Please note, the first "fix" did not hold up. I have re-done it and posted new photos and explanations

The drivers side door handle in my '94 F150 XLT quit working. I did not know how to even remove the door panel. After searching around without much luck I decided to go ahead and try fixing it anyway. This is how effected the diagnoses and repair. The first thing to do is to remove the screws exposed from the door panel.



Then I pried carefully the door panel starting from the bottom on both sides, but left the top of the panel on the door. This is very important as the top of the panel must be pulled straight up or you can break the clips that hold it. To pull it off the door I held the door handle up while pulling up the door panel and slipping it off the door handle.

Here is the panel off the door. The wires to the window and door lock buttons are still attached. The light bulb. is hanging from the door since I pulled it off the socket in the door panel.


The window switch, door lock and mirror switch panel can be removed by disconnecting the wires off the back for the mirror switches and the whole cluster of window and door lock switches can be removed in one piece by removing the 4 screws in the back. Then you can move the door panel away to a safe place.
I recommend taping the screws on their holes or near their holes with some good tape so you don't lose them.


Now we can see the exposed area of the door latch, door handle, etc.



Here is the cable end attached to the door handle mechanism



Obviously, the handle, cable, etc. are all there and not disconnected. Now I looked inside the door at the latch mechanism to see what the problem might be... Of course, this is not what I saw. It's easy to get the camera in there and with the flash we get a nice picture. Notice however that the mechanism itself is covered with some plastic sheet and is somewhat hidden by the window track and support bracket.




Loosen the window track bracket, remove the plastic cover and VOILA! here is the latch assembly:


As I could see, everything appears to be there and "looks" OK... I could see that pulling on the door handle would cause this end to move and pivot the unlatching trigger, but the latch would not release.... Did I mention how hard it is to see in there and how difficult it is to get to all the parts? Anyway, I could touch some of the parts but not the latch trigger itself. It is a little bar that moves up and down and is parallel to the edge of the door. I could see it move when I pushed the button on the outside door handle and it would release the latch. But I could not see where or how the inside door trigger would operate that little bar..

Finally, I realized that if I pushed down on the trigger part where the cable from the door handle is attached, I could move it farther than the door handle pull, and it would release the latch!

Obviously, the cable has stretched over time and it no longer allows enough travel of the trigger actuator. The cable itself is a complete assembly and totally non-adjustable . Also, I figure it's prolly not available locally and the dealer's parts department is not open on Sundays anyway.

When I pushed the little mechanism with my hand, I noticed that the barrel end of the cable would move up and off it's saddle in the door handle end.. Being and old school, duct tape and bailing wire expert, I figured a ghetto fix might just do the trick until the parts can be obtained or perhaps forever (whichever comes first). I was wrong, the first fix did not hold up.
I removed the door panel again (see instructions above), and this time I pulled off the cable housing off the handle assembly to remove the handle assembly for re-work...
There is a trick to make this easier: back off the screw that holds the handle from it's mount until it's not sticking out past the nut. Otherwise you cannot access the head of the screw that holds to handle assembly to the door. Don't forget to leave it like that until after you put it back, otherwise the socket you use to remove the assembly mounting screw will not come out after you tighten the assembly back in place



Since the cable seemed to have stretched some more or perhaps my last attempt to shorten the cable by sticking a screw under the barrel end of the table slowly deformed the soft metal of the barrel and lost it's "shortening" ability. Anyway, I took it to my workbench and bent the cable housing mount away from the pull to increase the distance. I also made a little saddle to slip between the separated parts so they would not close again.



I also decided to make another little saddle to place under the barrel end of the cable and further lengthen the cable.



I installed the new saddle in place and put the whole thing back together.



I reversed the procedure of putting the panel back on and finished the job.

I hope this fix last a long time . I probably saved a pocket full of cash and got the satisfaction of fixing the problem myself. I hope this is of help to another fellow F150 owner with the same or similar problem.

 

Nice write up!

 

I agree, Very nice write up. Good use of pics as well. I am going to have to remember this and see if it will fix my problem.

 

Very nice write up! I am doing this tomorrow! Thanks!

 

X4 good write up!

reps to you!

 

Finally got around to doing this. I no longer have to open my door from the outside

 

That was a good write up. You should change your user name to MacGyver. Rep points added.

 

I would have to agree, excelent idea, I was planing a trip to the junkyard, but going to try this first

 

I meant to write again but I was away for a few days. Unfortunately, my problem with the door has resurfaced. I imagine the cable has stretched more and my fix is no longer working.
I will look into it again and see if I can effect a more successful repair. Otherwise, I'll have to order the cable and see if I can replace it. I hope I don't have to replace the part because it looks like a difficult job.
Anyway, I hope if you guys try something like this, it works a little better than it has for me so far.

 

Well that blows! You can get a new cable on Ebay for not much. I wonder how much Ford wants for a Motorcraft one.

 

Thanks for the tip about Ebay. Could you tell me what exactly to look for? I don't know the part number or anything... I will replace the cable unless I can effect a better, more permanent fix.

 

OK, I went in there again and re-worked the repair. I think it will hold up better. Take a look at the edited first post again

 

Thats cool. I hope that repair lasts longer.

Here they are on Ebay.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

Before buying one, you might want to check with Ford and see how much they want for a Ford part. It might not be much more.

 

Great information! Thanks a lot. If the fix doesn't hold up, I'll know how to get the replacement part

 

That's one way to fix this, and I hope it holds up good in the long run. The other way is to ditch the cable assembly entirely, and replace it with the hard linkage rods that were used on the '80-'91 trucks - it's somewhat of a PITA job, but when all is said and done you know she'll still be working good 20 years down the road. Honestly I dunno why Ford even bothered with that cable mess, maybe it saved them like 10c per vehicle or something...