Dave , picked up that part today and went to install it , not the problem . ( There are a couple springs in that latch )
It seems there is some type of electric ( plastic) switch w / lever on the end of the key lock mechanism , which is broken / lever missing and the rod is just loose . This rod is attached to the rod for the door handle . I'll ry again tommorrow . Thanks for the part # and I'll take a pic if I get it fixed . I fixed the same problem on my pax door of my truck , and it took a while in the parts dept to find the # .
i have a 01 ford explorer sport the drivers side door handle is loose and the lock sometimes pops up with the key pad but if not i have to open it from the inside handle i dont know if i should replace the whole actuator or what some one please help
Hello-I found a broken spring hanging in my drivers side door latch.The power lock is now inoperatable,my question is can I buy just the spring or do I have to buy the whole latch-?I'm new here and can't find the answer,also will door need to be disassembled to install the spring-/Thanks Dave
Dave had the same problem with my 98 eddie baurer explorer. I pissed around for about the last 6 months spraying wd40 and what not on it around it in it! my symptoms were first electrical seemed not to unlock then with a little help on the handle while pushing the button it would work then it got to where that did not help and then i broke the damn door handle.. got a new one and broke that one 2 days later ... got another one and then also got a new acutator that was a bear had to drill out the rivet and after 1 hour or so and an extra set of hands got it back together. still would not unlock seemed jammed up. then i too noticed a little spring in the bottom of the door. after alot of real up close looking and comparing to the passenger door it seems this spring indeed keeps up pressure on the lock throw inside the lock itself the spring hooks around a T shaped hook you can see this by looking in the lock recieving end you dont need to unscrew or dabble with anything it just takes patience. what i did was dissasemble the door cover to get to the inside and I took a new spring and unwound about 5 inches and straightened it then curved it slightly this is for threading it up through the top of the lock housing you will see a small hole in the top of the housing toward the inside of the door pass the spring from the latch side at the striker up through the hole clamp it with a small set vise grips. now leave about 6 coils of spring and straighten the other end that is dangling in the latch about 1 inch and put a tight curve on it this end is tricky and takes some doing but what you wanna do in short is to hook this end on the T bar i mentioned earlier once you get her hooked correctly then pull up on the inside till it lifts the rod and pull good tension on the spring and bend the spring to lock it on top of the housing and clip of the extra. this worked for me took about 2 hours and a little trial and error with the spring. make sure your spring is stout enough but small enough not obstruct the latch striker when mounted correctly you wont see the spring coils anymore just the hook end. sorry for being such a long winded post good luck!
Dave had the same problem with my 98 eddie baurer explorer. I pissed around for about the last 6 months spraying wd40 and what not on it around it in it! my symptoms were first electrical seemed not to unlock then with a little help on the handle while pushing the button it would work then it got to where that did not help and then i broke the damn door handle.. got a new one and broke that one 2 days later ... got another one and then also got a new acutator that was a bear had to drill out the rivet and after 1 hour or so and an extra set of hands got it back together. still would not unlock seemed jammed up. then i too noticed a little spring in the bottom of the door. after alot of real up close looking and comparing to the passenger door it seems this spring indeed keeps up pressure on the lock throw inside the lock itself the spring hooks around a T shaped hook you can see this by looking in the lock recieving end you dont need to unscrew or dabble with anything it just takes patience. what i did was dissasemble the door cover to get to the inside and I took a new spring and unwound about 5 inches and straightened it then curved it slightly this is for threading it up through the top of the lock housing you will see a small hole in the top of the housing toward the inside of the door pass the spring from the latch side at the striker up through the hole clamp it with a small set vise grips. now leave about 6 coils of spring and straighten the other end that is dangling in the latch about 1 inch and put a tight curve on it this end is tricky and takes some doing but what you wanna do in short is to hook this end on the T bar i mentioned earlier once you get her hooked correctly then pull up on the inside till it lifts the rod and pull good tension on the spring and bend the spring to lock it on top of the housing and clip of the extra. this worked for me took about 2 hours and a little trial and error with the spring. make sure your spring is stout enough but small enough not obstruct the latch striker when mounted correctly you wont see the spring coils anymore just the hook end. sorry for being such a long winded post good luck!
