2002 Explorer New Door Asy Lock Still Does Not Lock

[staggart]

I have a 2002 XLT I just bought with the driver's door that does not lock. Inside lock lever, key lock and electric locks all actuate the locking mechanism on the assembly (or appear to). I figured it was something wrong inside the mechanism itself so I bought and replaced the old one. Exact same problem!!. I am flummoxed. Thoughts are: is Perhaps there something slightly jamming the locking mechanism (i.e., one of the 3 rods perhaps put of adjustment) so that it does not fully lock? Could the door ajar sensor in any way keep it from locking? Any ideas appreciated.

 

[swshawaii]

Drivers POWER lock doesn't work but manual locking does? Did you replace the door latch held with
three screws? Do you hear the actuator motor making noise? If not, you may have a common broken wire(s) near the door hinge.

 

[staggart]

I found it and Sherlock Holmes assisted

OK, this was a weird one. First, swshawaii, thanks for the ideas - ALL locking and unlocking mechanisms worked but the outside door handle would always open door. How is that possible? Through a long series of trails and error, I figured out that previous owner had replaced the three locking mechanism mount screws (you could tell because they were rusty and had slightly different heads but I did not pay attention to this until much later). If you look at the lock mech, two holes go all the way through but one does not. It turns out that replacement screws were about two threads too long and would affect the inner working of the lock mech! By backing out one of the mounting screws two threads, everything worked! What is important to note here is that with the bad screw all the way in, all the control arms, etc. still APPEARED to function correctly - they would move to their limits, etc. The long screw simply bound up the mech internally & subtly. The only way I figured this out was that when I tested the mech out of the car it would work but when mounted it did not. It had to be something with how it was mounted - perhaps binding or bending or the screw being too long!! Anyway, this was clearly out of the norm since the lock mech itself was not at fault and those screws should have never been installed in the first place.

 

[swshawaii]

Glad you nailed it, never heard that one before. I've had my share of door lock issues. Two front latches and three actuators in two years. Latches were removed so many times some of the stock #3 Philips head screws were so stripped they almost needed to be drilled out. Found metric stainless flat head socket screws the same thread and length so it won't happen again. Keeping door latches and lock cylinders clean and properly lubed will help prevent future issues.

stainless flat head socket screws - Google Search

 

[staggart]

Torx Screw Heads

The screw heads on my door lock mech are torx, not Phillips. That's true on all doors, not just the one that had the problem. If I were to replace I would always prefer torx to Phillips.