geez, ive looked everywhere! does anyone know where i can find a power door lock actuator for the trunk of my 93 explorer? the dealer wants almost a hundred bucks!

 

A number of years ago, when I owned a station wagon (whose manufacturer shall remain nameless because it wasn't a Ford), I needed to put power door locks on all four doors as well as the hatch (I had two small kids at the time). The dealer wanted some outrageous price for the door solenoids and the installation labor (well over $1,000, as I recall).

I went to a local junk yard and got five solenoids from various junkers that had power locks. I took the inside panel off each of my doors and back hatch, figured out how to mount the solenoid in each, and how to fabricate & attach the plunger (armature) of each solenoid to the existing latch mechanism inside the door. Once I had the parts, it took me just one Saturday to do all five locks. I purchased regular momentary pushbutton switches from Radio Shack and mounted them on the dash.

As I recall, the whole installation for all five doors (including the pushbuttons & wire) cost me less that $50 at the time.

Doing just your trunk lock should be a piece of cake, and not cost more than about $15.00. Get the solenoid from the junkyard, tear into the door and figure out how the manual lock latches shut, build an adapter to attach to the solenoid, install a pushbutton on the dash, and string the cable to the back. Just a lot of futzin' around routing the wire from the dash to the back under the carpet or thru the headliner, and other mundane work - but it's not rocket science.

BTW, when I sold my wagon I removed the solenoids and still have them in my basement. Who knows ... I might just need them again someday!

 

I had a sticking passenger door actuator on a 94. I was able to revive it by removing it, drilling out the 4 corners where it looks like the two halves have been glued or melted together, removing the little electric motor (looks like a cheap hobby motor). I then put the contacts on a 12v battery and let the motor run. I was guessing there were "flat spots" in the motor somehow. I reassembled the actuator using a ty-rap and reinstalled the actuator. 6 months with no problems....yet. It was worth the effort.

Hope this helps

 

thanx dudes, ill try these suggestions be4 shelling out a 100$!