Driver door will not lock or unlock

[J_C]

^ Yes I have. I even posted a picture (somewhere, lol) to make it easier for others to see how it goes in, in the big topic about this.

Since the forum has changed formats, I don't know if I'll be able to find that topic post or not, so I'll just post the pics again. It's bound to be much easier using either miniature needle nose pliers, or forceps. It took me approximately 10 minutes, but I can probably do it again in half that... just takes a little patience.

Grab the long straight portion of the spring with the tool, coil end up, the hook will just go up through the hole at the top, then once the top hook is in, put the bottom hook on the T-shaped piece going horizontal as shown in the pic where it turns from green to blue. You can see the bottom location of the spring on the other doors that it hasn't broken off of yet, at least on mine the driver's door was the first to go and at the time, none of the others had failed yet, but since then at least one other has.

To clarify, this can be done without removing the latch, just looking in with it mounted on the door. These pics are of the new motorcraft driver's door latch I pulled the replacement spring out of.

Edit: Some detail was lost on the above latch pics. Better images in the attached PDF:

 

[J_C]

Just sayin - I am amazed that in the 15 yrs I've owned my 2nd Gen. Ex., someone on Ebay (for instance) hasn't sourced and offered that one infamous spring...

We now return to our regular program -

A few years back, I contacted a spring company inquiring what it would cost to do a run of those and met some resistance, in that they wanted me to set up an account and they wanted far more specs than I had the ability to provide, but I pushed for a ballpark estimate and was told it could be about $250 for a run of 100 springs... which wouldn't be bad, but I'm not looking to sell springs on ebay long term, and since a lot of that is setup cost, I doubt the price would drop much to order fewer springs.

Page Not Found - Newcomb Spring Corp.

www.newcombspring.com

 

[Hacra]

Interesting, i think i will go and try to modify one of my springs to that, heck i think the old one could be bent to work...

Edit: These forums truely is a great community.

 

[fast_dave]

@Hacra & @J_C

SO, I had an epiphany, went on YouTube, and searched "how to make a spring" - I couldn't believe the number of videos on this subject.

Bottom line short version: It looks like all you need is the appropriate gauge of music wire, and something to wind it around...

Can it be this easy?!?!?!

[media]

 

[Hacra]

Didn't have time to do the spring fix today, probably not tomorrow either, but this is getting out of hand... and i like it.

 

[Mike65]

My wife's 99 Sport had the same floppy outside drivers side front door handle & when I replaced it I bolted the handle in. The pic is of the new handle, IIRC one of the coiled springswhere the handle pivots are the ones that break.

 

[Jimmy Sport]

I think there is a bit of confusion here. The latch is not riveted, but attached to the door with 3 screws. The external handle is riveted, and also has a problem with breaking springs. Unlike the spring inside the latch, those in the handle assembly are not critical, and when they fail the handle still works, although feels loose. A "ghetto" repair to the latter was posted on this forum a few years ago, using an external spring attached to the rod, to restore the tension provided by the torsion springs inside the handle assembly. I have not tried it and can't tell if it works -- the driver side handle on my truck has been floppy for years, but otherwise works perfectly, so I don't mind.

I agree. My 2000 Sport is black so the matte black replacement handle wasn't a big deal. The handle on my 2000 XLS broke and the replacement is matte black, but my truck is the Oxford White and 4 door. It would be very obvious if I put the black handle on.

As far as OP, it sounds like you have the same problem as [U]ducrnd.[/U]

 

[J_C]

@Hacra & @J_C

SO, I had an epiphany, went on YouTube, and searched "how to make a spring" - I couldn't believe the number of videos on this subject.

Bottom line short version: It looks like all you need is the appropriate gauge of music wire, and something to wind it around...

Can it be this easy?!?!?!

I looked at some spring making videos a few years back and was left wondering if I could make the coils tight enough and whether the tension would be right. I'd also looked around and found similar shaped springs for old mustangs and broncos but couldn't figure out if they were the same size. Can't recall where I saw those now, but here's one:

Ford Bronco Parts for Sale Aftermarket, New and Used

shop.broncograveyard.com

 

[56_F100]

Whatever rivets i can replace with bolts i will, i like the idea of being able to open part up again and replacing the whatever that is broken.

And fyi it will take around week for the parts to arrive, though sometimes fedex/rockauto has surprised me with REALLY fast delivery, so fast in fact that i didn't have time to prepare for the repair job.

A word of caution if you decide to replace rivets with rivets, which for the door HANDLE is almost a must. When 1/4" rivets "pop" the large tool that's required to set the rivets will likely go where ever it decides. This direction frequently includes traveling at a high rate of speed toward any painted surface. Old body man's trick.... Have a helper wrap the head of the tool in a large shop rag or towel and hold on. When the rivet pops, the head of the tool and your helper's hands are cushioned by the towel and the exterior paint is saved.

