1997 Explorer. Door lock issues.

[Georgr]

Help! My daughter can't unlock her drivers side door and has to crawl accross from the passenger side any ideas?

 

[Joe Dirt]

The lock actuator has probably froze up. If it does, it won't unlock with power, and you can't turn the key either...

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've renamed your thread, and moved it into the stock 95-01 section.

 

[Georgr]

Thanks.do you think almost any mechanic shop can do this? I'm 500 miles away and need to fix this, maybe she should go to a dealership..

 

[yavapaires]

Yes, most anyone with a little mechanical knowlege can fix this. Dealerships are EXPENSIVE. Start by pulling the inside door panel off, and look inside the door, by the latch. See what looks out of place, and try working the inside lock switch. On my 96, the rivet holding the lock actuator sheared off,causing the door Not to lock in my case. Get a Haynes manual. While it does not have everything in it, it is an big help about repairing most anything the average owner would want to try. Haynes manuals can be bought for around $8.00 or so on Amazon.

 

[Joe Dirt]

If it's your daughter's truck and you're not close to fix it, I might buy a new lock actuator on rockauto.com have it shipped to her, and maybe find a small mom-n-pop shop to put it in for her...

 

[budwich]

it is more than likely that you have the "standard broken door spring" problem. Unless you have "500 mile long arms", you aren't going to be much help to her... The problem with doors is the time it takes to get at the "guts" along with trying to figure out what exactly is happening. Unless the garage is "ford specialized" as in they know about the "common ford problems", they will likely take a bit to fix the problem... the saving grace might be that their labor rates will be less.

Assume by "can't unlock" you mean "open" as opposed to can't lift the locking "knob". If she can't lift the locking knob, then as suggested, you likely have a problem with the actuator and associated linkage. Does the key turn in the door?

 

[Joe Dirt]

True- does 'unlock' mean 'unlock the lock mechanism' or 'open the door from the outside'

big difference...

 

[Georgr]

She cant unlock and open it unless she"s sitting in the drivers seat...the key turns but doesn"t unlock the door

 

[Joe Dirt]

That could be an unhooked lock rod. Should be able to pull off the door panel and look in there to see... Check out my removal thread, she could probably do this easily enough...

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