****In my best infomercial voice I can muster up****

Out of all the cool things and modifications I have done to my truck, this has to be my favorite so far. It is so simple, but allows for the truck to be used for its intended purpose.

Since buying the truck 2 years ago I have had to deal with the rear doors (suicide doors) not working at all, then somewhat working, then working for short periods. This is because of the cheap pieces of plastic that Ford used on the cable mounts in order to pull/actuate the cable when pulling on the handle.

When I bought the truck neither door worked. I then rigged the cables up with zip ties and routed them in a way that they had enough tension on the cables to work. I have had the passenger door apart twice, and the drivers side door apart 4 or 5 times.

Ford wants roughly $100-$150 to fix these cables and I have found a fix for $20 for BOTH doors. But wait, there is more...

I installed the fix on my drivers side suicide door last night and the cables mounted very securely and now open with a solid handle pull feeling. They are probably working better now than they did 16 years ago. I am not quite sure why this is my favorite mod. Maybe because it would haunt me each time I would go to open the rear doors. Maybe because I was tired of taking the door panels off. Maybe because I each time I thought I had fixed it, then failure would strike again at an inopportune time.

NO MORE! WE WON'T STAND FOR IT ANYMORE!

Anyway, here is the kit for a single door.

Ford F Series Ext Cab Rear Door Latch Cable Repair F150 F250 F350 4pcs Kit | eBay

Here is a kit for both doors.

Ford F150 F250 F350 Truck Door Handle Cable Ends Repair Kit 8 Ends | eBay

I had originally only bought the kit for the single door (4 piece kit), but was very impressed with the quality and how well they worked that this morning I ordered another kit for the passenger door. The passenger door has been working since I fixed it the second time over a year ago. Although, I am confident that it will break again in the future so I may as well fix it now while I have the time.

There are 3 of the same pieces and 1 piece that has a cam end on it for each door. The cam piece fits in the top latch of the door, you will see what I mean when you get in there. There are 3 T27 torx screws holding each of the latches in at the top and bottom. Then pop rivets holding the cable end in to the handle brackets. It took me about an hour to replace the drivers side door cables and will be about half of that for the passenger side.

I did have to use a dremel tool to reduce the thickness of the hard rubber coating of the cable in order for it to fit all the way into the billet holder, again you will see what I mean when you get there. I would suggest mounting the latch side each time first and then the handle side of the cable.

Here is a video on how they work.

 

Yes, these kits work extremely well. I replaced mine on my 2002 Ford F-150 and recorded the entire process as I couldn't find any really great videos that showed the removal/installation process.
There is also a website that helps with many of the model years this problem affects. Http://forddoorlatchcablerepairkit.com.

Check it out if you want a detailed fix .

 

Cool! Awesome willingness to share from fellow members for the benefit of the group!