edwx
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- July 4, 2006
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- City, State
- Jacksonville, FL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2020 Ford Explorer XLT
HOW TO REPLACE THE LATCH, ACTUATOR, AND DOOR AJAR SENSOR ON THE LEFT REAR DOOR OF AN '03 EXPLORER.
Only the simplest of tools will be needed: The latch is held in the door with 3torx screws and the door panel is held in place with 2 hex nut screws. I also used a very small screw driver to press/lift a couple of plastic tabs. A butter knife might also come in handy.
First, to remove the door panel, carefully pry (hence the butter knife) the door handle bezel off (see below photo). Then pry up on the front edge of the armrest switch control plate to detach it (see below photo). Then detach the electrical connector to the window switch.
Remove the 2 panel retaining screws; one is in the door handle area, and the other is at the lower edge of the panel. Then lift the panel off and peel back the watershield (see photo). Also visible in the photo are 3 things: 1) The the wiring harness to the actuator and door ajar sensor. 2) The metal connecting rod from the inside manual lock button to the locking mechanism on the latch. 3) The cable connecting the inside door handle to the latch.
The connecting rod (2 above) is attached to the latch with a clip. Reach in the door access hole, undo the clip and detach the rod from the latch. No need to detatch the cable (3 above) at this point. Also, reach in the access hole and disconnect the two(2) electrical connectors. One connector goes to the actuator and the other goes to the door ajar sensor. (If you don't feel comfortable disconnecting these connectors at this point you can wait until you take out the latch and then disconnect them.) Next, reach in and undo the clip (on the latch), and disconnect the rod that connects the outside door handle to the latch (see photo below.) The clip simply snaps onto the rod and it's fairly easy to unsnap.
Remove the three(3) torx latch retaining screws from the end of the door. The latch will practically fall out. Remove the latch and disconnect the cable (from 3 above) (and the electrical connectors, if you haven't already done so.) You should be holding the latch, with attached actuator and door ajar sensor, in your hand. The actuator slips off the latch by pressing up on a plastic tab on the actuator while at the same time pulling the actuator away from the latch. The below photo shows the latch and detatched actuator in my hand.
The door ajar sensor (with pink electrical connector in above photo) is removed by prying up gently on a small plastic tab on the latch. The word "tab" is written in very small letters directly on the black plastic tab itself. So, pry (hence the use of the very small flat head screw driver) up a little on the tab, while at the same time pulling the door ajar sensor out of the latch. You should be able to get the knack for removing the actuator and ajar sensor once you get the feel for the plastic tabs and how much prying/pressure you need to use. It's kind of trial and error thing, but if you take your time everything should go well. One thing to note: I needed to transfer one or two small detachable plastic pieces (you'll see what I mean) from the old latch, to the new latch. For some reason the new latch didn't come with them...no big deal. It took about a minute.
Nothing to do but put it all back together with the new part(s). I attached the actuator (bought from EF Vendor kbabiak (Karl))to the new latch (bought new from the dealer.) I reinstalled the old door ajar sensor (nothing wrong with it) to the new latch. Reattach the inside door handle cable and reconnect the two(2) electrical connectors. At this point I tested the actuator with the key fob and with the electric door lock switch. Assuming that it works....reinstall the latch in the door and fastened it to the door with the 3 screws. Reattach the 2 rods. Put back the watershield and reattach the door panel with the 2 hex screws. Reconnect the armrest control switch and attach the armrest and door handle bezel.
YOU'RE DONE!!
Only the simplest of tools will be needed: The latch is held in the door with 3torx screws and the door panel is held in place with 2 hex nut screws. I also used a very small screw driver to press/lift a couple of plastic tabs. A butter knife might also come in handy.
First, to remove the door panel, carefully pry (hence the butter knife) the door handle bezel off (see below photo). Then pry up on the front edge of the armrest switch control plate to detach it (see below photo). Then detach the electrical connector to the window switch.
Remove the 2 panel retaining screws; one is in the door handle area, and the other is at the lower edge of the panel. Then lift the panel off and peel back the watershield (see photo). Also visible in the photo are 3 things: 1) The the wiring harness to the actuator and door ajar sensor. 2) The metal connecting rod from the inside manual lock button to the locking mechanism on the latch. 3) The cable connecting the inside door handle to the latch.
The connecting rod (2 above) is attached to the latch with a clip. Reach in the door access hole, undo the clip and detach the rod from the latch. No need to detatch the cable (3 above) at this point. Also, reach in the access hole and disconnect the two(2) electrical connectors. One connector goes to the actuator and the other goes to the door ajar sensor. (If you don't feel comfortable disconnecting these connectors at this point you can wait until you take out the latch and then disconnect them.) Next, reach in and undo the clip (on the latch), and disconnect the rod that connects the outside door handle to the latch (see photo below.) The clip simply snaps onto the rod and it's fairly easy to unsnap.
Remove the three(3) torx latch retaining screws from the end of the door. The latch will practically fall out. Remove the latch and disconnect the cable (from 3 above) (and the electrical connectors, if you haven't already done so.) You should be holding the latch, with attached actuator and door ajar sensor, in your hand. The actuator slips off the latch by pressing up on a plastic tab on the actuator while at the same time pulling the actuator away from the latch. The below photo shows the latch and detatched actuator in my hand.
The door ajar sensor (with pink electrical connector in above photo) is removed by prying up gently on a small plastic tab on the latch. The word "tab" is written in very small letters directly on the black plastic tab itself. So, pry (hence the use of the very small flat head screw driver) up a little on the tab, while at the same time pulling the door ajar sensor out of the latch. You should be able to get the knack for removing the actuator and ajar sensor once you get the feel for the plastic tabs and how much prying/pressure you need to use. It's kind of trial and error thing, but if you take your time everything should go well. One thing to note: I needed to transfer one or two small detachable plastic pieces (you'll see what I mean) from the old latch, to the new latch. For some reason the new latch didn't come with them...no big deal. It took about a minute.
Nothing to do but put it all back together with the new part(s). I attached the actuator (bought from EF Vendor kbabiak (Karl))to the new latch (bought new from the dealer.) I reinstalled the old door ajar sensor (nothing wrong with it) to the new latch. Reattach the inside door handle cable and reconnect the two(2) electrical connectors. At this point I tested the actuator with the key fob and with the electric door lock switch. Assuming that it works....reinstall the latch in the door and fastened it to the door with the 3 screws. Reattach the 2 rods. Put back the watershield and reattach the door panel with the 2 hex screws. Reconnect the armrest control switch and attach the armrest and door handle bezel.
YOU'RE DONE!!
