Door latch frozen...

[Gruz7]

Hey guys I figured I start a thread about this because I haven't seen it in the second gen forum yet and it has been a problem on both of the Expys that I have owned, 03 and 06.

After a day and night of driving in the <30° weather I park the truck in the driveway and wake up to the doors a but frozen shut enough to where I need to slightly yank them to get them open.

Mainly the drivers side on both of my trucks but when I open the door and then try close it when I'm in the truck it'll bounce back and remain ajar... I first fixed this winter a few weeks ago with warming the heater up and letting it sit but this time I've tried WD-40 and it seems it hasn't done much as of yet but I'm still letting the truck warm.

I know some Expy owners must be also experiencing this annoying as **** issue so if anyone has found a permanent fix or solution please chime in!!

Thanks guys!
Jared


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[Gruz7]

UPDATE:
I just went out and tried the door just before leaving for work and it appears to working fine as normal now... Must have been the WD this time.

But still if there is a fix that is permanent for this issue say it here.

Thanks


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[Bedrck47]

I rather use silicone spray or I have seen someone suggest cooking oil But I don't think anything is permanent

 

[Gruz7]

I rather use silicone spray or I have seen someone suggest cooking oil But I don't think anything is permanent

Thanks for the reply... Yes sadly these lubricants don't last forever lol WD seems to be holding up for today I just went out and checked it again but on a side note I need the silicone spray for my windows as they roll very slowly up front so I'll give that a try in the latches as well.


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[Dnny44]

This has happened to my 04 bad last year. The latch gears freeze shut. I had to pull with all my weight to get the door open but then the gears were jammed open. Take a screw driver into the latch and force it to close. Mine was fine since then.

 

[stamp11127]

If the door seals are sticking to the body you can apply a thin film of silicone grease to the seal so it doesn't stick.

 

[Lostneye]

I have had the issue of the door latch(to the body, not the handle) freezing up and either not opening or staying stuck open that the door wont latch when cold on a couple of Fords. I've used silicone spray. I find WD40 doesn't last as long and is more prone to collecting dust. I don't know of a permanent fix.

 

[2004XLT]

When I replaced the hinge pin and bushings in my drivers door I had to screw around with the adjustment until I got it to close right..if it was off then the door would bounce back open like you said. If you grab the door and pull up on it is there any play? Also it's the driver door which gets the most wear so possibly the latch on the body is worn. As far as sticking doors I always use silicone spray or dielectric grease on the weatherstrip and have never had a door stick.

 

[Gruz7]

When I replaced the hinge pin and bushings in my drivers door I had to screw around with the adjustment until I got it to close right..if it was off then the door would bounce back open like you said. If you grab the door and pull up on it is there any play? Also it's the driver door which gets the most wear so possibly the latch on the body is worn. As far as sticking doors I always use silicone spray or dielectric grease on the weatherstrip and have never had a door stick.

Not much play in the door that i can see but I may agree with you there that the latch is probably worn out... Through the rest of my work day the door remained closed and I drove my personal truck (Expy) all day instead of my van so I'm hoping that this WD did the trick at least for now so I don't have to replace anything in the frigid coldness...
Door issues make me want to go full on jeep in the summer time and remove all the doors hahaha


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[igozumn]

I've had the same problem twice in the last week or two on my Expedition. Happened all the time (when it was freezing) with my old '88 Daytona. Spray the latch down with lube and would work the door against the striker back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, slowly letting the lube get wherever it needed to go. Would usually start working after a couple minutes. Have to do it once, maybe twice a winter.

I get to work the other day and go to shut the door on the Expedition, and it just bounced back, LOL. Great. Pulled it up outside our back door and let it run with the front and rear heaters on full blast. After about 10 or 15 minutes, it'd warmed up enough to work correctly. Was fine for 3 or 4 days. Left work, stopped at the credit union. Door sounded funny when it shut. Came back out and yep, wouldn't shut. Drove to the bank holding the door and sat in the parking lot filling out deposit slip. Started working correctly about the time I headed for the drive-through.