- Thread starter
- #1
*7/13/22 Edit-
Since my original post I developed another squeak from the tailgate area, maybe a month after. This new squeak was coming from the seals on the rear glass, meeting the tailgate. In the original post this was a known area and treated with a lube I found at autozone, which did not fix the original issue since that was caused by MIC top. This time I lubed that seal with krytox lube that Ford recommends, and the squeak is gone a couple months now. Clearly a superior product than the silicon based I applied before. I have a buddy who works for Ford, and he highly recommends the Krytox lube, which Ford dictates to be used for all seal and NVR issues. He applied to his squeaky tailgate in December and is still squeak free. This seems to be the more common cause of tailgate squeaks and I think everyone will encounter it eventually, although the TSB outlined in this post is another cause, just less common. Someone described this squeak sounding like there was a case of water bottles in the back banging around, and I think thats a perfect description. Krytox lube found here:
Krytox by Chemours GPL 205 Grease, Pure PFPE/PTFE, 0.5 oz Tube (D10170248): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Recently my 4 door hardtop Bronco started a new obnoxious noise, a squeak coming from the cargo area. I've actually heard this noise randomly since delivery, but was far too infrequent to ever pinpoint it. A couple weeks ago it became relentless and non stop. I have zero tolerance for squeaks/rattles, and have a love/hate relationship with my Bronco due to all the time I've had to spend chasing them down, but this was one that would drive anyone crazy. I haven't lost a rattle(squeak) battle yet, and wasn't about to loose this one.
I started with my go to method, have my wife drive around while I sit in the back and chase down the noise. This one was hard to pinpoint, it was obviously coming from the tailgate area but couldn't tell exactly where. I thought it was the hinges or seals, which I lubed but didn't help. Then I lubed and insulated the lift gate window stoppers, no help. Lubed the tailgate latch, no help. Then I spent some time on a deep dive of internet searching to see if anyone else had this issue. All I really found was tailgate rattles, but my noise is a squeak, not a rattle. Still spent some time investigating things people with tailgate rattle found like the rubber stoppers for the spare tire. Removed spare, no help. Took apart the tailgate front and back to get access to the inside, didn't see anything. Another round of searching I came across recently released TSB # 22-2097 - 5 Door - Hard Top Roof - Squeak and/or chirp from rear of vehicle. Well damn that's me.
TSB basically points to body gap at the rear fender and hardtop. Peeking at mine I instantly realize this is going to be my problem. TSB with procedure attached.
First step is take a 1mm feeler gauge and see if you have resistance sticking it between the fender and MIC top. Driver side slides in with no resistance.
Passenger side doesn't come close, the gap is tight and appears to make contact in a certain area.
So the next step is to remove the plastic hinge cover to get access to the mounting bolts. The procedure has you loosen one of the bolts, push fender in, and retighten. If that doesn't create enough gap, do the same procedure on the other mounting bolt. I had to do the procedure on both bolts a couple times, the fender is very flimsy so I took it easy being careful not to dent or bend the panel. Here are the results after my adjustments, you can see how much I moved the fender by the exposed paint marks.
After adjustment I can now slide the 1mm feeler guage in, but its tight.
There is no way I can get the 2.5-5.5mm gap recommended by the TSB without damaging the fender. In my case, my issue isn't really the fender itself, its my damn MIC top. This is what my passenger corner looks like.
Driver side for comparison.
You can see how the corner sits lower than the window panel on passenger side. This is one of the many issues with my MIC top I've noted since delivery, but didn't realize it was rubbing on the fender.
Happy to report no squeaking sounds since making the adjustment. Not sure why it started squeaking so bad recently, I haven't taken the top off in about a month. The weather has really warmed up last couple weeks but not sure that's really a factor. Anyway, its a simple 15 minute procedure worth looking into if you have a squeaky tailgate area!
Since my original post I developed another squeak from the tailgate area, maybe a month after. This new squeak was coming from the seals on the rear glass, meeting the tailgate. In the original post this was a known area and treated with a lube I found at autozone, which did not fix the original issue since that was caused by MIC top. This time I lubed that seal with krytox lube that Ford recommends, and the squeak is gone a couple months now. Clearly a superior product than the silicon based I applied before. I have a buddy who works for Ford, and he highly recommends the Krytox lube, which Ford dictates to be used for all seal and NVR issues. He applied to his squeaky tailgate in December and is still squeak free. This seems to be the more common cause of tailgate squeaks and I think everyone will encounter it eventually, although the TSB outlined in this post is another cause, just less common. Someone described this squeak sounding like there was a case of water bottles in the back banging around, and I think thats a perfect description. Krytox lube found here:
Krytox by Chemours GPL 205 Grease, Pure PFPE/PTFE, 0.5 oz Tube (D10170248): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Recently my 4 door hardtop Bronco started a new obnoxious noise, a squeak coming from the cargo area. I've actually heard this noise randomly since delivery, but was far too infrequent to ever pinpoint it. A couple weeks ago it became relentless and non stop. I have zero tolerance for squeaks/rattles, and have a love/hate relationship with my Bronco due to all the time I've had to spend chasing them down, but this was one that would drive anyone crazy. I haven't lost a rattle(squeak) battle yet, and wasn't about to loose this one.
I started with my go to method, have my wife drive around while I sit in the back and chase down the noise. This one was hard to pinpoint, it was obviously coming from the tailgate area but couldn't tell exactly where. I thought it was the hinges or seals, which I lubed but didn't help. Then I lubed and insulated the lift gate window stoppers, no help. Lubed the tailgate latch, no help. Then I spent some time on a deep dive of internet searching to see if anyone else had this issue. All I really found was tailgate rattles, but my noise is a squeak, not a rattle. Still spent some time investigating things people with tailgate rattle found like the rubber stoppers for the spare tire. Removed spare, no help. Took apart the tailgate front and back to get access to the inside, didn't see anything. Another round of searching I came across recently released TSB # 22-2097 - 5 Door - Hard Top Roof - Squeak and/or chirp from rear of vehicle. Well damn that's me.
TSB basically points to body gap at the rear fender and hardtop. Peeking at mine I instantly realize this is going to be my problem. TSB with procedure attached.
First step is take a 1mm feeler gauge and see if you have resistance sticking it between the fender and MIC top. Driver side slides in with no resistance.
Passenger side doesn't come close, the gap is tight and appears to make contact in a certain area.
So the next step is to remove the plastic hinge cover to get access to the mounting bolts. The procedure has you loosen one of the bolts, push fender in, and retighten. If that doesn't create enough gap, do the same procedure on the other mounting bolt. I had to do the procedure on both bolts a couple times, the fender is very flimsy so I took it easy being careful not to dent or bend the panel. Here are the results after my adjustments, you can see how much I moved the fender by the exposed paint marks.
After adjustment I can now slide the 1mm feeler guage in, but its tight.
There is no way I can get the 2.5-5.5mm gap recommended by the TSB without damaging the fender. In my case, my issue isn't really the fender itself, its my damn MIC top. This is what my passenger corner looks like.
Driver side for comparison.
You can see how the corner sits lower than the window panel on passenger side. This is one of the many issues with my MIC top I've noted since delivery, but didn't realize it was rubbing on the fender.
Happy to report no squeaking sounds since making the adjustment. Not sure why it started squeaking so bad recently, I haven't taken the top off in about a month. The weather has really warmed up last couple weeks but not sure that's really a factor. Anyway, its a simple 15 minute procedure worth looking into if you have a squeaky tailgate area!
Sponsored
Last edited:
One perk of a new vehicle- Warranty.
