TexasTroy

I had checked both of the major F150 forums and spent hours scanning through the internet and I didn't find anything other than random posts of people asking about this and being told that they could wrap electrical tape around it, use new door bumpers, or take it to Ford and risk them not even fixing it.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you make to your vehicle.

I have fixed mine without any hokey rigging and it took less than 30 minutes to do both sides. I also can't visually tell I did anything as the work is covered up by the striker plate.

What you need:

Torx bit (I forget the size we used)
Angle Grinder
Hammer
Telescoping Magnet
Forceps


What you do:

1. Make sure this is the issue by closing the rear suicide door of your 04-08 F150 Super Cab then grabbing it at the bottom and shaking it. If it rattles, this is your problem.

2. Ensure your vehicle is on flat ground. Take the lower rear door striker plate off using the torx bit. Now, if the spot welding for what it screws into (mounting plate) has already broken as one of mine had you'll have to use the magnet to grab it later on. The vehicle being on flat ground will prevent the mounting plate from sliding out of reach.

3. Use the angle grinder to cut the square holes where the striker plate bolts go through into slots. You do not need to make them go very far.

4. If the mounting plate fell, magnet it back up, hold it with the forceps, and attach the striker plate to it. If the plate did not fall due to the welding not being broken then simply bolt the striker plate back on and adjust it to the proper placement for no rattling and no latch catch.

5. If the mounting plate's weld had broken then you're set. You just need to adjust the striker plate correctly for the door to close enough to not rattle without hanging upon latch release. I used the other striker plate as a guideline, you'll notice that it is at a slight angle.

If the mounting plate's welding did not break, as one of mine didn't, you can simply attach the striker plate back to it and use the hammer to smash it back. If you knock it too far in or not at the proper angle then you can pry it to the correct spot. Now, I lucked out and when we hit it with the hammer it went to exactly where it needed to be. If you decide to break the welding on the mounting plate instead of hammering BE CAREFUL TO NOT DAMAGE THE HOLES THE BOLTS SCREW INTO.

6. Enjoy your rear doors no longer rattling at which point you can find other things rattling. My passenger seat headrest rattles a bit and the fact that I can hear it brings me great joy.

Lenn

When I had my '05 Supercab, all I did was loosen the lower striker and give it a couple light taps inward with a rubber mallet. Retightened. All noise went away. There used to be a how-to with pics (including arrows and whatnot) around here somewhere. Trying do dig around and find it.

TexasTroy

I tried this. The holes in the chassis didn't go in far enough to fix mine. What you probably did was bend the mounting plate back enough to pull the entire assembly in for a proper latch. My bolts were up against the holes in the chassis and I could still rattle the doors. This is something Ford could have easily fixed by giving people slotted adjustable striker plates. I was going to just drill or cut the plates to make them adjustable but it would have looked nasty. lol

Lenn

Mine were slotted, otherwise it wouldn't have moved. Like I said, I just lightly tapped mine. Maybe a change in parts suppliers? Who knows. I'm trying to find the thread or even just the pic but it was from back 5-6 years ago, the last time I saw the thread used was 2+ years ago.

TexasTroy

I had found a thread that someone had slotted striker plates. Unfortunately that didn't help me or any of the people without them. I am slightly jealous. My last truck was an 04 and also didn't have adjustable plates. I didn't see any on Google either but once I resigned to fixing it instead of buying something I didn't really search that hard. I have basically dealt with door rattling from 09 to 17 due to not finding anything like what I posted. I just hope it helps some people. I tagged it pretty well I think.

johnny_tucson

I have an 04 super cab...some pictures would really be helpful! I can understand what you're saying, pictures just make me think less. Nice little write up!!

TexasTroy

I didn't think to take them while I was working on it. Sometime this week I'll take the striker plate off the side that the mounting plate weld didn't break on and post them in the write up. Thanks!

BadFish523

Good write up but a picture is worth a thousand words, think how many words that is for several pictures LOL. Especially on here pictures help tremendously!