question about power door lock actuators

flyinghi3 · Jun 2, 2004

my door lock on my passenger side has been giving me problems lately. i always use my alarm remote to lock and unlock my doors. sometimes i'm unable to lock the passenger side door. if i lock the doors using my remote, i can lock my driver side door but the other side stays open. i cant even push the lock down with my hand and my key will not turn the lock either. but after a while it will start working again. i took the the door panel off to take a look at it, but of course it works when i was trying to see whats wrong. when i was looking at it, now my key turns freely but its not attach to the door lock actuator.
my question is how hard is it to replace the actuator, and how do you hook the rod that connects to the lock back to the actuator. has anyone replaced theres before?

thanks

jrichker · Jun 2, 2004

Follow this link to fix your door lock actuator problems http://jrichker.stangnet.com/Mustang_tech/door_actuator_fix/1_of_8_door_actuator.htm

Stuck with door lock actuators that don't work and don't want to pay the $50+ for a new one? Tried the junkyard ones and found that they last six months and freeze up?

A new actuator for less than $4. Fix one side for $17, do both sides for only $23. I don't sell parts, I don’t make any money off of the upgrade, I just tell you how to do it cheaply and easily.

ECU5.0 · Jun 2, 2004

beat me too it...i was just lookin for that article...ive got it saved under my favorites

flyinghi3 · Jun 2, 2004

just read that article. the actuator just pops out. theres nothing it bolts to to hold it in place? am i correct.

jrichker · Jun 2, 2004

You are correct, a bit of prying pops it out.

flyinghi3 · Jun 2, 2004

thanks for your help. i'm going to look at it again tomorrow.

hotpony · Jun 2, 2004

the actuator rivets into the door itself. Following this link will require you to fabricate some sort of mounting system for it to be held in place.. Check with 5.0 restoration parts, www.50resto.com to get the actuators and do it right the first time, why would you want to rig your vehicle up? Don't be cheap, do it right and ONCE. 3.85, how good of an actuator can that possibly be..

flyinghi3 · Jun 2, 2004

HotPony i'm a little confused. your saying that the actuator is rivited to the side of the door? just for argument sake if i was to get a new one from 5.0 restore would i have to rivit it back to the door. i looked in mustang unlimited just to get a better look at it from the picture and its hard to tell how it would connect. so your saying it bolts in, sort of?.

HISSIN50 · Jun 3, 2004

what Hotpony means (i think): the bracket that the actuator sits in is riveted to the door.

the bracket is actually held in place with a snap ring. the whole assembly comes off w/o drilling any rivets.

for you, Flyin: look at the actuator. there are two rubber grommets that hold the actuator in the bracket. carefully pry the actuator out (the arms on the bracket are C-shaped). be very careful if you have plastic brackets.

Hotpony, i respectfully disagree with you. i went out of my way to use another style of actuator, as the OEM units are prone to a short life span. the actuator from P.E. works very well, and is every bit the quality of others, IMHO (i have done the retrofit, and i feel that Jrichker's opinion on this [his] retrofit and the parts used are the normal top notch stuff from him).

we know that expensive dealer parts are not always better than cheaper alternatives.

just my two cents worth.
good luck, Flyin.

jrichker · Jun 3, 2004

HotPony said:
the actuator rivets into the door itself. Following this link will require you to fabricate some sort of mounting system for it to be held in place.. Check with 5.0 restoration parts, www.50resto.com to get the actuators and do it right the first time, why would you want to rig your vehicle up? Don't be cheap, do it right and ONCE. 3.85, how good of an actuator can that possibly be..

One little kid says to the other little kid... "My door lock actuator fix can beat up your door lock actuator fix".

Read the article carefully and you will find that you are mistaken. I use the stock Ford actuator brackets to mount the replacement actuators. The only time it is necessary to remove the actuator mount is when plastic mounts come as standard equipment instead of the metal ones.

