Passenger door wont unlock from outside.

The Green GT

No 13 year olds are safe around me.
10 Year Member
Jan 8, 2006
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Louisiana
Well, my friend who had the car before me locked his keys in once and got a sheriff to use a slim jim to get it open, but he broke the lock cable on the passnenger side. What all will I need to fix this and how hard is it?
 
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The Green GT said:
Well, my friend who had the car before me locked his keys in once and got a sheriff to use a slim jim to get it open, but he broke the lock cable on the passnenger side. What all will I need to fix this and how hard is it?
The sheriff probably broke the plastic clip that's attached to the lock itself. The only place I know of to get that plastic piece is at a junkyard. that's where I got mine.
 
I think Chythar is right on the money. Without that plastic cone, the linkage can pop out.

I kinda doubt the design changed from foxes to 5N95's, so perhaps a resto shop (LRS, et al) might have them too. If they do, it should be like a buck.

Really you could/should remove the panel first to see what gives, since you and we are just guessing. You could probably temporarily rig the linkage together if you are in there.
Good luck.
 
A lot of times, the clip that retains the rod is broken. Finding the clip is a PITA. A Ford dealership will likely have the part since the 04 door is identical and the assembly is the same.

Or, you can put the rod on the armature and bend the rod slightly so it can't come out. Worked well in the past on my cheby.
Scott
 
HISSIN50 said:
I think Chythar is right on the money. Without that plastic cone, the linkage can pop out.

I kinda doubt the design changed from foxes to 5N95's, so perhaps a resto shop (LRS, et al) might have them too. If they do, it should be like a buck.

Really you could/should remove the panel first to see what gives, since you and we are just guessing. You could probably temporarily rig the linkage together if you are in there.
Good luck.

Definitely right - I had to fix the exact same problem on my GT when I bought it. anyway, here's a photo of a pre-94 lock kit and it does NOT match the 94+ kit. At least, it doesn't match what's in my doors.

http://johnsmustang.com/Catalog/3011/

There's a two-piece retainer for the pre-94 kit, while ours have a single solid piece of plastic that the rod snaps into. This is the usual failure point, 'cause the plastic gets brittle over time.

You can buy a whole lock cylinder set to get the piece yuo need, but that'll be really expensive for one part.
 
Thanks for pointing out the lock retainer differences. My eyes are so bad I cant make out the plastic retainers in the pics. I thought the 94+ had the one piece like you said. But when I swapped them on my fox, I thought it was a one piece unit too.
I'm sure you are right - my memory is just bad. :bang:

Good idea from Scott with using the dealer (their mark-up should offset shipping. :D ).

Scott, I have rigged mine too. How about 'fine tuning' the door release by bending or straightening the long linkages a little. :rlaugh:
 
HISSIN50 said:
Thanks for pointing out the lock retainer differences. My eyes are so bad I cant make out the plastic retainers in the pics. I thought the 94+ had the one piece like you said. But when I swapped them on my fox, I thought it was a one piece unit too.
I'm sure you are right - my memory is just bad. :bang:

Good idea from Scott with using the dealer (their mark-up should offset shipping. :D ).

Scott, I have rigged mine too. How about 'fine tuning' the door release by bending or straightening the long linkages a little. :rlaugh:

Yeah, the dealer is the only likely solution of you can't find them at a junkyard. But you may have to buy the entire lock assembly which is total crap.

Another one would be to take a rotary tool and a thin grinding disc and make a groove along the entire circumfrence of the rod and get a circular clip that will stay in that groove. Done that before too.

I have bent the rods many times at work. Almost all compartment doors on a RV use the same system and sometimes they make the rods too long so they don't pull the tab far enough to release the door.
Scot
 
The Green GT said:
This wouldt happen to be the clip you guys are talking about huh? When I was doing the body work on my car I was at a Ford dealership and i was looking for for push clips and I saw a box that said something like "lock cable clips" so I grabbed a few.

Nope, that's not it. The one for our cars is one solid piece of plastic. One end looks the same as that one, but the other one is a curved hook that clips onto the lock cylinder itself.