Buying an Explorer tonight!!

[ALEXplorer24]

So I look my door panel off to inspect the locking issue and I have found the culprit. The little plastic clip the holds the metal rod in place is busted. Time to order a new one!

 

[TwiztidRat]

Chiming in here just to say it's very common to have lock problems with the doors. Ford is the culprit, because of their design flaws allowing water to seep inside and seize em over time.

 

[ALEXplorer24]

Chiming in here just to say it's very common to have lock problems with the doors. Ford is the culprit, because of their design flaws allowing water to seep inside and seize em over time.

The lock actuators work just fine, the plastic clip was just busted. Since this is a Southern California Truck is hasn't been exposed to much rain, so hopefully seizing wont be an issue in the near future.

 

[ALEXplorer24]

regarding the rear wiper, there are many threads and solutions offered, but the real problem with the rear wiper (once the motor is working properly) is the motor mounting method and that the sheet metal of the lift-gate is too flimsy. the combination of the weak sheet metal, the rubber bushing mounting method and the pressure exerted by the wiper arm spring, cause the motor to be pushed to the left. if you stand behind your truck and look down at where the shaft protrudes from lift-gate, you'll notice that it pushed to the left of center. this left-shift causes the wiper arm to not contact the window in the middle of its sweep. grinding down the stops on the wiper arm helps, but the real solution would be to somehow brace the motor so it doesn't get pushed to the left. i've had some success by putting a spacer under the right-most motor mounting bolt, but at best i'd call it a 85% solution. i've also tried grinding down the wiper arm stops with about the same success. it's just a bad design. after playing with it on 4 different vehicles, i've decided to ignore it. if you come up with a better fix, please let us know.

Thanks for the info, I didnt realize that once you get the wiper working it still has issues haha. Im leaving it alone, We don't get tons of rain anyway!

 

[ALEXplorer24]

So today I tackled both my front driver and front passenger doors to get these locks back in working order

The issue with the Drivers door was the lock rod clip. Real easy fix, went to autozone and got a new clip, replaced the broken one, sprayed grease in the locking mechanism and any moving parts associated with the lock and it was as good as new!!

Now the issue with the Passenger side is the lock actuator works just fine, however its not mounted to the side of the door anymore, its floating free. Which enables the door to be unlocked but not locked.

Pics below show where the actuator is supposed to be mounted but not. I'm a little lost as to how to get this remounted.. Any thoughts?

I also was able to get the Code for my Number pad on the door and got that working too!!

Drivers Side (How its supposed to look)

Passenger (Broken mount)

P.S.
Is there a "Build" or "Project" Section I can post in and showcase my progress with this truck? I couldn't seem to find the right section to post in.

 

[bill06447]

Same thing happened to my passenger side lock. You will need to remove the actuator and drill out the broken rivet and nut and bolt it back in position. Be careful, plastic rod clips are brittle.

Bill

 

[1996BLKBauer]

I just used a grade 5 nut and bolt with washers to mount mine. You can actually take off the metal bracket to drill it out. It sort or just goes around the actuator.