Well, I thought I was one of the lucky ones. After all, my '98 was built in 8/98 and only has 14K miles, and showed no visible signs of the dreaded cracks.

Guess what? I pryed the curved rubber window molding on the driver's side door back and discovered a 1/16" long CRACKKKKKKK! The passenger's side so far is O.K.

At this stage, has anyone tried drilling a small hole at the end of the crack, say 1/16" or smaller? If so, did it stop it from propagating any further?

I'm not thrilled about getting the door replaced and repainted.

By the way, I checked several Ford dealers used car lots in Omaha this weekend, and everyone is right. About 80 to 90% of the used F-150s have cracked doors, most of them on the driver's side.

One more question. If left alone, how large (long) do these cracks get? Do they eventually crack the entire width of the door in that area?


1998 F150 4X4 XLT, extended cab, silver, ORP, 4.6 auto, med. gray captains chairs

 

Not sure if they will crack all the way back to the edge...but the longest one I have found to date was 3/4 of an inch past the weather strip! 1/2" visible seems to be common.

Like I have said before...I have basically not used my windows since the day I picked up my 2000....and hey....no cracks. How nice on a $27,000 truck



------------------
2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, factory leather wrapped steering wheel, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, rubberized undercoating, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II, 5W-30 Mobil 1, engine build 10/4/99

 

I too do not use my windows...

------------------
2000 White F-150 Sport 4.2L 5-speed,3.55 gears
MODS: K&N, Flowmaster 50 series.
www.fordvschevy.com Ford vs Chevy
Moderator: Road Kill, Mustang vs F-bodies. We also have a
Ford VS GM/Chevy Truck forum
superstang97@yahoo.com
AIM: fakefvc

 

No cracks on my 2000, but Jag, glad to see another Omahan (is that what we're called?) here.

------------------
00 supercab, 5.4,4x4, stay up too late on this site!


[This message has been edited by Jumpn (edited 05-15-2000).]

 

What seems to be the general consensus of the causes?

1. Window use? Power or manual?

2. The the act of shutting the door that causes the doors to crack.

3. Or is it an stress point formed when the panels are stamped?

Yea Jumpn, I checked Schrier Ford & a few of the used car lots on "L" St. Pretty disheartening when you start doing a head count.

 

My dealer said the crack was caused by opening and shutting (specifically slamming) the door. He also said they had seen a 2" long crack on one.

------------------
1998 F-150 XLT SC 5.4L

 

Stand next to your open door. While watching the outside of the door post in the suspected crack area, lower and raise the window. You can see the metal bow out as the window goes up. The crack is caused by metal fatigue. A stress crack caused by slamming the door would not likely show up at the exact same spot on thousands of trucks. And I have never slammed the doors on any vehicle, particularly this baby!

 

Dang! Now I have to leave the doors closed and enter/exit through my rear slider!

 

Can anyone say, "Dukes of Hazzard"?

YEEEEHAWWWW

 

My 150 super cab is going in for a new door today. The dealer said they will replace the skin only. Do you have a chioce in this? I was hopeing for a new door. The reason why I wanted a new door is because of the sealent the factory uses to crimp on the skin is of better quality than the body shop. This is what the body shop told me. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ron.

 

Where do I look for the crack? I have a 2000 reg. cab. How long does it take for the crack to appear? Are there any 2000 models with the crack already? This is not good!

------------------
2000 4.2 Long Bed White 5 speed flowmaster 40 with dual 3.5 tips

 

Look here for a picture of one:
https://www.f150online.com/articles/cracks.html

You can pry back the curved molding on the outside lower right corner window frame (driver's side) to check if one has started.