OK, who makes WORKING door lock actuators?

[BerniniCaCO3]

I bought the inexpensive autozone option, which I thought was still plenty expensive enough.

Two huge issues.
For the side doors, the kits don't actually even come with the right length rod!
There are kludges: cutting, grinding, and drilling out the rod from the original motor to then fit onto the replacement,
or welding additional length onto one of the ones that came with the kit.
But if there's someone who makes it RIGHT to begin with, I'd greatly prefer it.

Second issue.
Got the rear tailgate (it's on a 1990 wagon) installed, finally; it was the easiest compared to the side doors for sure.
No question that it's installed correctly now.
But the motor just has no strength at all. If I lock the tailgate by hand, the motor can only partially unlock it; likewise if I unlock it, it can only partially lock it. At first I figured it was because of the little yellow "cuff" for want of a better word, which I'd left out to make installation easier. Ran out to a dealer, got one, installed it with the cuff so that the arm isn't moving around in the socket, still didn't work. If I pull the motor out of the tailgate, it can go up and down an impressive range, more than sufficient; but once there's a load on it it just doesn't do the job.

What a waste of time.
So alright-- does anyone make a door lock actuator with the right rod length for the doors?
And does anyone make a working actuator that actually has some force to it?!?


Generally I like cheap, and it works for the money... but these... just aren't working for me. Time to pay for a little quality if you can suggest a source. Maybe even the dealer, if I can afford it.


thanks!
-Bernard

[86VickyLX]

Ford makes right length ones. Can you buy them still? Maybe. Are they cheap? HELL NO! Is it worth it? HELL YES.

They used those actuators for a bunch of different cars, all you have to do is swap the rods, which basically means remove the actuator condom, the little retainer clip that holds the ball bearings in place BE CAREFUL NOT TO LOSE THE BEARINGS!!!!! Pull out actuator rod, put in original one from your car. Reinstall into your doors.

[BerniniCaCO3]

Oh, that's good advice! (in case I can't find the right length actuator). I didn't even consider that the entire rod could come out.
I'm planning on stopping by the dealer tomorrow. I have two acquaintances who work for ford dealerships... armed with the part numbers maybe I can convince one to get them for me @cost, which still won't be $18,
but seeing as the $18 ebay version didn't work at ALL, I'm thinking "hell yes it's worth it" is the right thought.

I don't want junkyard actuators: the pita to remove, and the simple fact that if MINE have failed at 20 years and 120,000 miles, anything at the junkyard is going to be already dead or on its way out.

[86VickyLX]

Oh, that's good advice! (in case I can't find the right length actuator). I didn't even consider that the entire rod could come out.
I'm planning on stopping by the dealer tomorrow. I have two acquaintances who work for ford dealerships... armed with the part numbers maybe I can convince one to get them for me @cost, which still won't be $18,
but seeing as the $18 ebay version didn't work at ALL, I'm thinking "hell yes it's worth it" is the right thought.

I don't want junkyard actuators: the pita to remove, and the simple fact that if MINE have failed at 20 years and 120,000 miles, anything at the junkyard is going to be already dead or on its way out.

Food for thought, normally they die, when they get water in them. Prolonged use with water in them causes them to seize. This is normally caused by the condoms being ripped.

Mine would always freeze during cold winter days. So last year at Scottfest, I got a set of door lock actuators from an '84 Crown Vic. Why? Because the condoms were in tact, and pliable and also because I could move the rod by hand... This winter was pretty cold, and they haven't failed me yet. So don't condemn junkyard stuff.

[1990LTD]

Mine froze on a really cold day and I still can't lock the damn door. You can have my lock actuator when I remove it, if you can do anything with it.

[pantera77]

I don't want junkyard actuators: the pita to remove, and the simple fact that if MINE have failed at 20 years and 120,000 miles, anything at the junkyard is going to be already dead or on its way out.

Junkyard stuff is often better than aftermarket stuff. And their not very hard to remove....

[rellik god]

latemodelrestoration.com
#LRS-21842 $24.99

[sly]

I used the autozone cheapy stuff... worked fine... first one died... got the second one... made an umbrella for it with a rubber washer and some glue. No more water leaking down the rod and into the motor (yeah... need dew wipes BAD, but these parts I had on hand and the actuator was warranty replaced). Worked fine all winter. I also added some red grease to the rod in the motor to help with the sliding... works better than the original one now.

[91waggin]

I really like the idea of the rubber washer glued to the rod. That sounds like a really good idea. I looked up the price for Ford dealer parts for these actuators. They're nearly $300 apiece!!! I checked it on 3 different websites!