I was cleaning the interior today (just now actually, stopped to post this) and came across this weird foam piece with a small plastic backing in my passenger fender. It looks like it should be there to serve a purpose, but I found it on its side and the bottom had a rolled up foam piece as well. Any takers?

 

Hey theres a non decomposed finger too ? the pad has an up arrow ? I wonder if it were a stencil or packaging item that fell off noe I will have to have a looky.

 

I know the passenger side kick panel has a foam pad that goes in between the plastic door panel and the electronics, wonder if thats it?

Mines got one... don't remember what color it was but it's definitely there.

 

I'd have to guess it is there to cut down on wind noise, or moisture intrusion.

 

It's called a fender stuffer. It used to block out P/T NVH and windnoise. Your is not installed correctly, it needs to be pulled out so it plugs the fender opening.

 

What he said!

 

interesante

 

And it is a serious PITa to get it back into place. I accidentally knocked mine out of place one day while cleaning and holy smokes was it a drag getting it back into position

 

Use a wire coat hanger to hook it and pull it back.

 

eeek

 

my car was new when I pulled tit apart to undercoat the hard way- found these foam thingys were water filled and extremely tight against the bottom/inside edge of fenders- so tight the foam was cut thru and the plastic core was tight against the sheetmetal...and the 'up' cutouts allowed water to 'fill' the things, keeping the 'wet sponge' against the bottom of the fenders...among other things, I trimmed the bottoms off mine so they werent rubbing...theres a bunch of pics in here somewhere- the thread was called 'might want to look under your car'. found lots of missed sealant areas, etc...my wife was ready to kill me when she saw the fenders/doors/etc all tore apart on a brand new car

edit- found the old thread/but some pictures are gone?:
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=428745

 

you are a brave man for doing that....kudos

...I don't think I'd have the guts to on a brand new car.

 

Are you guys talking of these ****ing bastards? I took them out today when I accidently saw them lurking out of the fenders. If they really serve any purpose, then I ask myself why Ford isn't able to attach them properly to where they belong instead of simply stuffing them in there hoping that they grow hands to hold themselves in place...

 

thats them...just quiets airflow/helps keep the hinge area clean...if you leave them out youll notice more dirt buildup around the front of the door.

take a look at the bottom/pointed end-
1) i bet the foam is cut thru to the hard plastic core
2) i bet its wet inside

i didnt like the perpetually damp sponge (its closed cell foam- if center core gets wet it stays wet) keeping the plastic core wet where it rubs the inside of the fender...so I cut about 1/2 inch off the outer edge about4" up- they still pop in pretty tight, but now the part at the bottom has a slight gap so the water seeps out of the foam, and its not rubbing on the paint with enough pressure to cut thru the foam, no hard plastic riding on a painted surface that tends to get a lot of dirt...

 

They are there to stop engine and road NVH from entering the cabin. Ford pretty much puts them on every vehicle. Some of the newer cars are actually using an expandable foam material.

 

Ha... I knocked mine out while I was detailing my car when I first got it...

 

Hi,
So this “fender stuffer” seems to have gotten loose and dropped to the bottom of the drivers side fender. Now makes a lot of noise when driving over 30mph. Do I have to remove the fender to get to it and if so, what would I do with this foam stuffing once I’ve gotten a hold of it? How would I reattach/place it back? Need some help