Front door lock actuator

[BrianX128]

So, front passenger door lock finally died. It was always a bit behind the other three for some reason to the point where you'd have to hold the button down for three seconds to get it to move. That door is full of pb blaster at this point.

No life no more. Tested both wires going to it with my handy dandy fog light test light and both the lock and unlock wires still have power too so definitely the little motor.

So first, it is this thing right https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-746-147-Door-Lock-Actuators/dp/B000IZ2Y06

And secondly, I already ground the rivet out and unplugged the connector, I even ground a rectangle where the little vents are at in the metal at the side of the door where there's three rows of them horizontally so I can get my hand in there. So, how do I correctly take off the threaded screw area from the top of the actuator that is dead to be able to hook up the new one when I get one in?

Thanks! Always something but this looks way less miserable then when I thought I had a dead rear door one and just had a stuck manual lock rod. And this one is way cheaper then when I thought my back one was dead, I forget how much it was but it was way crazier then 30$..

 

[icanfixall]

Well thats a sticky wicked question.... That pain in the ass actuator just unclips at the top by a yellow odd looking clip. then remove it from the door. On the oem models to remove that arm from the motor you need to remove a speed washer nut that is pressed on the shaft. Then that small metal cap is removed but caution first. Make sure you do this on a bench and on a shop rag. Under the cap is 3 of the smallest ball bearings you have every worked with. They fit the spiral ground shaft and are the drive that allows the shaft to go up and down when the motor runs. I have replaced mine several times and now I just get them at any walkin wrecking yard. Once you know how they are removed from the doors it becomes an easy job. Once I even left the bracket in the door but installing the new motor was hell.

 

[BrianX128]

So leave everything in tact and take the long extender rod off up top somewhere not near the actuator? That might be all I have to do then cause I feel like that one I got from Amazon has the metal pieces with it to clip in up there so I may not have to disassemble the broken one at all (fingers crossed)..

 

[BrianX128]

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I feel like the smartest stupid person ever tonight.

So, the Amazon actuator I linked was awesome but it's so assembled that I couldn't figure out where to go as the threaded part is on there with an adapter on the top to put one of the included extension pieces on too.

Since I am impatient, I mangled the old broken one to where all I was left with was the hanging rod from the door lock area. Then I cut that part right above the threads. Then I put the tallest extension piece on the new one from right above its threaded area. I then had both rods right beside each other and just needed a way to mold them together so the actuator didn't pivot and spin the new rod. How do you do that? Random piece of metal in the garage, a metal hose clamp, and both the rod from the actuator and the rod from the lock system all smushed together. Doors work perfectly.

Makes me wonder if my back door that doesn't always participate snappy with the rest ever goes if I won't just get another front 30$ actuator and use the extension and redneck clamp method versus dealing with whatever expensive mess I've heard the back doors entail.

 

[towcat]

Makes me wonder if my back door that doesn't always participate snappy with the rest ever goes if I won't just get another front 30$ actuator and use the extension and redneck clamp method versus dealing with whatever expensive mess I've heard the back doors entail.

back door issues are a whole other nightmare.
usually involves the linkage rods or bellcrank getting sticky and that causes it's own nightmares.

 

[yARIC008]

To do it properly you basically have to remove the entire door latch to get the rod out of the latch mechanism. If i had seen sooner I would have told you to get the motorcraft solenoid, it comes with the proper replacement stuff and is quieter than the aftermarket stuff, but too bad. Looks like you got it working.

It's all very tricky to work on as you can barely see the stuff and can barley touch it too. For mine i found some tools that make it easier to work on, it's probably different from van to truck though. My first door i replaced the latch and solenoid took me like 4-5 hours, after i learned how to do it all, the next one took 20 minutes.