Are you having problems with the door window of your Ford Expedition falling into the door, and you want to know what you can do about it? You’ve come to the right place, for we have researched this question, and we have the answer for you.
Here is a summary of the steps that you can take to fix the falling door of your Ford Expedition:
- Remove the door panel.
- Remove the clips and clean them.
- Reinstall the clips on the window.
- Reinstall the door panel.
Learn the complete steps on how to fix the door window of your Ford Expedition in the succeeding sections.
Read on!
What causes door windows of Ford Expedition to fall into the door?
The door window of your Ford Expedition sits on two metal clips. The metal clips grip the glass and pull it down or push it up. A steel cable running on a series of pulleys pulls both metal clips at the same time.
If your Ford Expedition has a manual door, the rotational motion of the door window handle pulls the cable in either direction. This movement translates to the upward or downward movement of the glass window. If your Ford Expedition has an electronic door, an electric motor provides the rotational movement to move the steel cable.
The most common cause of a falling door window in a Ford Expedition is the metal clips slipping off the glass.
The rubber lining that provides weatherproofing for the window can become stiff over time. Constant exposure to the sun over the years will also compromise the structure of the rubber.
These situations can contribute to the rubber gripping the glass harder than normal. This can lead to a tug of war with the metal clips that hold the glass window.
Since the area of the rubber weatherstripping is larger and because it is firmly connected to the door, the metal clips will eventually lose and eventually slide off the glass. The glass will slowly slide down the rubber and fall inside the door because the metal clips that hold it in place are no longer supporting it.
People will normally keep pressing the button to close or open the window in the hope that it will bring the fallen window back up. Never do this.
Continuously pressing the buttons to bring the window up or down will wear down and weaken the motor. Moreover, it will wear down the other components of the window system or even break them. This will lead to a bigger and more expensive problem to fix.
How to fix the Ford Expedition window that fell into the door?
Here are the complete steps to fix a window that fell into the door of your Ford Expedition.
You can follow these steps for any model of Ford Expedition. You just need to adjust it a little bit for the removal of the door panel. Most of the steps should be the same in any Ford Expedition model.
Getting Your Ford Expedition Ready
- Park your Ford Expedition on level ground. The location must have enough light for you to work.
- Engage the parking brakes.
- Place the transmission on “Park (P)” and turn off all the electronic devices.
- Turn off the engine.
Getting Access To The Window
- Use a plastic pry tool to remove the panel that covers the inside area of the side mirrors.
- Remove the bolt from under the panel. Mark where you remove the bolts and screws because they have different heads and lengths.
- Pry off the switch panel from the front. Pull the panel towards the front after you pry the front to remove the panel.
- Disconnect the electronic connectors from under the panel.
- Remove the screw inside the cavity of the switch panel.
- Pry off the cover under the lower handle to reveal the screw under it.
- Remove the screw from under the panel and set aside the handle.
- Pry off the light housing cover at the bottom of the door.
- Remove the Torx screws next to the bulb.
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- If you have a manual window, you will need to unscrew the handle and remove it before you go to the next step.
- Lift the door panel upward with a steady force to disconnect it from the door.
- Unhook the wire that goes to the door light. Set aside the door panel.
- Unscrew the speaker and disconnect the wire connector.
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Restoring The Rubber Parts
- Spray some automotive rubber cleaner on the rubber seals of the window. Let it sit for a few minutes.
- Spray some more rubber cleaner, then wipe it off with a clean cloth. If the rubber around the glass is making it hard for the glass to go down, cleaning it will prevent the same problem in the future.
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- If the glass of the window slides easily on rubber seals, then the motor will not have a hard time opening or closing the window. This means that the motor of your window will last longer.
- Let the rubber dry naturally.
- Apply some silicone lubricant on the rubber to make it easier for the glass to move through the rubber.
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CRC 05074 Heavy Duty Silicone Lubricant is available on Amazon through this link.
Cleaning The Metal Clips
- Remove the bolts that keep the metal clips in place.
- Take the metal clips and remove any residue of silicone adhesive.
- Use a thin file to remove any adhesive residue between the metal clips.
- Spray some brake cleaner on the metal clips to get rid of any oil and dirt that can cause them to slip once more after you install them to the glass. Let it dry.
- Bolt the metal clip back into the door.
CRC BRAKLEEN Brake Parts Cleaner is available on Amazon through this link.
Reinstalling The Glass
- Place a layer of paper under the two clips. This will catch any adhesive that will drip off the two clips.
- Raise the glass window carefully and align it to the two metal clips.
- Reinsert the glass into the clips. Push it halfway down into both clips.
- Apply a glass epoxy into the space between the glass and the bottom of the two clips. Get a glass epoxy that will give you 5 to 10 minutes to work the glass into the metal clip.
- Push the glass down into the two clips until the glass gets close to the bottom of the clip. You don’t have to push the glass all the way to the bottom so that you will have a layer of epoxy there that will hold the glass in place. Support the metal clips upward while you push the glass down. This will prevent unnecessary stress on the components of the window.
- Let the epoxy dry and cure. Check the manufacturer’s label to get the cure time. Adjust the curing time based on the season.
J-B Weld ClearWeld 5 Minute Epoxy is available on Amazon through this link.
Reassembling The Door Of Your Ford Expedition
- Reconnect the connector wire for the speaker and screw the speakers back into the door assembly.
- Lift the door panel close to the door.
- Reconnect the electrical connector for the door light.
- Insert the door locks and hook them in place. Push the panel down into the locks to secure the hooks into place.
- Reinstall all the screws in their correct locations.
- Reinstall the light housing cover.
- Reconnect the electronic connectors for the door and window control panel.
- Reinstall the door and window control panel.
- Reinstall the lower handle. Push the cover back into place.
- Reinstall the cover for the side mirror screw.
Special Cases
Here are some things that you might encounter after you remove the door panel and what you should do.
Broken Window
The glass may have a crack in the same area where you install the metal clips. If this is the case, you have to get a replacement for the glass before you follow the rest of the repair steps.
The crack in the glass will only get worse, and it could completely break off while you’re using your Expedition due to the changes in the temperature or from normal usage.
Disconnected Cable
The cables that roll the window up and down can also get disconnected or slide off of their tracks. This can happen if your window starts out being slow when going up and down before it falls. The extra work that the mechanism has to do to lift your window can force the cable out of the pulleys that keep them in place.
You can simply push the cable back into the pulleys that support it to get it back on track.
If the cable is disconnected, reinsert the disconnected tip into the plastic that holds both ends of the cable together.
Make sure to repair any possible problems with the cable before you reinstall the glass back into the metal clips.
Conclusion
The window of your Ford Expedition will fall into the door if the metal clips are no longer gripping the window from under it.
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