Squeak coming from Cargo Area - Fixed ✅

[puckett_jw]

This seal contacting the rear door was one of two squeaks. This Krytox has a permanent place in the tool kit.

The second is actually in the back seat. It only squeaks when my 90-100 lb son sitting in the seat. I cannot find what is rubbing. Has anyone else had the same issue & found a solution?

Sponsored

 

[Sweetair]

Really enjoyed the determination and write up.

 

[Ksjrb03]

This seal contacting the rear door was one of two squeaks. This Krytox has a permanent place in the tool kit.

The second is actually in the back seat. It only squeaks when my 90-100 lb son sitting in the seat. I cannot find what is rubbing. Has anyone else had the same issue & found a solution?

Yes, the Krytox is good stuff. Put it on my hardtop panel seals last week and stopped a creak they were making at times.

I had a seat noise when I first got my Bronco. Although it made it without anyone sitting there, never have anyone back there lol. Mine was the hinges, and I found the noise by putting the seat down and it stopped. I used some 3-1 oil on them and not a peep since.

 

[SurfsUp85]

Shoulda got the soft top! lol

I have a soft top and after 8 months my bronco started with the squeak in the cargo as well. These past couple weeks.

 

[zyglyrox]

I have a soft top and after 8 months my bronco started with the squeak in the cargo as well. These past couple weeks.

I’m having a squeak right over the passenger side B pillar. Putting a piece of cardboard between the top has helped but I have no solution when the top is open.

 

[ChrisE]

I have the water bottle problem and drove around with the rear window up and it's still there so taking it to the dealer for the TSB. See if that's it. I can do it myself, but they need to log these complaints so they can find fixes for other issues if not the TSB. I would urge everyone to at least tell their dealer to log the complaint if not interested in letting them address it

 

[Nomadik]

@Joey.calc

So I broke down out of impatience and adjusted my passenger quarter panel as per @Ksjrb03 's fix, and it certainly helped (and looks better), but my squeak/rattle persisted. That "crunchy plastic water bottle" noise like in your video.

I had someone crawl in the back to try and help me isolate the sound further, and ultimately it was found to be coming from the rear window seal and the tailgate.

I beefed up the weatherstripping with some spare I found lying around...now the contact is tighter and it's weatherstripping on weatherstripping. It worked, no more squeaking! I think I may try some felt stripping instead and take it the whole way across to improve it further, but it took the annoyance level down from a 90 to a 10.

I got that annoying squeak as well. I tried driving with the back window open and it seems to have helped. Have you tried the 3m anti squeak tape yet?

@Joey.calc

So I broke down out of impatience and adjusted my passenger quarter panel as per @Ksjrb03 's fix, and it certainly helped (and looks better), but my squeak/rattle persisted. That "crunchy plastic water bottle" noise like in your video.

I had someone crawl in the back to try and help me isolate the sound further, and ultimately it was found to be coming from the rear window seal and the tailgate.

I beefed up the weatherstripping with some spare I found lying around...now the contact is tighter and it's weatherstripping on weatherstripping. It worked, no more squeaking! I think I may try some felt stripping instead and take it the whole way across to improve it further, but it took the annoyance level down from a 90 to a 10.

I got that annoying squeak as well. I tried driving with the back window open and it seems to have helped so I think it is the interface between the tailgate and the rear window causing the issue. I'm about to try your weatherstrip solution but was wondering if this extra weather stripping messed with the seal during rain and such.... or did it actually improved it? Less dust and chance of water getting through the better

 

[porjos]

@Nomadik

I haven't tried the 3M Squeak Reduction tape - I was (and still!) happy with the additional weather stripping. I don't think the additional weatherstripping will be an issue - the seal is holding up (no leaks), and after a few months it doesn't look like it's causing any accelerated wear.

Important to note through, I tried a bunch of different sizes of weather stripping. The sweet spot for me was 3/8's inch thick. Anything less wasn't getting rid of the sound.

 

[jjmtuttle]

I also have a pretty much constant squeak coming from the cargo area. Check my top and have a large gap so that's not my issue. I think the issue is the seals making noise so I'm going to try and clean them

Clean the rubber on the back window that meets the tailgate when the tailgate is closed your squeak will go away.

 

[jjmtuttle]

I got that annoying squeak as well. I tried driving with the back window open and it seems to have helped. Have you tried the 3m anti squeak tape yet?

I got that annoying squeak as well. I tried driving with the back window open and it seems to have helped so I think it is the interface between the tailgate and the rear window causing the issue. I'm about to try your weatherstrip solution but was wondering if this extra weather stripping messed with the seal during rain and such.... or did it actually improved it? Less dust and chance of water getting through the better

Clean the rubber seal on the rear window...

 

[jjmtuttle]

I also have a pretty much constant squeak coming from the cargo area. Check my top and have a large gap so that's not my issue. I think the issue is the seals making noise so I'm going to try and clean them

Wash the rubber seal On the rear window it's dirty I actually put some petroleum jelly to soften it up totally 100% gone

 

[jjmtuttle]

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!

Cleaned the rubber seal on the window and my squeak went away...

 

[Raptor.Tremor.Bronco]

Wash the rubber seal On the rear window it's dirty I actually put some petroleum jelly to soften it up totally 100% gone

Yep, I did that a long time ago. Fixed it!

 

[Nomadik]

Yep, I did that a long time ago. Fixed it!

Thanks for the advice.

I've heard it would come back after a while even using the recommended "krytox". I went with a thin weather stripping across the top and that got rid of it as well. And so far 2+weeks and so far so good.

 

[Ksjrb03]

Ford recommends Krytox for a reason. Its a PTFE lube and will not degrade the seals like other lubes will. There is a history of seal issues on Ford sunroofs and other products causing more issues when applied for noise and sticking. Stick with the Krytox for long term reliability, and it is a superior product, shouldn't have to apply it near as often as other products. Buddy applied it to his squeaky tailgate over Christmas and he is still squeaky clean.

Sponsored