Quick question all, in order to pull the little motor, do I remove the latch?? Looks like it, but want to be clear, it is my i8ntention to pull this at break, and fix it during lunch.

 

So, I got the door latch loose with a T27 bit, a 9/32 sockett gets the door cover off, my concern is the top of the latch that connects to the door handle, THe door handle side appears to need to be lifted and angled, the Latch side concerns me, I am not sure yet how to disconnect, and am not in the mood to break anything.

ANy thoughts??

 

I can't remember how I got them out, all I remember is it was a pain figuring out the first one. But here's a bump.

 

Thank you Sir!!

I found this though, so re posting for others!!

Found most of this information here, not sure how to link it properly. There are lots of photos to go with it. I did two of mine, directions were good. I zip-tied mine closed with some high quality zip-ties, but I did not drill out all of the rivets, only the ones near the electric motor end. Follow Green tab instructions at end instead. Good luck.


https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gall...&albumid=12198
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/28...ghlight=cuinak

This is a revamped door lock actuator replacement procedure of what I originally authored (back in May) with step by step instructions and new annotated thumbnail photos to go along with the instructions for replacing all five original Excursion actuators. Familiarity with this procedure and the step by step helpful annotated photo thumbnails I've loaded for you will result in a two hour install time for all five actuators. Most of the time required will be associated with the first actuator as part of the learning curve, and I recommend you start with a rear passenger door to begin your adventure. Print this page for reference and click on the CUINAK gallery to visually walk through the entire repair sequence.

For reference, the right side actuator (you'll need 2 for the two right side doors) is part #3L3Z-25218A42*AA, and the left side actuator (you'll need 3 for the two left side doors and for the rear lift gate) is part # #3L3Z-25218A43*AA. New door lock actuators over the Internet run about $37 a unit, excluding shipping. Save hundreds of dollars in excessive repair bills by doing this actuator replacement your self!

Step 1. Window up completely.

Step 2. Remove 2 hex screws from door panel. One located underneath the red/white reflector plate. A second hex screw is located underneath the power button plate which can be pried up nearest the mirrors and slid forward toward the mirrors for removal. Unplug the power button assembly connections. For the front doors, detach the inside plastic mirror cover (i.e., slightly pry then pull off).

Step 3. Unhinge door panel by lifting first upward clearing the height of the door **** then pulling outward toward your self. For front doors, detach the courtesy light wiring by rotating the connector.

Step 4. Peel back half of the self adhesive sheathing covering the metal door frame to gain access into the door frame itself. Begin peeling this covering on the side nearest the door lock latch locking mechanism located farthest out on the door frame. The peeled back sheathing can be taped onto the window to keep it up and out of the way.

Step 5. Locate the connector rod that moves when you raise or lower the door ****. Follow it to the lock mechanism located at the outer most point of the door and rotate the yellow plastic connector with your fingers to detach it from the metal rod. The yellow plastic connector swivels vertically to unclip, and the connector rod then just pulls free from the center of the yellow connector. If you are working on a rear passenger door, skip to Step 7.

Step 6. If your are working with the front door, look above the actuator assembly through access holes and locate a small rectangular shaped black or white plastic alligator (open mouth) connector having a vertical rod within its mouth. Using a long needle nose pliers through a round access hole in the door frame, gently compress the upper and lower open ends of the plastic mouth in sequence while gently pulling the rod from its mouth. It helps here at this step to have a helper shine a flashlight while you reposition the pliers and use your other hand to gently pull on the connector from the plastic mouth. Once disconnected at the alligator mouth, swivel the vertical rod down and around as it is permanently attached to the door lock assembly. To reattach, simply push the metal rod back into its open mouth of the plastic connector and it will automatically latch back onto it.

Step 7. Unscrew the 3 black screws that hold the door latch mechanism to the door. These screws are located on the exterior side of the door frame and require a star screwdriver head. You'll also want to temporarily detach (by pushing inward on) a small yellow bushing evident on the metal door frame that secures a black cable that traverses behind the metal door housing. Note: if you are working with a front door, there will be two small yellow bushings to temporarily detach plus two white plastic bushings nearby holding wiring bundles.

