The door seals on my '02 Ex are kinda loose (especially the back doors) so I went and got the tubing the other day and did the back 2 doors yesterday. Took about an hour and made an unbelievable difference I'm going to get more tubing tomorrow and do the front doors and back window.
Then I will be doing my F-250 CC next!!
I highly recomend this cheap easy mod to any Excursion or Superduty owners out there....

Cheers

JB

 

What is that mod?

Bryan

 

I'm surprised more people haven't heard of this mod considering it works so well and is reasonable cheap (depending on the tubing you use) and fairly easy to do.

You take the door seals off and pull some 3/8"O.D. 1/4'I.D. tubing through them. There are several different methods used to do it but it's pretty easy to figure out. I am using vinyl tubing because it is cheap and I don't get freezing temperatures here in Arizona very often (vinyl tends to get a little stiff in the cold) Guys that live in colder climates are using silicone or some other type of tubing that wont stiffen up. Some are also using larger O.D. tubing but from all I have read on the subject the 3/8" O.D. is best. If you decide to do this mod Whatever you use I'm sure you will be pleased with the results.

Good Luck,

JB

 

Humm, my drivers door (probably all but i mainly notice drivers door since its next to me) rattles over some of the very big potholes. Sounds like this will help that?

 

could this be why I get mud inside when I offroad the ex? seemd like the seals on the back doors are not doing there job... I actually thought it was from to much off roading that it twisted the frame or something. hhmm I need more info on this please?

 

This is most likely the problem. I get a lot of sand inside my F-250 when I go to the dunes too.. This is the main reason I want to do this to the truck also. Just wanted to get the EX done first cause the door seals are really loose and this is the vehicle we use for family trips and all.

The mod is really easy and since you live in SoCal I think you will be alright with just using the vinyl tubing. I haven't done the two front doors or the back window on the Ex yet but Im guess-a-mating it's going to be about 80ft of the stuff when it's all said and done.

Here's what I used:
-3/8"O.D. 1/4" I.D. clear vinyl tubing
-50' fiberglass fish tape (you can use a steel one just make sure the end is not too big as to damage the door seal)
-spray bottle full of very soapy water.
-a sharpie(to mark the bends of the door seal)
-a good pair of scissors
-electrical tape
-and about 3 beers!! (per door)

Out of time right now but I'll be back on later to give you more info.

JB

 

1. I used the sharpie to mark the bends in the door seal and where the two ends meet w/ arrows (--><--)
2. Pop that little step plate (or whatever it is called) off at the bottom. use caution not to dammage it (plastic clips)
3. take the door seal off carefully. Comes off easily (not glued).
4. inspect the door seal for damage or any blockages. I don't think most have any but I have read that some do and have to do a little cutting to pull the tubing through.
5. Straighten the bends in the seal as good as you can and lay it flat on the driveway or garage floor.
6. use your spray bottle full of soapy water hold up each end and spray the inside so that the soapy water runs down the inside of the seal.
7. Lube the end of your fish tape or do like I did and just take it off & tape up the end with electrical tape (fed through a lot easier this way) and I was able to slide the tubing right over the end.
8. feed the fish tape all the way through the seal.
9. Once through attach the tubing (w/ electrical tape)lube with soapy water and carefully pull it through the seal. I have read that some guys have pulled through a string or wire of some type then attached the tubing to that to pull through. I'm just telling you how I did it and it worked pretty good.
10.once you get the tubing through cut it but leave about 6-8 inches on the end and a couple of inches on the other for the bends when you re-install.
11. Re-install the seal. Pay close attention to the ends so you don't loose it when bending. (cut the excess tubing off when done)
12. Put that little step plate back on and you are done!!

You should notice a big difference in the tightness of the door seal now

If you decide to do it good luck and let me know how it turns out.

JB

 

Can you take a couple of pictures and post them in your gallery? Maybe a before and after with some progress pics?

 

hey cptsd Jones02SportTrac has a good point take a pic for us? I appreciate the info tho, for a while I thought I had twisted the frame or something. This is probably something I gotta do, except ill have to do a redbull and vodka per door because 3 beers per door will land me at the bar in no time gotta have my caffeine to focus, wouldnt want to mark it on the wrong spot and end up with a big mess

 

Hey Guys,

I'll try to put something together and post the pic's next week. Gotta pretty busy weekend planed so I wont be able to get to the other doors til then. But I'll let you guys know.

Industrial_dude, Red Bull & Vodka HUH?? Might have to give this method a try!! LOL!!

Have a great weekend!

JB

 

This is something I've got to try. The right rear door rattles like it's only partially latched. It drives me nuts. It used to be you could adjust the latch or latch hook to tighten the door.

 

This was a much needed read. I was getting a little loose in the head over bumpy roads from this problem. Thanks to all for the fix!

 

Did the rear passenger door on my 2000 EX. Works great! Now I can hear all of the other rattles. Bought 14 feet of tubing, had little over a foot left when done.

 

I'm glad this worked for you...But all those "other rattles" are probably your other doors I would do them all, including the back door/window. I have only been able to get my back two passenger doors done so far. I did them first because the seals were the worst. But I do have a rattle in the drivers door and I get a lot of dust through the back window. So I can't wait to get the rest of them done. Hopefully I will have time and the weather will permit this week.

JB

 

CptSD:

Hey, thanks for the detailed post and instructions. I'll try it this weekend... just one question:

Is the vinyl tubing available at improvment stores such as Home-Depot or Lowes?
Which department would I look in? Or where did you get yours?

Thanks for the help

Andy