What type of spring did you use and where can I buy it? (Home Depot, Lowes?)
Rich-Ford part # for the drivers side door latch-2001 ford explorer sport is-
6L5Z*7821813*C---list price-$39.87+$43.31 w/tax-Good Luck-Dave
Good thread DAB,
A question about my 2001. My issue with the drivers door is that my exterior handle has no return spring tension. The outside door handle just flops around. The effect of this is that when I'm in the truck and try to get out by pulling up on the interior handle, the door will frequently not open - sort of like the actual latching mechanism isn't letting go of the stud on the body panel. I'll have to kind of lean into the door with my shoulder to get it open.
Does this sound like the same issue that's addressed in this thread? Need to replace that whole part mechanism in your quote above?
Thanks,
CMOS
__________________
2001 Sport-Trac, 2WD, 4.0, 5R55E Auto, 4.10 gearing
"Faith in Government defies both history and reason."
I fixed this by putting a spring in a different location. The spring you mention in the locking mechanism breaks at the "J" on the end. It's internal of the locking mechanism so there's no way to access it without removing the latch. Instead, pull door panel off and look up at the rod connected to the back of the door handle. You may need to remove the window guide channel in order to see this.( Only held in with one bolt). The base of this rod threads into a small yellow connecting block. Push upward on this rod, now while holding it up, try your door locks. If it works, now you know what you need to do. That rod has to be kept in a constant upward position in order for the remote locks to work. Get a spring and connect it to that rod then connect the other end of the spring to anything that will keep the rod suspended upward towards the door handle. Just make sure it isn't going to come in contact with any moving parts. This serves the same purpose as the broken latch spring, but you're just putting it in a different location. I was able to reuse the broken latch spring and just bent a new "J" at the broken end. IIRC I connected the spring somewhere behind the yellow plastic rod connector, and to a small hole in the corner of the latch housing. Free fix!! Has been working great for a year now.
My door lock have always worked on that door. It's the door release mechanism that seems to be the problem.
Is this the same fix as you mentioned?
CMOS
The fix I described is for the remote door lock operation. Symptoms are: all other doors, with the exception of the driver's door, will open normally with the remote transmitter or the door panel switch. Also, I couldn't unlock the driver's door with the key.
You may just have something binding in the latch "catches" or some mis-alignment issues with the striking post. Have you tried some good 'ol spray white lithium grease? Are your door hinges in good shape or is the door sagging? Open the door then lift up on the door from the bottom. Any worn hinges will be felt by excessive movement. I think the striker post can be adjusted a little to compensate for the door sag?? Not sure about your model.
I fixed this by putting a spring in a different location. The spring you mention in the locking mechanism breaks at the "J" on the end. It's internal of the locking mechanism so there's no way to access it without removing the latch. Instead, pull door panel off and look up at the rod connected to the back of the door handle. You may need to remove the window guide channel in order to see this.( Only held in with one bolt). The base of this rod threads into a small yellow connecting block. Push upward on this rod, now while holding it up, try your door locks. If it works, now you know what you need to do. That rod has to be kept in a constant upward position in order for the remote locks to work. Get a spring and connect it to that rod then connect the other end of the spring to anything that will keep the rod suspended upward towards the door handle. Just make sure it isn't going to come in contact with any moving parts. This serves the same purpose as the broken latch spring, but you're just putting it in a different location. I was able to reuse the broken latch spring and just bent a new "J" at the broken end. IIRC I connected the spring somewhere behind the yellow plastic rod connector, and to a small hole in the corner of the latch housing. Free fix!! Has been working great for a year now.
--Lizard
I know nothing about springs. I was hoping the other poster could point me in the right direction but, since he didn't answer and you fixed the exact same problem, perhaps you can. Is there a particular spring I'm looking for (size, strength) and where can I pick one up?
So I went down to the hardware store today and started browsing springs. It's nice that they've got such a great supply except for the fact that I don't know which one I need. Unfortunately the spring that used to in the latch assembly is gone so I've got nothing to compare to.
So far 2 people have said that they've put new springs in successfully but aren't mentioning any details about size or anything. Perhaps someone could post a part #?
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