Photoshopeth

My 2000 3.8L is about to hit 100k and recently I've had a few problems pop up.

Just tonight my drivers side door appears to have shorted out. The lock button works fine, but the window and side mirror switch won't work unless the door is open, and only at a certain angle. The interior light and door ajar alarm constantly flicks on and off as I move the door back and forth.

First major issue is: Gas has recently started to pour out when I fill it up, I know this can either be the grommet or filler tube, and Ford want's 90 bucks just to look at it and Tuffy said they couldn't find a leak.

Next I've noticed antifreeze leaking slowly leaking around this tube here, Ford parts is confused as to what part I need to replace.



I have to slam my drivers door shut in order to get it to close properly, is there any way to fix this?

Finally a few weeks ago I got into a fender bender and I had my emergency flashers on, then once I left I noticed a tiny bit of smoke coming from the switch and the turn signals tone sounded different but I never had any problems since???

Thanks

RyansQuick6

That tube, has already been hacked up, there isn't supposed to be a rubber hose there. It's called the heater bypass tube and its not too terribly expensive, but you can only get it from the dealer.

Someone had an issue with their door wiring and it turned out to be a frayed wire in the boot near the hinges.

Get a new turn signal flasher, they're cheap.

Sounds like you door latch might need to be replaced, although not a common failure point. Also check the striker and make sure its not showing damage. WD-40 may fix the latch as well.

jthorn9

For the buttons go to www.latemodelrestoration.com or www.mustangsunlimited.com and look for a new button cluster. Another possibility is the wires that run from the cab though that rubber hose in the door have shorted due to repeated opening/closing.

Either your door hinges are starting to sag a little or the latch is worn both will cause the door not to shut properly. Check the problem out in detail and see which of the two it is, and grease up areas that seem worn or squeeky.

For the leak I have no idea what that part is called can't make heads or tails in that pic.

That's a bunch of BS, it's a gasket that sits between the gas tank and the hose that leads into it. It's not hard to change but the gas tank needs to be dropped which most people can't do. Bring it to Firestone, Midas, or a good local shop, they won't charge you squat to look at it and it'll cost around $60-150 to fix, depends on what your areas local charges are.

jthorn9

Now that Ryan mentions it, that's right, go get one from autozone, usually pretty cheap there.

Photoshopeth

Thanks for the responses,

I couldn't believe how my local Ford dealer quoted me about $500 to fix my leaking fuel filler, "but they could eliminate the $90 inspection fee" all, over something that in my opinion shouldn't have gone bad in the first place, even on a 10 year old car.

I'll have to take a look at the door, I even need to take the whole panel apart as there's some screw rolling around inside but it just figures to be well below freezing right now.

I kept trying to see if any other 3.8 had that piece of hose where the bypass tube is, guess the guy I bought it off of must have tried to patch it up.

The turn signal still works fine, I just thought it was odd that it would smoke like that.