This is a cross post from my build thread to make rekeying more searchable. I couldn't find a thread on it anywhere. My build is here if you wanna see more po-boy fixes.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ld-thread.html





You can either buy new door locks online (ebay) if yours are broken or you can get them from a salvage yard. Either way they'll work with your key by the end of this thread (if you do the work that is, reading it alone is not guaranteed to fix your locks! )


So.....I mentioned before that when I picked up Skippy I had an igno-second experience. An igno-second is that last second where you feel panic as you shut the car door, realizing your keys are still in the ignition.

In my case I realized I hadn't checked the door locks to see if they worked when I shut the locked door. Of course they did NOT work. That's why we were in the rain waiting for AAA to come rescue us forever .












So here's the fix for that. The key would go into the lock, but wouldn't turn. The lock would pull up and down and the handle would open/unlock from inside, so nothing seemed wrong with that. Actually one of the locks was hard to push up and down, but that loosened up after a few pushes. I knew I'd have to pull the locks and see what the hangup was.


To remove the door lock you have to start with the inside panel. Actually you could just cut the door handle off but that wouldn't be as neat when I tried to put it back together.

First you grab the front of the door arm rest and just rip it up. It pops right off.







Next do the same for this portion up by the mirror.











There's two little courtesy lights on the bottom of the door. Mine are missing, but you can pop them out with a screwdriver if you have them. Under that there's a little bolt. It's probably metric, but I used a 9/32 socket.











There's another one in the handle, same size.











The door handles were puzzling. I looked for a keeper on the back of them but they didn't have anything. Finally I figured out they had a cover on them that pops off and just twists out of the way. Use a flathead screwdriver on just the edge of it and the cover will pop loose.













Then inside there's a 7/32 star. Just insert and unscrew, then it pulls off with a little tug. The Redhead came home early from school to help so I let her take over here while I worked on the other side. Due to the dent things didn't line up right.













Then just ARRGH on the door panel, lifting up and it'll come free.











There's a plastic shield thingy behind the panel. Peel it from the top corner down to the bottom where the edge cover (black) is screwed on. Be careful where the plastic hits the door lock plunger up by the window. Also be careful down by the edge cover, it'll tear there too.

 

With the barrier pulled back you should just be able to get to a 11mm bolt in the door here. Take it out.











Then go all the way through the door through this hole with three small extensions or one large one. There's an 11mm nut on the back side of the handle that you can just barely see if you move the big black bar that you just unbolted from the bottom. You might have to push on it a bit to get it out of the way so you can see the nut.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP THE NUT IN THE DOOR CAVITY!











Now on the outside of the door there's a rubber plug you have to pull out.











Under that plug is the final 11mm nut. Take it off too, taking care not to drop it in the door cavity.











Now the door handle pulls away just a bit.











There's two rods held on by plastic connectors inside the handle. The first one is just pressure pressed in a clip.











You can pry it open with a good screwdriver but we used a pair of snap-ring pliers to press the sides open and slide the rod out.











The second rod is a pain to get loose. You have to open the clip holding it on by the bottom of the clip, not the top. So go in through the side of the handle to make it easier. None of it is easy.
And watch yourself. That door metal will slice you right open.














Once it's out the handle just falls off. Here's a picture of the rod we just freed. Why should you care? Because notice this dust ring mark on the rod. That's where the clamp was before you monkeyed with it. If you don't put it back in the exact same spot YOUR DOOR LOCKS WONT WORK AFTER THE DOOR IS CLOSED, EVEN THOUGH THEY TEST OUT OK WHEN OPEN!!!











Now take a screwdriver and pop off the retaining ring thingy where the door lock is











It just pops out after that. Notice that the lock has a bar that points to the bottom bolt in the handle. Gotta keep things oriented when you put 'em back in!











Carry that little lock piece to your wife's favorite countertop, preferably one that stains easily. Use a screwdriver to pop off the surrounding aluminum or soft metal cover. If you bought new locks, pry the cover off that instead.











It may take some prying. Go all around it prying bit by bit. Don't worry about bending it a little, you can bend it back when you put it back on. The thing to watch for is tearing. It will shear if you're not too careful. Then it pops off.

 

Flip the lock over and look where the key goes in. That's a little door you need to GENTLY pry out.












There's a fat little spring under there too. Take that out and set it someplace safe. Springs like to fly away.











Flip the cylinder over again and look at the back. There's a keeper back there. Pry it off gently with a screwdriver. The thing it's attached to breaks EASILY. Be CAREFUL.












If you're using the old locks clean them up with alkee hall (rubbing alcohol).












Pull off the bar that runs the locks and set it somewhere safe.












Put the cylinder down, face up and press. The surround should push down but go slowly. There's another spring and pin behind there.


















