door. But the door does sit in bit bit now. I wonder if you could just coat the striker with liquid electrical tape or plasti-dip?

 

[InocentRoadkill]

I tried to move the striker a bit but it didn't seem to work. So I did some closer inspection and it looks like the rubber in the door is meant to hold the striker snug to the latch. When it gets old it rips and then you get the rattle.

Plastidip may work but would get worn down just the same as electrical tape does after a while. About 2-3 inches of electrical tape is cheap and easy work around that can usually be done without buying anything new.

I do plan on doing some plastidip anyways in the next few months so I will update when I try it out.

 

[Moemantha]

Right on.