That power door lock actuator looks to be a PAIN to replace.

[lbrowne]

My 2003's passenger door lock only works if you manually lock it. (there is no external key hole on the passenger side)

If you click the lock/unlock button you can hear the actuator engaging but it doesn't move the lock switch.

Even with the remote it doesn't work. All the other doors are fine.

The switch is good because it will lock and unlock every other door except it's own. I had an old door kicking around and decided to crack it open - doesn't look all that easy to do.... someone here change this before?

[Sponsor]

[ah1f39]

The actuator is built into the latch asemblely. You will have to replace the latch. There is no way to repair the power actuator.

[Benporat]

Originally Posted by ah1f39

The actuator is built into the latch asemblely. You will have to replace the latch. There is no way to repair the power actuator.

the above is mostly true
the actuator is specific to left or right door and front and back
it is also somtimes specific to a certain run of production- the design or supplier may change in the middle of production
I bought an actuator on ebay for a very small sum of money
that I thought was the correct part- turns out that it was ever so slightly different and would not fit
I opened both actuators and found that there is a small electric motor inside
with a wormgear shaft - both are identical
just swapped them out and replaced the original actuator with the swapped motor and works perfectly
looked like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...Q5fAccessories

by the way the dealer wanted almost 600 USD for a new latch/actuator
assembly - purchased a used one on ebay for 25 USD!!!

[lbrowne]

Ok so I have another identical door with a known working actuator. (it's a passenger door as well)

So you're saying I have to take out the torx screws that are holding the handle assembly in place and take the whole apparatus out?

I'll give it another look tomorrow. That doesn't sound too bad now.

[Benporat]

Originally Posted by lbrowne

Ok so I have another identical door with a known working actuator. (it's a passenger door as well)

So you're saying I have to take out the torx screws that are holding the handle assembly in place and take the whole apparatus out?

I'll give it another look tomorrow. That doesn't sound too bad now.

yes the latch assembly has the small electric motor inside which can be replaced
removing the latch assembly from the door and especially reassembly can be tricky the inside door panel must be removed
the inside and outside door handles are attached as is the locking button by long metal rods. Take a good mental picture of what goes where when you extract it
one must have a certain amount of mechanical proficiency
the easiest part is opening the assembly and replacing the motor

[lbrowne]

This actually was alot easier than I expected.

I had a spare door and experimented on that and it was not bad at all. I kept the rods n stuff connected to make it a bit easier. A little bit of twisting I was able to pull it all out.

[doneworking]

New to this site. I joined just to share this. My friend has a 05 where one door lock inop and cannot be locked manually. Removed latch assy and separated actuator from it. The shaft of motor above the worm gear had broken the plastic housing enough to jam. Checked the dealer etc. for actuator replacement....only entire assembly at $200. This little motor has some torque to it, and the shaft lifts up and away from driven gear, jamming it. Here's how I fixed it... at the end of the shaft where it sits in the housing you'll notice the breakage. Notice on actuator cover it has a little plastic tit that holds the shaft down into housing. Notice a slot in the housing, just past the end of motor shaft..... I used a picture hanger that width and cut it and bent it into a "J" and twisted it toward the worn area. Took a little finessing (I did it twice to get it right) to get pre load right. Took all of two hours... that's $100 hour. I'm a Retired Mechanic...If it works great, I can fix that too.

[cri33]

FEELS to me like I have to remove the rod that runs from the exterior door handle to the actuator/control unit. That seems to be one piece. And I am not sure how to do that short of dismantling the (exterior) door handle and mechanism. It is also very cramped in there and you risk losing little screws if you are not very careful.

No wonder they want $100 labor! The mechanic also "warned me" that there were several different types of actuators used for this car and he had to go by the VIN to get the correct unit, so beware of slightly "used" units that you cannot verify by VIN or by looking at it. I see a couple on ebay but now I am leary because I cannot pull the old unit out of the car. Yet.

This is the kind of job that might make it worthwhile to buy a Ford shop manual, but those are around $135. Not cheap but if it makes the job a lot easier then maybe its worth it.

[Lscman]

Originally Posted by cri33

FEELS to me like I have to remove the rod that runs from the exterior door handle to the actuator/control unit. That seems to be one piece. And I am not sure how to do that short of dismantling the (exterior) door handle and mechanism. It is also very cramped in there and you risk losing little screws if you are not very careful.

No wonder they want $100 labor! The mechanic also "warned me" that there were several different types of actuators used for this car and he had to go by the VIN to get the correct unit, so beware of slightly "used" units that you cannot verify by VIN or by looking at it. I see a couple on ebay but now I am leary because I cannot pull the old unit out of the car. Yet.

This is the kind of job that might make it worthwhile to buy a Ford shop manual, but those are around $135. Not cheap but if it makes the job a lot easier then maybe its worth it.

Youtube has 2 or 3 videos showing the focus door latch R&R job which I used to aid in power lock upgrade. Per video procedure and Helms manual, the outer door handle gets removed before the latch can be removed. The Ford Factory Helms Shop Manual with factory wiring diagram book go for about $40 as a set on ebay, slightly used. I bought the manuals for a 2004 and a 2007 and didn't pay more than that in either case. This beats $135 new manual or $100 labor fee.

[elsolo]

I have bought several service manuals on ebay, never paid more that $10 shipped.