just recently the driver side door lock decided to freeze up. the key will rotate to lock the door, but when turning it the other way, it does not make the full travel. i can see the plunger coming up about 1/8" but that's it. what's worst, i can no longer pull the interior door lever all the way. this usually unlocks the door automatically, but since even the door lever can't go all the way, the door does not fully unlock. power door lock does not unlock the driver side lock, but works for all other doors. any of you guys have this problem and what is causing all these? i've tried door lock anti freeze lubricant to no avail...

 

You may need to replace the lock. Not hard. I did mine a while back. If your're lucky you may be able to remove the old one and work it free of any accumulated corrosion or dirt. It may also be that your linkage is distorted and can be straightened. To remove the lock, you'll access it through a hole in the jamb edge of the door. Remove the rubber grommett opposite the lock. Slide the retaining clip off the cylinder then remove the linkage rods. Note where they connect. I put mine back on differently and the key locks and unlocks in the opposite directions from original. No big deal. You will also need to remove the interior door panel to see the cylinder and linkage and possibly make it easier to troubleshoot the exact problem.

 

i took a look at the door frame. but i can't seem to find a large opening to inspect the lock mechanism without having to remove the panel? its too cold outside to fiddle around . so i guess the door panel must come off in order to gain access to the mechanism?

 

The opening is there, directly opposite the lock cylinder. I don't think you can change or remove the cylinder without accessing the retaining clip through the hole in the side. Might be rectangular shape.(I don't recall shape and its snowing here now so I won't go out and look) If your lock works one way but only partially the other way, I'd focus on the linkages (cylinder obviously not frozen). Take off the interior panel and look see if the linkage is out of whack.

 

You may be able to bend the linkages without removing anything other than the door panel

 

thanks himthere! i'll take a look when the weather gets warmer. i'm hoping its just the linkage, it would be a relatively easy fix.

 

Finally remembered to look at the lock access in the door. Above and to the exterior side of the door latch is a rectangular verticle metal tab. This is the cover over the clip that holds the lock cylinder in place. Slide this cover up and off the clip. Pull the clip out and the cylinder comes free. Do what you have to to get it out. I don't recall exactally how I did mine, but if I could do it without assistance I'm sure you can.

 

thanks himthere! i found access you were talking about. will try this weekend to see what i can find wrong with it. but funny, the lock is working again... it was working like as if nothing was wrong with it yesterday... but today, it started to feel like its binding again. weird...

 

You probably have a distorted linkage rod or somehow some debris hanging on the cylinder. Still, the cylinder could have broken on the inside. Those teeth on your key push past spring loaded pins in the cylinder that could cause your symptoms if one is not functioning correctly. If there are no bent rods or debris evident, replace the cylinder. Whats one more key on the chain.

 

You may have a bad lock cylinder. Your keys teeth may be worn. The teeth of the key slide past spring loaded pins inside the cylinder which are supposed to match up with the spaces between the teeth. It can happen that one or more of the pins become dislodged from their proper alignment. This will cause the same effect as putting the wrong key in. The same can happen if the key is worn. Try a different key if available. If a different key gets the same results, then I'd replace the cylinder. The new cylinder will probably require a new key. (Should come with the cylinder). Or maybe a lock fixing store can do you one up using the key code for your vehicle.

 

I would take a good look at the power lock cylinder as well. I had one seize, and it was a bugger getting that door panel off with the door closed, I'll tell you. There is a bolt on the back edge of the door about 1/2way down the holds it's mounting bracket. I ended up removing it for the time being, which ended up being over a year now.

 

well, the lock is working again. i took out the cylinder as you said himthere. slide the clip out and the cylinder just falls out. placed a few drops of motor oil in there and worked it back and forth. worked like new again.

as for the power lock solenoid, the driver side stopped working for a while now. let alone both power windows stopped working too. sometimes it makes me wonder if the design of the aerostar was put together in a hurry without much thought into proper designs? i mean the powertrain is great, i have yet to have a major problem with it (with about 290000km on the clock now, and an 89 model). but the lower body is rusted out... sliding door problems like what you guys experienced... power window problems, power door lock problems, leaky rear hatch. i love the van to death, she's been very good to us. all these side problems can be fixed relatively easily (compared to the powertrain). it just annoys me that the ford engineers would pay such little respect and time to get the proper parts and design for the aerostar, or this could be the management team that insisted that this be put together quick. if they paid more attention to those areas, i think the aerostar would last much much longer and goes to show "Ford tuff".