Hi Monsta,

Meaningful photos will be very difficult unless we have a member who has access to a scope like they use for knee surgery videos.

Ed

By the way, I just saw your location...lucky you...I'm stuck surfing these bumpy East Coast shore breaks, although I've been to Costa Rica three times

 

Just replaced three out of the four power lock actuators on my 99 super duty crew cab. It had 60k miles. They cost $50 each. The rear doors are easier than the front. It takes about half hour per door. Well the locks lock and unlock normally again. The new actuators are a little different than the old ones. They are smaller. Maybe they got rid of that tiny electric motor in the actuator that turns a bunch of worm gears to move the lever on the actuator. I think the motor is what gets weak.

It's not a fun job to do. If you need instructions let me know.

 

Well I didn't get to replacing these this weekend, but it has been killing me that I had them, and didn't have time to install them. So, I went out to the parking lot during my lunch hour today and got one of them changed (drivers side). It works great, I had a little trouble finding the grove to slide the new one on, but everything else when smoothly. The door panels must be lined with lead because I had a little trouble seeing through them However, I really do appreciate how easy it is to remove the door panels and periphrials. All in all it took me about 40+ minutes. But it was well worth it.

 

I tried to remove my driver door lock actuator last weekend. What a pain. I abandoned my effort after about an hour. Need help. Do you really just snap the old one off. How do you get the residual clip out of the slot. Drop me a line if you have any suggestions on how to get through this. I have both the driver and passenger front door locks malfunctioning on my 1999 F350 crewcab.

 

CB1,

It's really not that hard. You don't actually break the actuator you break the lock tang and it just falls off. The byword here is patience. As you have found it's very difficult when you can't see what you are doing. It is possible to release the lock with a long small screw driver inserted into the lock mechanism. The trick is seeing where to put it. You can do this with a mirror and a flashlight. If you don't have the patience like me then reach in and grab the actuator after completely disconnecting it and work it toward the front of the door and with a moderate amount of force the lock WILL break and the actuator will come out in your hand. If you wear gloves and do this carefully you'll get it out without cutting your hand to ribbons or breaking anything else. As I said in an earlier post the driver side is a little easier than the passanger side. It should take you about an hour to an hour and a half to do both sides. Don't sweat it you'll get it.
Good luck!

 

I dont understand why different dealers have different prices. I called 3 different dealers and got 3 different prices. I eventually got them both for like 35 and 40

 

well, my fathers '00 SD had 3 go out, and what a pain in the butt. He finally got them fixed, thats how i knew it was the darn actuators. I guess they have worked on the problem maybe, cause my '02 has 66,000 miles with no problems thus far. Glad yall got them fixed!

 

I am all smiles. Following your directions, I just finished changing the door lock actuators. The drivers door took a minute until I figured out how to snap off the lock tang. The passenger door was a snap, so to speak. Thanks for the great thread. Locks work like new. Off to the Yukon and Alaska on Sunday. Now I won't have to worry about being locked out of my truck. Thanks again.

 

This was a great thread guys, and I have the same problem on my 1990 F250HD 4X... One went out then the other went out 2 weeks later... and I hate reaching across the seat to lock the passenger door, lol.

I noticed you guys were talking about much newer trucks. Will the fix be about the same on my older truck? I'm wondering about finding the right parts though (13 year old truck)... Thanks...

 

I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Same problem here. 99 crew cab

Great info though!!!

 

Update!

I've ordered and received the new and improved actuators. Part numbers are:

Left, 3L3Z25218A43-AA
Right, 3L3Z25218A42-AA

Cost has also dropped from $55+ to $30-31 dollars from the online sources.

Regards,

Joe

 

Where are these online sources. In Canada, the dealer here wanted $103 for the old part and the new replacement part was $80. For $31, it would be cheaper to pay the exchange and shipping to bring one over the line. What is the current exhange, $.72 or $ .73 on the Canuck Buck. Boy I would definately recommend looking into that for any Canadians.

 

I purchased mine from Fordpartsonline.com. I've checked all the online sources I can find that allow online ordering, and they're usually the cheapest. If you go online be aware the price will show $57, but that's because the system still references the older version. They will ship the replacements at the new pricing. Total invoice for 4 units including shipping was $129.78.

Your dealer story mirrors mine here in Tucson. We have two dealers and the owners of each are related, hence we have little competition. A transmission shift cable for my X that broke was $47 list, I got it for $34, and my local dealer wanted $87!

Joe

 

Where can you buy Ford lock actuators for under $95 bucks each??
Email hhcomp6@yahoo.com
Thank You
Rick

 

I have a problem replacing the lock actuator on a 97 F-150 Drivers side. Can the actuator be removed and replaced without removing the bracket from the door?