rear and side door "how much the door opens" thingy?

[GreyDawg]

I don't really know what they call the thingy that limits the opening arc of the side and rear doors . As I recall from my previous van, it is a little metal arm that has a spring clip on one end. When in place, the doors only open about 90 degrees and are stable there; when the arm is unclipped, the door opens the full arc....

Anyway, the limit thingy is missing on each of my rear and side doors (I'm the vans 3rd owner), and I'd like to replace them. Before I make a fool of myself at the Ford dealer or a junk yard, can anyone tell me what they're really called?

Thanks,

GreyDawg

[carringb]

are the 2 bolts up and down from the metal "thingy" opening still there? If yes, then the piece is probably still in your door.

[billwilson]

i am missing all four
anyone have a source??

[WVvan]

According to my Haynes manual it's called the "hinge check".

[GreyDawg]

Originally Posted by carringb

are the 2 bolts up and down from the metal "thingy" opening still there? If yes, then the piece is probably still in your door.

Hmm. I'll double-check tomorrow, but I"m pretty sure the whole thingy piece is gone from all of the doors.

[UJOINT]

When you visit the dealer, see if you can check out the same pieces from an 09. They allow the door to open wider, and may be a direct replacement.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by UJOINT

When you visit the dealer, see if you can check out the same pieces from an 09. They allow the door to open wider, and may be a direct replacement.

Good for the rear doors, but not the side door.

PS - the rear side door (the "40%" door) does not have one of those thingies. Only the front side door and both rear doors.
Yeah, the '09 thingies are nice, unless you have a bumper mounted carrier. Then the older ones may be better to prevent dents.

[yvrr]

The thing you are looking for is a bar with a T-shaped design on one end (the T is the end which is inside the door and keeps the door from opening further) and a hole on the end which is slipped over the bracket on the body door jam. If you unhook the bar from this bracket, you can open the door further (but you have a chance of messing up the spring on the bracket) which is what a former owner did. If one is not careful, the bar can be eventually slide back into the door and fall down.

You need to remove the door panel to retrieve it (or install a new one if you can't find the old one). I had to replace the bracket on the door jam on our 2001 because the spring was overextended. If you need to buy a new arm, tell the parts person that the part you are looking for hooks onto the bracket on the body jam and that bracket is part No. F2UZ*1527218*A...that might help. It took a very good parts person to finally find my bracket on the isometric drawing on their computer.

The arm or hinge check simply slides into the hole in the door from the inside. As I recall, there is a offset at the T end. If it doesn't seem to fit one way, turn it over. Once you slide it in place, open and close the door a number of times. If the end with the hole unhooks from the door bracket, you will need to adjust the third piece of the assembly which is another bracket inside the door which the arm slides through. This bracket is held in place with a pair of small bolts on the door side of the jam, one above and one below the hole the arm extends through. (This adjustment is needed to allow for adjustments in the door alignment.) Loosen these bolts slightly and move this bracket up or down so that the arm is perpendicular to the bracket attached to the body.

[Stumpalump]

They are on a quick disconect pin. Once disconected the arms can be pushed into the slot. Are you sure they are not just in the pushed in position and still on the van? If so, like my rear doors were then pull out the arm and clip them back on. They are made to pop on and off easy.

[Angel]

I thought mine had gotten lost and my repair place just used a curved tool (a tool with a hook on the end of it) and pulled that "thingie" out

Angel