Problems with unlocking driver door

[TeamXPLO]

Hey everyone,
I've been having a problem lately....My driver side door lock only unlocks when it wants to. Usually I have to crawl in through the passenger side and pull on the handle a few times before it unlocks. Sometimes, though, it does unlock right away.

Anyone run into this problem before? My roomate thinks it might be a loose wire somewhere because it does unlock eventually.

Any ideas, PLEASE let me know...This is very annoying.

Thanks in advance,
-Lloyd

 

[MO_GUY]

my guess is the accuator is going bad

 

[Scormunch]

I have that same problem. It only seems to happen with the cold weather... I can't unlock it manually with the key or with the remote unlock. I took the door apart and nothing looks broken, so I'm stuck. Oh the looks I get when I'm bent over at school reaching my arm through for the inside handle...

 

[TeamXPLO]

My key doesn't work either...

That's weird, cause my key doesn't work to unlock manually either...I wonder if that means that it's the lock assembly itself rather than the actuator?

Anyone?

 

[Scormunch]

I really don't know... I've lived with it for a while now, and no one I've talked to had an idea easier than replacing the whole assembly and hoping that fixed the problem... when I had the door apart it didn't look like I could oil anything

 

[jgilbs]

check that the catch isnt rusted shut or something. it wouldnt hurt to flood it in WD40 and see if that cures anything

 

[X24]

I have the same problem and picked up an actuator today. It was 90 bucks Looks like its gonna be a pain to install. I'm going out to install it now. I'll come back in a few days when I'm done installing it and tell you how it went.

 

[X24]

Well, I'm not sure why Ford told me it would take them 2 hours to install it for me. The only reason it took me 2 hours was because the parts guy gave me the wrong part and I had to go back and get the right one. Turns out this isnt my problem anyway. I think its a problem with the latch assembly. Oh well.

 

[reichhartkg]

Maybe they know their parts guy and were expecting him to screw up when they told you it would take 2 hours.

This isn't entirely on-topic here, but...

Both of the handles on the outside to open the back doors are kinda hard and now the driver's door is starting to do it. You have to pull up on one side of the latch and sometimes feel like the handle is going to break before it lets me in. Has anyone else seen this? Can I adjust something or do I need to replace parts? I haven't really looked at it, but I figured that as long as we're farting around in the doors today...

 

[anothergoatherd]

I had the same problem with my 97 sport. I found a thread in here there said I should use wd-40 and spray the latch. I did that and havent had the problem since. I live in Alaska and was having the problem when it got cold. I sprayed the latch this spring and it hasnt gotten cold since so im not sure if the reason im not having the problem any more is because of the wd-40 or because of the warm weather. I guess i'll find out this fall.

 

[twomedicine]

Similar Problem with door

Howdy sports fans, I think I am having similar problems with the driver's door as you and I'll tell you what I found after nit picking obsevations.

Mine went bad while camping in the Bighorns the past 3weeks and I was hoping it was a broken rod retainer clip in the lock assy. Now that I am up here in E Glacier and have a garage I took the panel off and found nothing really out of order, but my key wouldn't unlock the latch but the power feature worked fine.

I finally found the latch assyt the job of putting one in made me ask for an appt at the Ford dealer in Cutbank. Looks like a real cluster-xxxx of a job

hope this might help you out\\

twomedicine

 

[X24]

Yeah, I bought the latch a few weeks ago but I've been too scared to try to put it in. All those rods and stuff that need to be connected and the area is very tight. I think I'm gonna make an appointment as well.

 

[twomedicine]

finish

Boy, that's very strange that my post was not complete as I wrote more about my findings:

The latch assy has a spring, if looking into the latch where it is to receive the striker bolt, that is supposed to hold a metal tab out of the way when the key is used so the rest of the stuff can move to lock or unlock the door via key.

Try looking into the receiver of the latch of your good door, the passenger side, to see if any differences are perhaps attrib. causes to your malfunction

Ford-parts network can send a latch assy to you for around $30. Not much money, but the task of putting one in doesn't look inviting with all the rods and keepers

 

[twomedicine]

actuator

Asking X24 a question about the actuator replacement if he looks at this:

I am guessing you had to drill out the rivet holding the actuator to the door metal. What did you replace the rivet with? Another rivet and grommet, or was a good old stove bolt and nut used?

