Door Stops?

[DirtDonk]

Do the modern donor trucks have a rubber boot/seal of some kind on theirs?

Paul

 

[blksn8k]

Do the modern donor trucks have a rubber boot/seal of some kind on theirs?

Paul

Not on the '15 and newer aluminum bodied trucks. I'm not sure what other differences there are on the previous steel bodied trucks but I did notice the door check for those years does have a rubber boot. That's the one ShoeSlinger used. The rubber boot is round which is what led me to try a round hole but that obviously didn't work with the newer design. All things considered the older design might be the better choice. Should be interesting to see ShoeSlinger's photos.

 

[Speedrdr]

Do the modern donor trucks have a rubber boot/seal of some kind on theirs?

Paul

Paul,
I’ve got a 2013 F-150 4x4 and it has a rubber grommet at the door post but I haven’t got the memory as to if it’s square or round. That being said, I know where a salvage truck “may” still be. If not still there, well, I do still have money in the budget I can spend.
Randy

 

[Steve83]

I drilled all the way through to the wheel opening...

Why didn't you go to the kick panel? What did you do to keep the hole from filling with mud & water thrown by the tire?

 

[BronCowie]

Probably not your "cup of tea" but I use a scrap piece of 4X4. %)

 

[MarsChariot]

blksn8k, that is amazing. But isn't that mounted upside down? Most vehicles with that type of stop are mounted so that they arch outboard, not inboard. Might solve the rubbing problem.

 

[blksn8k]

Why didn't you go to the kick panel? What did you do to keep the hole from filling with mud & water thrown by the tire?

I didn't go through the kick panel because that's not the way they are installed on my F-150. Even if it would work that way you would lose about 6" of door travel. In other words, the door wouldn't open as far because the door "check" would bottom out sooner.

The 2 1/2" long bolt that I used extends all the way through the new hole in the wheel well which means it and the washer and nut that hold it in place plug the hole. If you removed the fender I suppose you could avoid drilling as far as I did but then you would have to remove the fender again if you ever needed to replace the door stop. Or I suppose you could weld a nut on the backside of the A pillar once you had the fender off. I did it the easiest way I could without tearing the truck apart. I also used a large flat washer to spread the load over a larger area.

The guy who came up with this idea, ShoeSlinger, said he welded a stud to the A pillar instead of using a bolt and nut.

One thing you have to be careful about regardless of how you attach it to the A pillar is that when the door is closed there is very little space for the head of the bolt or a nut if you use a stud. Another reason why I used a 1/4" hex bolt. I tried a 5/16" hex bolt but the door check bottomed out on the head of the bolt and the door would not close without grinding the bolt head for clearance. You could also use a special 5/16" fender bolt with a 3/8" hex head instead of the standard 1/2" hex head. I didn't happen to have any of those lying around and especially none that were 2 1/2" long. Ford uses an 8mm bolt (I think) with a flanged 10mm hex head and a nutsert in the A pillar.

 

[blksn8k]

Did the driver side today.

 

[Steve83]

I didn't go through the kick panel because that's not the way they are installed on my F-150.

I only meant where to put the hole for the nut on the bolt that holds the check to the A-pillar; not running the check inside.

 

[EricLar80]

I didn't go through the kick panel because that's not the way they are installed on my F-150. Even if it would work that way you would lose about 6" of door travel. In other words, the door wouldn't open as far because the door "check" would bottom out sooner.

The 2 1/2" long bolt that I used extends all the way through the new hole in the wheel well which means it and the washer and nut that hold it in place plug the hole. If you removed the fender I suppose you could avoid drilling as far as I did but then you would have to remove the fender again if you ever needed to replace the door stop. Or I suppose you could weld a nut on the backside of the A pillar once you had the fender off. I did it the easiest way I could without tearing the truck apart. I also used a large flat washer to spread the load over a larger area.

The guy who came up with this idea, ShoeSlinger, said he welded a stud to the A pillar instead of using a bolt and nut.

The only issue I see with this approach (besides water intrusion from the fender well) is that the two steel panels are going to pull together after using the door a bunch and that will cause the bolt to come loose.

 

[blksn8k]

The only issue I see with this approach (besides water intrusion from the fender well) is that the two steel panels are going to pull together after using the door a bunch and that will cause the bolt to come loose.

Agreed. That's one reason to keep the door strap. The way I have the stop located the strap stops the door at exactly the same point as the door stop. Hopefully that will reduce the amount of stress on the bolt.

Nutserts might be another option. If you used an 8mm nutsert you could use the same small hex head flange bolt as on the F-150.

 

[Steve83]

I wouldn't trust the ~50-year-old sheet metal to be thick or strong enough to take that much load where it wasn't designed to have ANY load. A rivnut doesn't distribute the force over a large-enough area.

 

[EricLar80]

I wouldn't trust the ~50-year-old sheet metal to be thick or strong enough to take that much load where it wasn't designed to have ANY load. A rivnut doesn't distribute the force over a large-enough area.

Just to use it as a door locator is fine. I’m not sure I would use it without the strap because I think even the factory F150 relies on something else to stop the door from swinging open other than the plastic.

 

[blksn8k]

Just to use it as a door locator is fine. I’m not sure I would use it without the strap because I think even the factory F150 relies on something else to stop the door from swinging open other than the plastic.

On the F-150 both door hinges have a tab that acts as the actual stop. You can see that in the photo I posted of my '18 F-150's door. I suppose that's one of the reasons why they call this thing a door "check" and not a stop. The door check is actually made from plastic coated steel. I know that because I gouged the first one pretty badly while trying to get the size of the cutout in the door shell right.

 

[Steve83]

I'm pretty sure the big rubber pad on the end of the bar is to stop the door & limit its swing. Here's an easy test: on your '18, open the door fully, unbolt the small end of the check and see if the door swings even a tiny bit farther before hitting the hinge limit.

 

[blksn8k]

The stops on the hinges hit first at full open.

 

[Steve83]

So why would that rubber pad be there?

 

[Comemonday71]

Installed door stops today. I like the end result. Used a nutsert on the A pillar. Door strap kicks in before there is any real stress put on the nutsert.
Should be helpful keeping the doors open while parked on a hill. Should also help keep the doors open due to my Bronco lean issues!

 

[Comemonday71]

Here are some photos of my install!

 

[EricLar80]

Here are some photos of my install!

Can you show a picture of the hole that you made in the door?