98 door locks

[adoyal]

burned out the motor for the power door lock on the driver's side, it's stuck in the locked position. can't open the door to take off the panel and swap it.
any ideas?

 

[Opera House]

Doubt it is the motor

if the door handles don't open it. If it were me, I'd be drilling a 3 inch hole from the outside. I would rather do body work than pay for a door panel and the paint is basic black that is easy to match. Frankly there isn't much that is easy to get at from the inside anyway. I would imagine that it is possible to remove the panel from inside. Pull out then up. Removing the seat might help.

 

[A Wise Guy]

It almost doesn't make sence that the motor is holding the lock in the locked position. The linkages should be able to move regardless of the motor, that's how the key in the door works. As for drilling a hole in the door skin I think I would rather destroy the door panel then intentionally add a big a$$ hole and body filler to my ride. Not to mention the lasty time I saw someone that thought a Ranger was basic black and painted a door it didn't match. There was actually alot of brown in that black Ranger.

 

[adoyal]

OK- I got the door open, thanks to a coat hanger and a lot of patience.
I disconnected the power to the motor to keep the automatic locking timer from engaging everytime I start the truck. However, there must be something wrong with the linkage physically, because the key won't turn all the way, and the outside handle seems to have no effect on the latch whatsoever. The only way to open the door now is from the inside handle, I still can't seem to get it to stay unlocked.
Please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TPLYNCH]

Have you removed the door panel and taken a look at the insides yet? The door handle workings do break....

 

[adoyal]

yes, I'm driving around with the door panel off now just in case I get into a situation where I can't open the door again. I can unlock it manually ( by hand) but not with the key or the outside door handle.

 

[sk1er17]

did you ever get this fixed? im having the same problem. i have my inside door panel off and i know exactly where i have to stick my hand to get my door to unlock... its just a PITA and dont know how im gonna fix it yet....

 

[X24]

I have to grab the door lock button and pull up at the same time I hit the power unlock button. I have a broken spring in my door latch.

When you press the power door lock/unlock button, does it make the door lock actuator pop up and down? If the actuator doesnt move and you need a new one send me a PM. I have one that I bought because I thought that was my problem but it turned out to be the latch.

 

[sk1er17]

mines not the actuator. Something came loose inside. When my doors locked, pressing unlock doesnt work, the outside and inside handle both dont work. After taking my door apart and examining it i couldnt find anything that looked physically wrong but everything feels loose inside. Theres one mechanism where when i lift it up with my hand, the door will unlock/open without a problem.

 

[TAS98xlt]

This must be common in the 98's. The mechanism inside my door was broken and I couldn't open the door at all. Ford fixed it but I'm not telling for how much. :frustrate

 

[sk1er17]

more than $300?

should i just buy a new door?

 

[TAS98xlt]

Originally posted by sk1er17
more than $300?

should i just buy a new door?

Yup, I got reamed really good but I had to get it fixed. I was tired of climbing in/out the p-side when I was on a date. You could pick up the parts and fix it youself. I think the parts cost $114.

 

[X24]

Sounds like your door latch. There's a very small spring that breaks. You can see it without taking your panel off. Compare it to your passengers side and you might be able to see what I'm talking about. On the passengers side you will see where the spring connects to part of the latch you can see. If its missing on the drivers side then thats your problem. Just look for something very, very thin.

 

[Rob_B]

I had the latch go bad in my 98 as well. Not to really piss TAS98xlt off, but I had my latch replaced at my Ford dealership for ~$70. I knew the spring in the latch had broken and I took the broken part out. The latch itself is about $35 according to the reciept, I would have replaced it myself but I have big hands, no patience and didn't want to tear my door apart in my apt. parking lot.

 

[TAS98xlt]

yah, I knew it was way too much when they told me. They really kill you on the labor.

 

[KLUTZ]

Hummm. Well, mine is also a 98, and the problem I have is that the auto lock does not work on the drivers door. The one on the passenger door closes and opens all but the drivers door. When I use the key to open the drivers door, I turn it to the left, then to the right, all the locks open for all the doors. I have to physically lock and unlock the drivers door lock.
Could this be this spring that others are speaking of? or somthing else broken.
It is really no big deal, (My wife's truck) but if I can fix it, I will.
Thanks

 

[X24]

So what your saying is that only the key will unlock your drivers door? If I remember correctly, the key is manually connected to the door latch so it would bypass the door lock actuator. All the electronic ways of locking and unlocking the door go thru the door lock actuator. When you press the unlock button, does it look like it wants to unlock the drivers door but doesnt. Do you hear the actuator in the door trying to work? If you do then that isnt the problem. Otherwise I would say that is a broken actuator and if you're interested I have one that I can sell you. Try taking the door panel off and look at the actuator (about 7" long covered by a black rubber boot near the bottom of the door). Try hitting the unlock button and see if anything moves even the slightest bit. You can even pop the actuator out of the mounting bracket with a screw driver and disconnect it from the linkage and try hitting the button to see it if will work then.

 

[KLUTZ]

Exactly. I have to use the key to open the drivers door. When I push the lock button either open or closed, there is no sound at all.
I have the weekend off, so if it is above -20 I will remove the panel and take a look. I will keep the actuator you have in mind though, thanks.

 

[bigdaddykarl]

Similar problem, rear door, need advice.

Alright, I have a 97 EB, with the automatic lock feature (strange feature, sometimes it locks right as I throw her in drive, sometimes not until I'm doing about 20mph or so, but this is all irrelevant). The locks all function normally except for the driver's side rear door. It is stuck in the locked position, and I can't pull up the knob, the handle won't override the lock, but when I press the power unlock button, the knob tries to move. I've tried a combination of pulling on the knob while pressing the button to no avail.

What now?

Is it possible to pull off a rear door panel while the door is shut? What might a dealer charge me to fix this thing?

Darn lucky it's not a front door...

Thanks in advance, guys and gals.

 

[mjbach]

Don't know for sure. If you can get the back seat out of the way you might be able to climb in there and see about the inside panel clearance. I watched him today when he ripped the inside panel off a door at the junk yard. It kind of slid up, but that was with the door wide open. Not certain how tight the panel pushes against the door frame when it's locked shut.