Step 8. Locate the green connector above the door lock assembly. The green tab holding the vertical rod is a swivel connector and can be stubborn to open. Rotate the door lock assembly with your hand enough such that the green tab can be accessed either through the door latch mechanism where the 3 star screws were removed or through the door panel itself. Use a screwdriver to push open the swivel tab. The tab swivels like a typical door hinge. Pull the vertical connector rod to the side once the swivel is open.

Step 9. Reach in and pull the entire lock assembly out. You will need to rotate the assembly 90 degrees around the vertical window guide. If the assembly is resisting double check you removed all the connections described in prior steps.

Step 10. Unclip the electrical connectors at the door lock actuator unit. Push out the plastic bushing that helps secure the connector wire bundle to the failed door lock actuator mechanism. You will push this plastic bushing into the new unit at the same bushing hole once the old unit is pulled out.

Step 11. The faulty unit slides out toward you once the thin black tab that secures it to the door lock assembly is lifted up a bit by a screwdriver. Install the new actuator unit by sliding and clicking it into the same location. Make sure the small shaft protruding out on the new actuator swivel arm correctly lands into the lock assembly or else the unit will not function properly. At this point, reconnect the two electrical connections and verify correct movement by activating the door lock mechanism using the remote entry or the front door lock/unlock rocker switch.

Step 12. Now just reverse the steps you have just done, by beginning at Step 9 and working backwards to Step 2. When you complete Step 5, again activate the door locks to ensure you have everything correctly working prior to moving to Step 4.

For the rear cargo lift gate actuator replacement, remove 2 screws holding the rear lift gate handle and pry off the hard plastic cover the spans the base of the lift gate window. The plastic cover can by pried off by starting on one end of the lift gate. Peel back sheathing to gain access and use a screw driver to lift the thin black tab on the actuator to release it. Disconnect the wiring connector. Install new actuator, reconnect wire connector, and test. Make sure the small shaft protruding from the actuator swivel arm is correctly landed into the lock assembly or else the unit will not function properly.

Best of Luck !




I finally got tired of my non-working PDL's and decided to tear into my truck and find/fix the problem. There has been many discussions about possible issues and I have concluded that the majority of us are seeing actuator motor problems and not relays, switches etc. Ill start by saying the problem I have had is that when I hit the switch, the locks attempt to move and after repeated attempts, the signal appears to get weaker and weaker until nothing....I assumed relay or switch.....NOT THE CASE!

First I started by testing the signal at the harness plug to the actuator. Perfect. No issues here. Next I completely removed the actuator/lock mechanism and bench tested them with 12V..Here lies the problem. The actuator acted the same as when in the truck. First I did a thorough cleaning of all of the mechanism so it works freely and still had the same results. Here's where it get's tricky. These things are built so that they are NOT serviceable. I had already decided that they were going to need to be replaced, so I decided to break them open for closer inspection. It comes apart relatively easily, but appears that It cannot be put back together once apart. I drilled out two small rivets and then pried the case apart. As you pry the case apart you'll notice these small little plastic rods protrude up through the case cover. These rods are then "mushroomed" with heat through the upper case and then sealed with some kind of silicone. When you pry apart the case the "mushroom" head breaks off and the rod remains. You can dig out the silicone and mushroom head with a pick. It comes out very easy. Inside you will find a very small motor and some gear mechanism. I believed the problem at first to be worn brushes or dirty commutator contacts in the motor itself. You'll have to bend two little metal tabs out and pull off the brush housing on the back of the motor. I cleanded the gunk off the brushes and took 1500 grit to the commutator contacts and reassembled the motor. The motor worked, but if you applied even a slight amount of resistance on the armature, it would stop the motor. It should have been WAY stronger than this. I was stumped until I looked a little closer at the inside of the plastic brush housing. Inside you'll find a small, thin rectangular (thermal resistor relay, dodad, thingamabob??) pardon my ingnorance, but I'm not sure what to call it. All I know is that this little part is what keeps you from burning up the motor, should you continue to press the switch once the lock has been actuated. It appears that this thing wears out over time and will not allow enough signal to get through to the motor to make it work. THE FIX . I am cheap. Since I had done so much work up to this point, I decided that I would go a little further and try to make it work without spending the $$. I have better things to spend my money on than actuators. I took a small piece of aluminum foil and wrapped the "thing" voila! Perfectly working motor! I sat there and operated the thing for 10 minutes including one or two times stopping the armature and holding down the switch to see what would happen. The motor builds heat, but not much. Not enough to worry about. Now that I had a good working motor I decided I would try and reassemble the unit. The problem is you cannot glue the unit together as there is a rubber gasket around the perimiter of the case and if you tried to glue the rods into the case, you would not have enough pressure on the two halves of the case to keep the gears in place (these things actually apply a great deal of torque on the case) What I decided to do is completely break off the plastic rods flush with the bottom side of the case and then drill out the bottom case and screw it together. This worked perfectly. You'll need screws that are the same diameter as the holes in the top of the case to keep it from "wandering". Also the screws should not protrude through the back of the unit as some of the mechanism has some pretty close tolerances and a screw sticking through the back would not allow some of the mechanism to work (this can be remedied with a decent set of wire dikes or a hacksaw). I know all of this is hard to picture, but if you do decide to try this fix, you'll see what I am describing here. The locks are back in and working flawlessly.

