need help fast !

[chrisy]

I have owned my 98 sport since new. It has a few modifications, and my pregnant wife drives it every day.
The problom is that a few days ago the driver side door lock started not unlocking. even when you pull the inside door handle the door still wont open !, not safe for a pregnant lady or anybody else for that matter!, especially if in an accedent!. my question is has anyone else had this problom? is the power actuator going week ? is there any broken springs or linkage bushings that could be bad ?I hope someone else has had this problom and can help me out. we drive this every day and it makes it really hard for my wife to get in and out. thanks

 

[Robb]

First off, WELCOME!!!

You may want to go ahead and remove the door interior panel (you would need to remove it to do any repairs anyway), and see if there is anything that looks out of place or something obvious that isn't moving when it should.

 

[410Fortune]

I agree the answer is behind the door panel......
Not too hard to do if you just go slow and be careful

 

[JDraper]

A likely problem is that the actuator rod has become disconnected from either the handle or the latch. As mentioned above, you can pull the door panel off to access it. IF I remember correctly, there are two screws in the arm rest, one screw at the top of the inside handle, and one screw up by where the mirror is.

 

[chrisy]

broken door lock

I pulled the door panel off and checked out the whole operation. the locking assembly worked once in a while when I was playing with it. the actuator seemed like it didnt have enough power to work the asembly sometime. I was wondering since my explorer has 115K miles on it that if the whole door latching assembly might have worn and the wear was creating hang ups or jaming. its tuff to tell becouse everything looks good and I have no way to tell if the actuator is week.
Does anyone know where I can get a new actuator and how much they might cost? Iwant to thank everyone for their help and I hope to become a positive addition to this group/ forum.... Thanks!!!

 

[Tin*Knocker]

I think I would try replacing the switch first.

 

[Robb]

Originally posted by Tin*Knocker
I think I would try replacing the switch first.

I will second that. If it works "hit and miss", then the switch is probably just dirty or needs a little tweeking.

 

[chrisy]

locking problem

do you mean the unlock button on the door panel or the actuator switch that actually moves the locking mechanism. when I hit the unlock button all the other locks work fine its just the drivers door that dont work. If I pull repeatedly on the inside handle while hitting the unlock button repeatedly the door will ocasionally unlock. weird Huh,?? .Thanks again,

 

[net_shark512]

I don't know if they use the same actuators but I had one do this in my mustang. It slowly just stopped working sometime it worked sometime it didn't. It got to the point that it seized up so bad you couldn't even use the key to move the lock anymore. I replaced the actuator and all is good now. It did have like a rubber boot around it to protect it from water. The boot was all ripped for some reason I suspect water got in there over time and seized it. It was a 92 mustang. I am also new to explorers. So far I love it. ALso the one in the stang was a pain in the butt to get out and back in they are pop riveted in.HTH

 

[SHISVX]

i had power locks in my old car that use to seize up on me to the point where the key wouldn't turn it. i took the door apart and sprayed lube on the lock mechanism, and that worked for me.

Kelli