Help,
I got an actuator for my 2000 F-150 and took the door apart to change it. I got the door handle rod off, and the inside manual lock rod off, but i could not remove the key lock rod or get any fruther on the change. I put it back together and am now seeking advise as to how to finish this project. Has anyone done this before? any help would be appreciated.
Nelson

 

Is it the newer style that locks into the latch assembly or the older style with the actuator rod about 4 inches long?

The one that mounts directly to the latch does not require removal of the latch at all. All you have to do is take the bolt out of the window run to get more room to work with, move the run out of your way, unplug the actuator and remove the harness attaching clip, and pop the actuator off the latch. You can do that rather easily by using a small flat tip screw driver and insert it in the narrow slot in the latch, placed up against the actuator lock pawl, and give it a couple good pops on the end of the screw driver toward the outer door panel. Once it pops off, you simply replace it with the new one, aligning the upper and lower grooves of the actuator with the mating lips on the latch. Slide the actuator onto the latch, ensuring it has attached at both top and bottom and ensuring that the actualtor lever slips into the control rod lever. Ensure it is fully seated and plug the wiring back in, reinstall the window run and bolt. Test operation before reinstalling the door panel.

 

It is attached to the latch.
Thanks for the info, I will go give it a try.
Nelson

 

I know it's an old post, but I thought I'd bring it back to life. I have the passenger side actuator on it's way to me for my '99. I pulled the door apart and it looks like it's the one on the latch. I found a door from a 97 expo in the garbage, but the actuator is different. So I hope it's the type mentioned by you guys in this thread. Anybody have step by step pictures of this job? It seems to be a very common repair.

Thanks

Bryan

 

I bought the actuator and pulled the door apart but could not fit my fingers in to swap it out. I then got the above directions as to how to do the job, but just have'nt got around to trying it yet. The key still works fine!!!

 

Hey i just replaced both actuators on my 2000. I got alot of info from this posting.

http://www.fordtrucks.com/forums/sho...hreadid=108311

I ended up buying my actuators from the dealer they were about $35 to $40 for each one.

 

Hi ffmbiggs and welcome to the forum

Did you find replacing the actuators quite easy or quite hard to do? Did you just pop them off with a screwdriver?

 

I just finished with my passenger side. All went exaclty as HomerWinslow said. It was pretty easy and took me about 20-30 minutes, until this....

My problem now is that the door lock still does not go down far enough to actually lock the door. I tried it with the door panel on and off. So it's not hanging up on the panel. I noticed about an 1/8th of an inch of play between when the actuator arm pushes the lock down. I am wondering if the plastic piece that the actuator arm goes into is worn out. It looks like it's part of the latch. Right? I have that Expy door out of a 97. I'll have to take a good look at that.

I need to get some torx sockets to investigate further.

It's better than before though. The old actuator arm fell out of the unit once I got it out. I guess that's why it didn't work, huh?

Couple of notes.
1) An obvious one, the metal edge on the inside of the door is sharp! It will, and did, cut the skin. Use caution!

2)I had to pull down a little on the window run to get it to move out of place. It pushed back up where it belongs nicely.

3)Once you have the window run in place, lower your window slowly. Mine was a little bound up. I just loosened that bolt and it lined up perfectly. It also bound the lock up itself, since the run was out of place and pushing on the actuator too much.

Bryan

Edit: I bought mine at www.fordpartsonline.com for about $40 delivered in two days. My local dealership said it would take 2-3 weeks to get one in and it was $45 + tax/SH. I live in a smaller town and one guy owns almost all of the dealerships here. To get to the next decent Ford dealership, I'd have to drive an hour each way.

 

Yeah racerguy the first one I had alot of trouble just trying to figure out what was attached to what. The one thing that seemed to help was after you unplug the actuator take a flat head screw driver and pry the actuator away from the rest of the mecanism. The hardest part is prying the actuator away from where it clips. I used a short flathead screw driver. The only thing i can say is look at the new one to see where you need to pry at. The one thing that i did i don't know if it helped much but i ran a string through the top of the actuator so that it wouldn't fall to the bottom of the door. Probley not a big deal but i did it anyway. It helped alot when i went to put the new one back in. When i went to put the new one back on it seemed to work better if you found the grooves for the top and bottom and slid it from the outside to the inside with a little bit of force tell it snapped into place.

I hope this helps. Just to let you know i'm no seasoned mechanic at all. If i can figure it out then anybody should be able to.

 

Thanks for the tips