After trying everything else, the only thing I could think of was that I had done something wrong, which of course, I had. I thought about it for a while and figured I must have put the motor back together backwards. So I removed everything again, took it all apart, rotated the little plastic motor piece with the aluminum foil 180 degress and then put it back together. Works perfectly now!"

I finished fixing my Excursions locks today. Some of them did not function at all, and now all 5 work. I just pryed mind open enough to get the motor out and left the 2 metal rivets intact. I learned this after opening the first one and having trouble getting that end to stay together. I wraped a ziptie around the motor end and tightened it with plyers. This seemed to work great on the remaining 4 locks. I highly recommend this fix to anyone with lock problems. My locks now lock and unlock with authority!

Ok,, I'm back. I disassembled the actuator by drilling out the plastic rivets. Took out the motor w/o drilling out the metal rivets. Disassembled the motor found the 3 ohm resistor. (this is a bit much on 12 v. circuit). I used copper and cut a new part the same dimensions as the resistor removed. Then I coated it with a thin film of dielectric grease to prevent corrosion. Won't say where I got the copper from :-) The motor worked like a champ. Installed the motor with my X showing top of the motor and plastic end bell in the correct position (so it would turn in the correct direction). However then I drilled out the rivets with a 1/16" drill and used small wood type screws and a washer in each rivet. this gave a very solid mechanical assembly. Looks great and works very solid. Now to the rear lift gate that also has a bad actuator. Note the lift gate uses the right side door actuator. Thanks again for the info. Jim

did'nt even drill out the rivets, I just spread it open far enough to get the motor out and the ziptied that end of the actuator back together. Worked like a dream. I'm still hitting the lock/unlock button just to hear them jump up and down. They sound like they're going to jump out of the door. AWESOME!


Update. I now can repair on in about 15 minutes. I drill the rivets flush with the case, but not the metal ones. I leave them alone. Open the case with a screwdriver blade just enough to remove the motor. Pry open the taps just enough to remove the back case. I do scribe a mark for top on the case and back case so I can install it and get correct operation. I remove the 3/8x1/4 plate resistor which varied on those that don't work from 3 to 5 ohms. Then I solder a 18 gauge coppere wire to the end of the plate resistor, with all the insualtion removed. Carefully bend the wire around the end of the resistor and solder to the otherside. Then install in motor using care not to damage the brushes. Works like a champ. I have also used copper cut to fit which :-) cost me $.01 :-) can't say where the copper came from though. My case is held closed with tiny screws. I drill a 1/16" hole into the plastic rivits and then install the round head screw for a professional looking repair. Thanks all for the great info. Jim


Thanks for help. I just replaced both passenger side doors.
The green tab is the most frustrating thing in the whole procedure. It is extremely difficult to get open. The first one took me over 30 minutes. You use so much force you swear you'll break something. The tab you are looking to get a grip on with your finger (I couldn't get a screwdriver to fit in there) is facing the outside of the door.