As far as durablity, mine have been in service for over 3 years without a hit of trouble. The car is my daily driver, and I wish that everything else worked as good as the door lock actuators.

hotpony · Jun 3, 2004

Well, I guess I'm biast because I work for a Ford Dealership, I get parts at around cost so the actuator assembly (and yes it comes with a bracket) isn't a big deal. I do believe in some aftermarket parts and equipment is better then OEM, but when you're paying junk prices, you usually get junk, just an observation. If you purchase a Ford OEM actuator it comes with the bracket though, if you pop it out of that bracket, well that's your own decision, I guess you corner cutters like to do things like that. It may weaken the bracket though and cause it to "pop out" when the actuator is trying to unlock your door, so more power to you if you got it to work correctly the first time. It's like those fuel injector clips, when you take those off and the clip breaks, what do you do, zip tie it on? Or do you replace it with another clip. You be the judge.

I'm not fighting with anyone, I just think giving this guy different opinions is important, and being a Ford tech and having been schooled at a Ford certified facility has made me think to use the parts made for the vehicle.

shorty1993 · Jun 3, 2004

ok i did not know anything of this alternitive (ghetto) method. which ever you want to call it. so i found a good deal on factory locks on ebay. they appear that they are going to be a pain. any advice or tips when i go to put these back on. i have the old ones off. and left the bracket rivited to the door.

89lxsport50 · Jun 3, 2004

When I replaced mine, I found that the old actuator had fallen out of the bracket and was just laying there inside the door. The bracket looked fine, so I flipped it upside down and installed a new Ford unit. I don't think it will fall out again.

Ourobos · Jun 3, 2004

It's not a ghetto method. I bought 2 actuators for $10 each. You simply drill the stock actuator rivets out. Then the 'universal' actuator has to have 2 holes drilled on the inner door panel, instead of the door sill side mount. It is a better install than the factory IMHO. Mine snap like mad when I hit the button. It took me about 30 minutes on the first one, since I had never done it, removing the panel and all, and the second took about 15 minutes. Can't go wrong with them. If you need help/places to get them cheap, email me.

Brandon
ourobos@insightbb.com

shorty1993 · Jun 4, 2004

just for the record i wasnt bashing the method, just seemed there was some controversy over its function. just trying to be politically correct for everyone. my factorys are on the way, so i am stuck. i tried to get the one back in after i removed and had no luck for like 15 minutes. is there a trick to it.

banditmwp · Jun 4, 2004

shorty1993 said:
just for the record i wasnt bashing the method, just seemed there was some controversy over its function. just trying to be politically correct for everyone. my factorys are on the way, so i am stuck. i tried to get the one back in after i removed and had no luck for like 15 minutes. is there a trick to it.

I had to unscrew the rod about 2" out of the actuator to give me enough room to be able to wiggle the bend into the lock rod. that's the only tip I can give, only took me about 10 mins from the time I got the rivet drilled out till I was putting the door panel back on

flyinghi3 · Jun 4, 2004

i just got done playing with the actuator again. well it seems to be working now. i'm not going to change it untill it finally stops working completly. but how do i hook the rod that connects to the key door lock back up to the actuator. the rod has a little bend in it at the end(factory made bend). is that bend in the rod supossed to connect to the actuator. i'm thinking that theres is suposed to be a clip of some type that holds the rod to the actuator, and maybe it feel off . if i have to, i'll take my drivers side door panel off to stare and compare, but before i do that i'll just you guys first.
thanks

shorty1993 · Jun 5, 2004

mine had no clip. i am confused on why you would drill out the rivet. or is that just if not replacing back with stock parts. is the aftermarket method less of a hassle to install or about the same.

HISSIN50 · Jun 5, 2004

shorty1993 said:
mine had no clip. i am confused on why you would drill out the rivet. or is that just if not replacing back with stock parts. is the aftermarket method less of a hassle to install or about the same.

i too, dont know about the rivet thing. i always finagle the actuator out of the bracket... the bracket comes out also, w/o touching the rivet.

i suppose a stock replacement is the easiest. i like the aftermarket ones. if you consider your time vs the cost of the OEM ones (purchased new), i think it is a wash. i have more faith in the aftermarket ones. should one fail, it will be an easy job to swap a new aftermarket actuator in. just my two cents worth.

2012 Mustang GT · Jun 5, 2004

I know this dont apply to the actuator but i was wondering if anyone could help me with the door lock. My driver side lock will not open with the key, the key will go in but it will not turn my dad tried using graphite on it and it still will not work i was wondering if anyone else knows something i could do to fix it. at first it wasnt a very big deal but it is starting to be a very big deal

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