Uploaded December 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
2k Ford Explorer Limited. 142k miles. Video shows how the door latch mechanism attaches to the interior and exterior door handles, lock, and lock actuator.
The original problem was the door would not unlock automatically and was even hard to lock/unlock manually. The door actuator was replaced which did not fix the problem. Thus, the latch mechanism was removed to troubleshoot the entire thing. I did a few things that helped solve the problem:
- New actuator
- Cleaned and lubricated the latch
- Lubricated all moving parts of the various pieces
- Adjusted the shaft going from the latch to the exterior door so that it moves farther down when the door handle is opened.
There are four shafts (links) attaching to the latch:
1 - from door lock
2 - from door lock actuator
3 - from exterior door handle
4 - from interior door handle
Lock/unlock shafts 1 and 2 attach to a common link on the latch.
Removing the latch from the door requires that you: a) remove the 3 machine screws attaching it to the door, b) remove interior door handle from shaft 4, c) remove exterior handle shaft 3 from the handle by moving/manipulating latch inside door so that the shaft end can come out of the oval in which it is inserted, d) remove door actuator from the bracket in which it is secured, e) remove 3 electrical connectors.
2k Ford Explorer Limited. 142k miles. Video shows how the door latch mechanism attaches to the interior and exterior door handles, lock, and lock actuator.
The original problem was the door would not unlock automatically and was even hard to lock/unlock manually. The door actuator was replaced which did not fix the problem. Thus, the latch mechanism was removed to troubleshoot the entire thing. I did a few things that helped solve the problem:
- New actuator
- Cleaned and lubricated the latch
- Lubricated all moving parts of the various pieces
- Adjusted the shaft going from the latch to the exterior door so that it moves farther down when the door handle is opened.
There are four shafts (links) attaching to the latch:
1 - from door lock
2 - from door lock actuator
3 - from exterior door handle
4 - from interior door handle
Lock/unlock shafts 1 and 2 attach to a common link on the latch.
Removing the latch from the door requires that you: a) remove the 3 machine screws attaching it to the door, b) remove interior door handle from shaft 4, c) remove exterior handle shaft 3 from the handle by moving/manipulating latch inside door so that the shaft end can come out of the oval in which it is inserted, d) remove door actuator from the bracket in which it is secured, e) remove 3 electrical connectors.