I found that the key to making the installation of these actuators a lot easier and quicker is removing the outside door handle. Once you have removed the door panel and have access from the inside there's two nuts that hold the handle on. There's a rubber plug that covers the access hole to one of them. Once you remove the nuts with a socket wrench, you can pull the handle assembly out and remove the link to the the handle itself. From the outside I found I could easily lift the lift the locking tab on the actuator with a screwdriver and slide it out (toward the inside) and remove the electrical connector. The new one went back in in reverse order as you align the actuator arm back back into the hole the old one came out of. Once the new one is in, you reattach the door handle in link, put the door assembly back in place, screw the two nuts back on and reassemble the door panel. After I discoved this while working on my second door, the remaining doors took about 10-15 minutes

 

The photos did work, I am not sure why they are not now??

 

Okay.. take your time with drilling the screws out, the plastic is brittle!!!

A solider iron will alow you to remelt the "mushroom heads" wich does hold everything together at this point!!!

If you are at work, and you have no alumn foil, find a young lady eating yogurt, you will have alumn foil " Do not lick top in front of her.. causes strange reaction, and now HR wants to talk to me..

So far this is a great success!!!

If anyone knows who wrote this tid bit of information.. Please let them know how much I appreciate their efforts.. Thankyou to the OP of this proceedure!!!

 

Correction..solidering iron melting plastic back over does not work

I will be drilling and trying some rivots tomorrow.. I would still recomend doing this though.. I just need to learn a little more finesse

 

Take a torch and heat the end of a ejector pin or a punch and stick it to the middle of the spot where the mushroomed head was and push it down it will melt the plastic and make a new mushroomed head to hold it all together again.

 

What do these things cost new? I was thinking of doing this when summer comes back around but it sort of out sounds like a huge PITA.

 

About $60-$70 IIRC. The thing is, the new ones are just as likely to fail as the old ones. Poor design. This is a permanent fix and its not as bad to actually do as it sounds in a writeup. Not much more trouble to permanently repair than it is to swap in a new part.

And aren't you the guy who did an engine swap by the side of the road? Cowboy up!

 

That thread is going to haunt me isn't it? Once the snow melts my poor truck is going to be in piece with all the projects I have planned.

 

Well, I don't know if I'd say it will "haunt" you. That was a pretty gutsy piece of work. Your friends who didn't know anything about wrenching but jumped in to help you deserve a lot of credit, too.

Seriously, I've done the repair described above. My right front power lock hadn't worked for years. Now it "pops" noticeably better than the other ones.

Nobody weighs time vs. money on the ole scales of life more than me. If we were talking about something like paying someone to rebuild a rearend for you vs. doing it yourself, I'd say you have something to think about. But like I said above, it only takes a little longer to permanently fix the old actuator as opposed to installing a new one which may fail again.

 

Agreed, it was only about 10 mins longer to do the repair then to do the swap.

 

I did the repair to my truck, worked well for a week. That Sunday I noticed it wasn’t working anymore so I used the key to get into the truck, started it and went inside. When I came out all my doors were locked. Of course my spare key was in console which was stupid on my behalf and my lock out kit was in my truck box, and yes my box keys were in the truck. Took me about 1 hour with a coat hanger too unlock my door. I had to angel the hanger from the corner of the door to hit the window button. I wish this on no one it was 5 degree out side. Anyway I pulled the actuator back out until I received my new one, some how the computer knew something was going on and it was making the other locks go up and down. Now its fine but I don’t know what went wrong with the stock fix

 

If you have one, one of those tree saw blades make a decent slim jim for our trucks.

Now, what did you find caused all of your doors to lock, because I cant see anything that makes sense to me that would have caused that?