 

[Ron97756]

I have the same issue with my passenger door, but haven't tried to fix it yet. I found the following YouTube video. It is from the same supply company, but shows more details in the steps.


If anyone has followed these steps, I would appreciate your feedback on it. Thanks.

 

[J_C]

A word of caution if you decide to replace rivets with rivets, which for the door HANDLE is almost a must.

People have had success using regular fasteners. Based on some past topic about it, the desired size seems to be 1/4", though I forget the minimum length needed. Anyway I got some of the following, which are sold out now but similar button/truss style stainless are available elsewhere.

18-8 Stainless Steel Socket Cap Screw, Plain Finish, Button Head, Pin In Star Drive, 1/2" Length, 1/4"-20 Threads, Made in US (Pack of 10): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

18-8 Stainless Steel Socket Cap Screw, Plain Finish, Button Head, Pin In Star Drive, 1/2" Length, 1/4"-20 Threads, Made in US (Pack of 10): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

... though these are security torx and I happened to have that size bit already. I would've gone with internal hex from the hardware store otherwise, like these: Everbilt 1/4 in. x 5/8 in. Internal Hex Button-Head Cap Screws (2-Pack)-18358 - The Home Depot


I got nylon insert lock nuts for the back.

 

[fast_dave]

Ford Bronco Parts for Sale Aftermarket, New and Used

shop.broncograveyard.com

WOW @J_C that sure looks close, BUT being a picture - on it's own with no reference/comparison - you never know the true scale.

You'd have to order one and place it next to a used/broken example OR a new example from a new aftermarket latch, or go to a junkyard, pull a good latch to get and example of a good spring and compare to the Bronco Graveyard offering.

The plot thickens

 

[Hacra]

So, i made an attempt to reattach rebent spring (picture below), and failed miserably, there's no way to do it without removing the latching mechanism and i do not want to do that before i get the replacement part because i couldn't lock/shut the door properly.

As you can see i used the old spring and bent the snapped end to resemble hook with pliers, i have feeling this might work, i just need to figure out how to attach it.

(ps. i managed to lock the door by moving the latching mechanism by hand, now doors are actually locked)

Further investigation with my little ladylike hands revealed better image of the floppy rod part, below video.



The video gets cut kinda short, i will try to film better video when i actually start the project properly.

 

[J_C]

I don't know if a shorter spring will work, possibly but I can say that when I put mine in, there is no feeling like you are making progress in the attempt. You just keep at it, time ticking by very slowly, and suddenly feel that it went up through the hole at the top and caught on the other hole. That makes it seem impossible but then you get it and the bottom hook is much easier.

 

[Turdle]

Found and added this to the list of how to threads. In the exterior section

How to: - Remove and replace door latch assembly

Door latch removal and replacement. I encountered this common problem on my 98 explorer and could not find a good how-to online. The symptoms I was experiencing were problems unlocking the door. To unlock the door I had to work the interior door handle while hitting the power button to get...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[Brem95]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have a similar problem, the driver side door doesn't open periodically. Could this be a similar issue?

 

[fast_dave]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have a similar problem, the driver side door doesn't open periodically. Could this be a similar issue?

@Brem95

NO - you do not have this problem.

When this spring breaks, the door doesn't open - period.

The only way to open the door is to - from within the cabin - remove the interior panel from the door, and manually pull the door release rod REALLY HARD.

We now return to our regular programming

 

[Brem95]

Thanks @fast_dave! Do you know if my issues is a common one? Cool looks like we have pretty much the same vehicle!

 

[XLTrunner]

[QUOTE="When this spring breaks, the door doesn't open - period."

In all due respect, that's not always the case. I was having random problems with my door not opening because of the lock rod not extending/retracting fully. When I removed and inspected the latch, it was apparent the spring was broken causing things to bind inside. New latch and all is well.

BTW...all this talk about replacing that little spring when your latch has 20+ yrs of wear with dried out grease. Bite the bullet and just replace the latch so that everything moves freely as intended. Your door actuator will work with less effort as well.

 

[fast_dave]

@Brem95

Super common topic on the 2nd Gen Forum once these vehicles hit 7 - 8 years old; especially on the driver door since that gets 95% of the use.

BUT it's not limited to just our model as ALL of the 2nd Gen Explorers & Mountaineers use this design of door latch.

If you use the search feature for the forum as well as on Google and YouTube - you'll see it's very well documented.

And it all comes down to that one frickin' $0.50 spring...