How to: Door Lock Actuator Write-Up

[nssj2]

Hello all! Alright, this is my first write up, so be easy with the feedback. Real easy project for anyone. Tried to make this write up for ANYONE to understand. The door i took apart was the rear passenger, but the same procedure applies to all 4 doors. A lotta pics because i'm a visual person. Tools you need
-pannel puller/trim puller
-med. phillips
-large phillips
-needle nose pliars
-flat blade driver
-socket
-adhesive
-new actuator

1) Pry off trim around handle, then unscrew the two screws indicated by the arrows, then slide the armrest forward.

2) Unscrew the power window button, and release the two clips on either side.

3) Pop off the door panel. Ive turned the panel around and circled the trim pins, so you can have a reference where to pry. Lift up the panel, as it is in a groove. Might have to wiggle/encourage it.

4) Remove Speaker and watershield (white thing). DO NOT tear it. you will need to glue it back. left my speaker in cuz i had to pick up a part.

5) This is the actuator (red arrow). yellow arrows point to a wire (anti-theft) that will need to be unclipped.

6)Here is the where the actuator lies. The red circle is where the actuator clips into the lock mechanism.

7) Unhook actuator's electric clip. Unclip sides of actuator from its metal bracket (just pry).

8) Unscrew shown screws. You will need to be able to move the mechanism to get the right angle to work at.

9) The top of the actuator is held in by a yellow clip. you can try to unhook it or just get pissed off at it and cut the actuator like i did.

10) Installation is the opposite. Be patient. It takes a while to get the right angle to get the yellow clip at the top of the actuator back in. I slightly bent the circled part of the actuator flat to help get the clip in, and it helped a lot.

The angles you need to work at are tough, so be patient. Theres a hole to the top right of the door that you can look through to line up the clip. Let me know if you have questions about this or other inner door related things.

 

[Gator Jeff]

Great write up... having issues with my lock and this will definitely help.

 

[mdkarle]

Help

I have a bad actuator in the rear driver side door. I have noticed at the parts houses that the back door actuator is much more expensive. Why?? Is it that much different? Front door cost about $45.00 and the back cost about $65.00. I thought about the wrecking yard but I remember all to well on how hard it was to remove the old nonworking one. I have big hands and no room in the door for them. It was enough to make a grown man curse. I can only wonder how hard it will be to replace it with the new one. The rear door on the passenger side does not open from the outside. I found it has a broken yellow clip. I am about ready to send this Explorer to the junk heap.

 

[alohamonte]

trim puller

Can you post a picture of the trim puller tool that you used?

 

[MustangP51]

Good writeup, thanks.

 

[nssj2]

I have a bad actuator in the rear driver side door. I have noticed at the parts houses that the back door actuator is much more expensive. Why?? Is it that much different? Front door cost about $45.00 and the back cost about $65.00. I thought about the wrecking yard but I remember all to well on how hard it was to remove the old nonworking one. I have big hands and no room in the door for them. It was enough to make a grown man curse. I can only wonder how hard it will be to replace it with the new one. The rear door on the passenger side does not open from the outside. I found it has a broken yellow clip. I am about ready to send this Explorer to the junk heap.

the difference in the two is the size of the throw rod. you can get these on ebay for CHEAP. the yellow clip is available at autozone in an assorted pack for $3. room is tight, just found that ya gotta have patients. good luck, and sorry to hear about the explorer fighting you.

heres the tool

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the write up! Sometimes those 3 screws in # 8 could be very difficult to remove. An impact screwdriver (the type you hit with a hammer) is pretty much the only thing which could remove stubborn screws without stripping them.

 

[hpfiend]

I am assuming you drilled out the rivet for the actuator and had the 1/4" pop rivet to put the new one back?

 

[nssj2]

I am assuming you drilled out the rivet for the actuator and had the 1/4" pop rivet to put the new one back?

no. i just left the bracket on the door. there are 2 bumps on the actuator that clip into that bracket. just get a screwdiver and pry them apart. much eaiser then drilling and re-riviteting.


brooklyn-funny story. when i had my alarm installed, they pulled the door apart for a new sensor. when the reinstalled it, the screws were at damn near a 45 degree angle . cross threaded. which part of the reason i couldnt open my back door. it put the actuator at a bad angle and burned it out. re-tapped and lock-tited, and life is good!

 

[TheJackal]

Nice write up, definitely a good reference to have

 

[olraz]

My clips on my actuator broke off. This a yellwo threaded clip that is attached to the door handle to the door release... I'm having trouble finding them. Any one know where I can fined them?

 

[Hokie]

I had to do this on the driver's side front door on my '99 Sport and then the '98 Mounty. Definitely a crappy job ~ great write up

 

[hpfiend]

I replaced it before I read your response- I ended up drilling it out and replacing the rivet with a short stainless steel button head 1/4" x 20 bolt... worked great... but prying it out of the bracket would have been easier ;-)

 

[rpmerr]

Could you post the part number of the actuator and the price you paid for it?

 

[aldive]

Nice job; thanks for sharing.

 

[mattadams]

I replaced the drivers side front actuator and it is a lot more complicated because you have the key hole to deal with and also the thing that pops up to indicate it is locked or not, in addition to the handle... The hardest part of all was trying to remember which of the "posts" went to which "hole" and it was like yoga getting it all lined up right... should've taken some pics, great writeup!

 

[Silver X]

I replaced the drivers side front actuator and it is a lot more complicated because you have the key hole to deal with and also the thing that pops up to indicate it is locked or not, in addition to the handle... The hardest part of all was trying to remember which of the "posts" went to which "hole" and it was like yoga getting it all lined up right... should've taken some pics, great writeup!

When I had my driver's door apart, I forgot how everything went back together. Had to pull off the pass side door panel and use that side for reference.

 

[trp]

Thanks for the write up. It was a big help and I can appreciate the time it took. Thought I'd pass on my experience as well. I replaced the rear passenger side door actuator on my 1999 Explorer. Bought the part at Autozone for $72. It took me about 2 hrs. Found one on ebay for a bit cheaper but figured I'd just go with a local parts store. Kansas City area Ford dealer wanted around $92 for part and $162 labor. I removed the speaker but I think you could just leave it to save time and pull back the gray liner. I ended up replacing the part without removing the screws/ lock from the jam. I could tell right away there was no way I was going to remove those screws with the tools I had without stripping them out. I did not remove the yellow clip or the original actuator mounting bracket either. This meant there was no need to replace rivet or remove alarm wire (alarm wire is attached to bracket). The trick to getting this replaced with door lock in place was to remove the main body of the original part from the silver rod (had to pretty much tear it off with pliers and side cutters). It sucked but I was then able to get the rod out of the yellow clip. As for putting the new silver rod in, the replacement part was make to remove the silver rod. With that removed, I bent the top a bit and was then able to get it through the yellow clip. Again it was tough but it can be done. Once in, just snap the rod back into the actuator, mount into bracket, and snap wire back on. The adhesive on the gray liner was still sticky enough that I did not use any glue. I did add a few pieces of gray tape here there (figured what job is complete without a little duct tape anyway). Hope this helps. I will say as mentioned before, if you have really big hands this could be a tough job. This is especially true if you are not able to remove the screws and lock.

 

[sonet123]

Did you disconnect the battery befor you began work, or pop out any fuses?

 

[gmanpaint]

Does any one have any pictures (close ups) of removing the actuator with out removing the rivet?

Also, is the actuator bracket attached with the three screws in the door? I always thought they were for the lock mechanism that clasps onto the jamb post.