Door Stays

[ehbobeh]

Hi, both of my front door stays dont work anymore which is becoming very annoying. Does anyone know how to fix them?

Cheers, Bob

[NZ]

buy new ones from ford and change them.

[bo0]

door stays? i take it they are the metal brackets that connect the door to the car, to prevent them from swinging open too far.
Buy em new or get some from the wreckers, i'm sure they are a dime a dozen.

[ebxr8240]

widen them with screw driver...

[ilsautomotive]

I think he means the part that holds the door open. I would certainly not bother with anything from a wrecker... from memory the part costs $30 each or something? I found it made a big difference - though one does get used to having the door automatically close itself.

[fairmont1998]

How do you change them? In the kickpanel?

[ehbobeh]

LOL. :nutsycuck
Some people are having a laugh at my term "door stays" but everyone has figured out what I'm talking about and no one has come up with the "official name". :
I'll try the srewdriver and then get the wallet out if no joy. Thanks everyone for a great website!

Cheers and beers, Bob

[LUXO_8]

Originally Posted by fairmont1998

How do you change them? In the kickpanel?

wouldnt mind knowing this myself...i'd presume so, but it looks hard to get at......

[Holbrookau]

no one has come up with the "official name"

(Door) Check Link ;)

[mcflux]

bwahahaha the previous owner of my car listed this "feature" as a "Ghia only option"... and I believed it until I read this thread :alien2:

Not that I liked this "option", in fact, it ИИИИed me off! CRUNCH on the shin when you've got one leg out but you're facing the other way...

[naughtyfalcon]

they should be around the 10 dollar mark each,,thats what is was quoted last year

[TURBO_GHIA]

yeah i was going to replace mine untill it got halfed in size lol oh well

[NZ]

to change them you get to them behing the kick panel / ecu and same place on the driver side. easy peasy. take about an half an hour i reckon.

[EA2BA]

We call them "Door Check" and manufacturer them.

[Dezza]

My driver's one doesn't work either. In fact, my passenger side one doesn't hold it too well either!

[Holbrookau]

Does anyone know how to fix them?

You need to replace or repair* the door check inside the pillar.
*See the repair section below

Removal
Open the door and remove the pin connecting the check link to the door bracket.
Loosen, but don't remove, the 2 bolts in the pillar.
Slide off the seal and plate from the check link.
Working inside the car - Remove the sill trim and kick panel.
Push aside the insulation covering the body panel and you will see a cut out area near the floor. On the front drivers side at least, part of the wiring loom obscures the cutout - carefully move this aside.
There should be plenty of room to slide your hand up and hold the door check (and "L" shaped backing plate) in place.
With your free hand, fully remove the bolts on the outside of the pillar and withdraw the door check and backing plate through the cutout.
Slide the check link out of the door check.

Installation
Reverse the removal procedure. You will find it easier to replace the backing plate and door check separately - place the backing plate in position, then put a finger on your free hand through the check link hole from the outside and hold the backing plate against the pillar whilst replacing the door check/check link assembly. Note: the horizontal part of the backing plate goes to the top (so it looks like an upside down "L").
DON'T leave the backing plate off as it prevents the electrical wires running near the check link from getting chopped up

Repair
The door check consists of two pieces of pressed metal containing two "H" shaped slides (mine are yellow) that the check link moves in, and 2 blocks of some type of compressible plastic which act as springs. It appears that over time (and probably prolonged contact with lubricants) these plastic blocks lose their "springiness" and break down - in my case they just disintegrated when I tried to remove them.
Using a pair of pliers, bend open the 4 tabs holding the metal plates together, just open them enough the separate the 2 plates though, as they may break off when you go to close them up later.
Remove the slides (noting their orientation) and old spring blocks - clean up the inside of the plate if required.
Replace the slides in their original positions and then fabricate 2 new spring blocks from rubber or other compressible material - this choice is yours but I happened to have an old swaybar bush handy. Cut the material to fit snugly in place, making sure you nick out the corners to match the shape of the slides.
Reassemble the 2 metal halves and bend the tabs closed using the pliers.
Continue with Installation.

Disclaimer: Use these instructions at your own peril - I wont be held accountable for errors, omissions, or your total lack of smarts.