Doors from hell!

[syn-]

ok sooo i bought me a 2-door 97 exploader.. and my doors and door locks take just about 5 min of fiddleling to get in the door.. my driver side door handle (outside door handle) has really no strength as in if you pull it up it has no stiffness to it.. basically like its been used and abused. how can fix my doors so i can get in like a normal person.. my fingers are beginning to develop calysts from the amount of back and forth just trying to get the damn door to open! HELP!

much appreciated,
syn-

 

[ARexplorer]

i had the same problem on my drivers door, i think its just the abuse of everyday use... i replaced the handle and the rest of the inside guts of the door hence my autolock broke on that door too.
other then just replaceing the handle.. not sure

 

[hunterdan]

I had similar issues. The spring on the handle of mine broke over a year ago, and then all of a sudden I couldnt get out. Had to pull the drivers seat out from the passengers side in order to pull the door panel out far enough to pop the lock. Ended up replacing the exterior door handle and the latch mechanism. Cost about $120 in parts from the dealer and about 4-5 hours worth of time. I also replaced the door lock post, the threaded piece of plastic that goes up and down ($10 from ford). If your lucky, you may only need to replace the handle, not very hard to do, just make sure you have a rivet gun that can do the job, or like I did, just get bolts and bolt it on, I used red locktite. The latch is more involved, but can be done.

Dan