And did you encounter any problems separating the actuator rod (bent like a U at the top) from the latch retaining grommet/hole?

I think if the latch is replaced the actuator would have to be removed for access, and perhaps the window channel unbolted too.

I may do the replacement myself, but living 100 mile round trip from parts might make it a stupid move

 

[X24]

The rivit isnt holding the actuator in. It's holding a clip that the actuator snaps into. I just popped the actuator out and put the new one in. I wish I had done a little more reading on here because that wasnt my problem and now I have a $90 part sitting on my desk (for sale if anyone wants it). It wasnt very hard to get the rod out of the latch, but it was just a PITA because of the tight working area. I know a ford mechanic who said he would do the job for me and that when he does them he usually removes the window channel for easier access.

The little spring is what broke on my latch, too.

 

[twomedicine]

snaps in

Thanks for the info, I am going out to see if my actuator snaps in and out too. I would have been drilling out that rivit since my Haynes Manual is kind of cryptic in that area of replacement/repair.

That tail end of the window channel does look as though it would be a major barrier to progress regarding the latch replacement

You might try ebay for selling that actuator. All of mine are good otherwise I'd be your buyer

Still I am not ruling out doing the job since it might not be as bad as it looks once certain parts are out of the way....but yes it is extremely tight and hard to see. I guess if all fails, duct taping the door shut for driving over to the dealer to bail me out of my miserable job would be the worst case scenario

 

[twomedicine]

good news for latch replacement

For X24:

Good news is that if you take the window channel/track out the job looks like an easy job with maybe a few minor problems en route.

There is a cap bolt that took a 7/16 socket holding the tail of the track firmly to the door. It's accessed from the outside, not the inside of the door. The threads are within the bracket, so losing a nut is impossible. Then the track is only friction fit near the sill (top) where the internal track within the opening takes over. Simply pulling it downwards removes that track completely.

My only problem is that I don't see how the actuator "snaps" in to place. I applied a fairly good amount of force with my hand pulling and nothing happened. Does the bracket come along with the actuator when you say it snaps out? Or does the unit separate from the bracket? Maybe on mine I'll have to drill out that rivet, but I cannot see why yours would differ.

I boldly ordered that latch at Fordpartsnetwork.com tonight now that it looks like a cake walk of a job////

 

[X24]

The bracket is silver color and the actuator has that rubber boot over the whole thing. Just put a screw driver between the bracket and the actuator to pry the bracket away from it. It's not that easy to do, but it's easier than drilling the rivet out and trying to rivet it back in.

 

[rollinstone]

I don't know if this helps, but I've got auto door locks and everytime I shut the driver side door, it locks all the doors. I looked into the latch ass'y with a flashlight and noticed that a very small, thin spring that holds the latch pin (you know, the thing you used to be able to snag with a coat hanger) up has rusted and broken off. Ford dealer tells me $150 for parts and then I have to tear thru the moisture seal to get at everything.

I guess that's why I have a remote!

r.s.

 

[twomedicine]

latch assy problem

r.s. & x24:

Thanks for your input. I am waiting on the latch assy from fordpartsnetwork.com It only cost $32 w/shipping. Hopefully it will be here Thursday eve (8/14).

I think that little spring you speak of is the one that sheared off in my assy, it's about the thickness of a mechanical pencil lead. And yes the watershield has to be peeled back for accessing the assy. And it's hard to say what other parts that Ford dealer needed to replace on yours. It almost sounds like something else is wrong with your system since you say that all doors lock just because you shut the driver's door, like the central control mechanism, and maybe that's why the more expensive parts est..

My remote works fine too for unlocking the door, but the key does not. I'd rather have everything working the way it's supposed to since the linkage from the lock cylinder on mine is dangling loose and once in a while it would jamb/catch on other parts when on its way up during power actuatuation.

The other night I found out that the actuator does separate from the bracket as X24 stated. I didn't do it just yet, but pins are holding the actuator within that bracket, one on each side. I think I can easily expand the bracket ears outward thus freeing the pins from their "bushings" and then drop the actuator to an angle whereby the linkage can be dropped.

Hopefully by Fri-Sat, depending on the arrival of the correct part, I will post my success and remaining steps of the completed job. Then you should be able to "cook-book" your repair work too///