Here's a closeup of the pin with the spring behind it. Sometimes it pops out easily, other times it'll stay put pretty well. But now you know how it goes if it falls out.











Back to your cylinder, clean it up a little with alcohol then we'll pull the pins out.











The pins are really brass fins that are setup opposite each other. One pin on one side, flip it over and another pin on the other side, flip it again, and so on. You can push them from the opposite side if they're not wanting to pop up so you can grab them with a pair of pliers.











There's a spring on the side of each pin. Take that out too but don't bend it. It's sensitive.











Lay the first pin and spring down somewhere with a lot of room. You'll have six of these and you need room to lay them out like they came out so you can put them back in in the same place. Then flip the cylinder over and pull the next pin out, putting it opposite the first one after you clean it with alcohol too.









Keep on going for all 6 pins and springs, till they're all cleaned up. Clean up your cylinder too if you haven't done it already. Do the sleeve the cylinder goes back in too.











Now put them all back in the same way they came out. And stick your key in the keyhole. Notice when you do that some of the pins are NOT flat to the cylinder? Those are the problem. They're stopping the lock from turning!











Here you have two options. You can just take the ones out that are too high and toss them, leaving only a few pins to make your lock work. I don't like that idea so I fixed the pins. Take a file and run those tall pins down to flat. They're soft brass so they file down pretty easily. Be careful not to tear up your lock cylinder with the file!

 

So your tumbler was dirty and just needed a good cleaning basically right?

iPhone from IB AutoGroup

 

Once you get 'em filed down flat run your finger over them to make sure they're pretty close to smooth. The corners are the real important part. That's where the cylinder catches.











If you're pretty sure you got it, stick the cylinder back in the sleeve and put the key in it. Then make sure it's not upside down. It'll sink in the sleeve farther when the cylinder's right. Does it turn smoothly? If not, file on it some more. Don't forget to check the bottom pins too!











If it works, Good Job!


Now flip it over and put the bar and keeper back on. If your pin and spring fell out, put those in first though.












Flip it over again and put the spring in that goes under the little doorway.











Gently slip the doorway on again. It aligns where the pin for the door springs go in little slots in the cylinder. Don't force it!











Now for that stupid cover. It's weak metal so just grab a pair of pliers and press it back into shape. I bent mine a little more inward where it grabs the cylinder so it would hold tightly.













Then just press it on.











Tada! Perfect!

 

I guess so. I had to clean that nasty brass out of the way so the cylinder would spin


Seriously though I think I had three different locks on my truck. The pass side was WAY off, the driver's side you see here, was just about 1/8 inch off on two pins. Either way, she works now!

 

After that clean up all the mess you left on the wife's counter and run back outside.

Slip the lock back in the handle with the bar pointing to the bottom bolt, "like it's supposed ta do"....













Slip the keeper back on











And if you closed your doors, reach inside and PUSH DOWN on the plastic keeper that was tied to the bar in the handle, then pull the door open.











Set the handle assembly in the hole again.











Align the rod from the handle in the EXACT SAME POSITION AS IT CAME OUT in the plastic clamp, then go in the side like this and press it hard so it locks. If you can wiggle the door handle and it pops out, it wasn't clamped.











Snap the bottom crooked bar in the pressure clamp that looks like a lobster claw.











Then get that 11mm socket out and put a nut in it. Slowly feed it through and tighten it up on the handle.











Next move the bar inside and feed the bottom nut through.











Now have someone sit inside OR leave the other door unlocked. Lock the door you're working on and close it. Does the key still work? If not, you probably have the rod from the door handle too high in the plastic clasp. Take it all out and do it again. If you have fat hands this can get really frustrating.

If it all works then put the black rubber plug in the hole on the outside of the door, then reach through the hole above this bolt toward the bottom and hold the backing steady whileyou put the bolt in.











Almost there! Lift the panel up and press it toward the door so all the little hooks at the bottom and side catch. Keep an eye on the door lock button too because it has to poke up through.











Then put the window handle on and tighten it up with the 7/64 star bolt.











Put the bottom bolt in where the courtesy light goes and pop your courtesy light back on.











Finally slap that corner piece back on by the upper window and the front of the armrest. Then close the door. Give your new lock another try. If it still works, squirt a little white grease or WD-40 in the keyhole and you're done!

 

Nice write up!!! Thanks for the great photos and info!!!

 

Got ya, and reps for the hours it must have taken to you to upload each picture

iPhone from IB AutoGroup

 

Thank-you for all the work in presenting this fix. My passenger side door will be getting the treatment. And the counter tops are granite!

 

Get a small, plastic cutting board, so you don't have to scratch the counter/

 

Nice write up! Ford could not have done a better job!