Carefully remove 87-96 door latch
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From: Langhorne, PA
Carefully remove 87-96 door latch
There are three (3) flathead phillips head 12-24x3/4 inch screws holding the latch assembly onto my 1992 F150XLT non-powerlock doors. I am assuming that most 1987 to 1996 style trucks are set up the same way, and I am not an expert on body stuff.
My latch has needed work three times, and each time I removed the 3 screws I had a hard time removing them, due to threadlocker, and lousy tools. I ended up pushing too hard against the screwheads to achieve a little more bite when taking them out. This results in the sheetmetal of the edge of the door getting caved in, and that will cause a misalignment of the doorlatch to the body pin (the pin is what holds the door to the frame). If you do what I did, then you'll have to use a dent puller to bring the sheetmetal around the latch back to it's correct position.
Short story long.... use a high quality phillips head bit that fits the screw correctly or you will strip the head and distort the door edge. I don't think penetrating oil helps either, because of the thread sealer.
My latch has needed work three times, and each time I removed the 3 screws I had a hard time removing them, due to threadlocker, and lousy tools. I ended up pushing too hard against the screwheads to achieve a little more bite when taking them out. This results in the sheetmetal of the edge of the door getting caved in, and that will cause a misalignment of the doorlatch to the body pin (the pin is what holds the door to the frame). If you do what I did, then you'll have to use a dent puller to bring the sheetmetal around the latch back to it's correct position.
Short story long.... use a high quality phillips head bit that fits the screw correctly or you will strip the head and distort the door edge. I don't think penetrating oil helps either, because of the thread sealer.
