let me start off by sayin i havnt used this site for a while now
probably 2 years
i had an f150 you guys all helped me out with alot
well now ive returned
tonight i just brought home a 96 explorer xlt all wheel drive v8
man does this thing move
paid 6000 canadian for it whitch i thought was an awsome deal
they all seem to run about 10000 and up where i live
anyways it has a few issues
first thing im starting on is the door locks
both back doors locking mechanism dont let you unlock or open the doors
i finally got the doors open and removed the door panels
seems the latch on the inside of the door is missing a spring or broken
i need to get that whole mechanism out to inspect it better and fix or replace it
anyone have any experience takign these out
i see a few pop rivet type things holding the actuator in place i know i need to replace one of those on the front door
any experience with these pop rivet things
also does the haynes manual go into very good detail on these tyoes of problems or should i go with a chiltons manual
either way i need a manual for this vehicle
thanks for any help you all can offer sorry this post is so long
hope i made some sence to you all

 

Are you saying that the back doors won't open at all, or won't open from the outside, or won't open from the inside? If they won't open from the inside, make sure the child proof lever is in the proper position. Another common problem when they won't open from the inside is that the inside handle/lever goes bad. It's an easy fix... pop the door panel and 2 or 3 screws and the handle is in your handle. You can get replacements from the dealer or ebay.

Mike

 

nope its not just the handle
its the actual door lock mechanism inside the door
it is worn and needs replacing
the lock mechanism wont move far enough to unlock

 

Hey Marragtop, I have the same problem with a back door on my 96 Explorer. The child locks are disengaged so thats not the problem, and I can open the door from the outside just fine. So are you saying that something is broken with the handle inside the panel? Can you give me a little more info?
Thanks,

 

until i read the reply from you RING85000 i thought that i was just nuckled head enough not to be able to disengage/engage child proof latch . Exact same thing on my 96 explorer WILL not open from inside no matter what. outside no problem to open! No one really drives in back so not a real major issue, but if its an easy fix then i would do it.
thanks in advance

 

Hey Williep,
Sure is good to hear from somebody on this forum. I was about to give up ever trying to get any reponses on here.

I agree, I dont ride in the back, but it sure would be nice to have that feature working in case I ever did ride back there. You know, this ought to be considered a safety issued when you really look at it. What if an Adult were riding back there and the car wrecked or turned over? A person could be trapped because of this. Given the propensity of Explorers to rollover, we may have a serious issue here. I have never seen any recalls or service bulletins on this have you?

 

Ring85000 and williep, you need to replace the inside door handles. They are available from Ford. Last ones I bought were about $19/each. You can probably find them cheaper online. To replace them, remove the interior door panel and a couple of screws hold them in. You also need to remove the rod that attaches to the handle. That's really all there is to it. First one takes about 20 minutes, subsequent replacements are more like 5 minutes.

Mason

 

Mason, Thank You so much. I will start looking around for the part today.

 

Hey, just checked at Advance. They got 'em, only $8.98.
Thanks Mason

 

i have the same problem but i can not open the door at all any suggestions?
at this point it is a serious safty issue as thier are children back their . the door will not unlock at all and the saflty lock is ingaged so you cant open it from the inside or the outside.

 

I can open mine from the outside and I disengaged the child saftey latch.
But Im not sure how you get it open if its stuck completely. You might have to take the panel off from the inside to get it open, then work on the mechanism. Sorry. I know thats no help.

 

Ive probably replaced 500 of the inside door handles.. the plastic pivots break on the inside. Pretty easy to replace.

 

I have same problem on 1998 EXP XLTdrivers door. I found a small extension spring, about 1 1/2 inches long sitting in the door latch assy. One end had a hook in it, and the other end had the hook broken off. Obviously, this little spring helps postion one of the pieces in the latch assy when the door is closed, and it helps in the unlocking motion, whether by key, power actuator and inside handle. Without this spring in place, you can just barely get enough force to unlock the door. Lubricating the assy helped, but it appears that little spring must be in place to eliminate the sticking unloc process. I tried to remove the latch assy last weekend, but gave up as I could not figure out how to get all those rods disconnected. I have seen a lot of posts stating to remove the door lock cyclinder and the power lock actuator, but I only need to removed the latch assy. Anyone out there know if you can remove the latch assy only, and leave the door lock cylnder an power door actuator installed. I don't want to drill out the rivet I am told holds the power lock assy in place. I had the latch assy completly loose inside the door, but could not see how to get the rods off. I have since read you need to remove the lower glass channel. This will give me a lot more access and visability. I will try it again this wekend. Note: a new latch assy at local Ford Dealer quoted me $54 for replacment. I really want to replace the unit myself, as Ford Dealer I am sure will have to charge $200-$300 or more. Note: I got a lot of good free info from Ed at Millenium Ford in Seattle Wash.

 

....one more note on the sticky door lock sydrome on 1996-2000? EXPLORERS. See my post in this string, on the the little spring breaking loose inside the door latch assy. With this spring missing, it puts extra pressure on any method used to ulock the door...the power lock actuator, the keyed lock cyclinder and the inside door handle assy ( the 3 ways to unlock the door). The inside door handle is hard plastic and the handle pushes the unlock rod via plastic gear teeth. If you don't eliminate the real problem (the latch assy), eventually, one of the teeth will break in the inside door handle assy. On my 1998 EXP XLT, when this happens, the handle will stick in the half way open position and it makes the inside door handle assy useless. Just replacing the inside door handle assy will help, but not cure the problem IF the latch assy is the real cause of the problem. You will have to climb out over the center console to passenger door to exit!
Good luck all!

 

Ive only seen the latch be a problem on the drivers door so far. All the other incidents have been the inner handles. But you are right about the drivers door latch being a high incidence of defectiveness over time and the #1 reason for problems with THAT door.