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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace a door lock actuator on this 2003 Mercury Mountaineer, and we show you on the driver side, but the passenger side is the same procedure, and it's the same part and similar process on these Mountaineers from 2002 to 2010 and for the same years on the Ford Explorers. The items you'll need for this are a new door lock actuator from 1AAuto.com; flat blade screwdriver; a 6, 7, and 11 mm socket and ratchet with an extension; and a T27 Torx bit.
You want to make sure that your courtesy lights don't stay on so you don't drain your battery. Just make sure you turn those off. Pry out from the bottom of this panel with a flat blade screwdriver. Then just slide the panel towards the front of the vehicle and off the door handle. Then lift up on the front of your switch panel and then slide it forward and up. Then push the tabs on these harnesses and disconnect them. For this last one, you're going to want to use a flat blade screwdriver and push in on the tab and pull it free. Your switch panel is free. Now you want to remove this 7mm bolt and these two 7mm bolts right here. We'll just fast-forward as Mike does that. Pry out the switch and then just pry out the tab on the harness and disconnect the harness. Then feed that back through the door panel. Lift the door panel up and then pull it back. Push the tab on this harness to disconnect it, and your door panel is free.
Remove this 6mm bolt and slide the door handle forward. Pull it out and just push this cable free. Then, using a pick, unclip the lock rod. Once you've opened up the clip, use the pick to lift the rod up and out of the clip. Now unclip the cable from inside the door handle, and your door handle is free. Peel back your water shield. You can see Mike is using a razor blade to help separate the adhesive.
Pull this cable from these clips, and then, using a pick, open up this yellow clip right here and then pull the door handle rod free. Remove this 11mm bolt right here, and we'll just fast-forward as Mike does that. Remove these five T27 Torx bolts, and the two farthest from the latch actually hold in this brace. You want to make sure you remove those first, pull the brace out, and then remove the three closest to the latch. Lift your door lock actuator up until you see this yellow clip and push it off this rod. Pull that rod free, and then, pull the latch and actuator assembly from the door, and just disconnect these two harnesses right here. To do that, you just push the tab and pull the harnesses free.
Now, to remove the actuator, you just want to pry out on these tabs on the side, and then stick the flat blade screwdriver underneath the center of the actuator and twist it to release the clip under there, and then just slide the actuator off those rails.
You've got this tab here and this tab here. They go into these slots, respectively, and then you just have to make sure this goes into the activating arm, so line it up. Push it down make sure that's going into the arm, and then push it on the rest of the way.
Next, put your lock back up in place. Replace and tighten up that 11mm nut. Reconnect those harnesses to your actuator, then push that rod back into the yellow clip, and re-clip it. Then, feed the actuator back down into the door. Re-clip this lock rod back into the lock bezel, and then, line up the latch and replace those three T27 bolts. We'll fast-forward as Mike replaces those and tightens them up. Put this rod back into place, and then, replace those two T27 bolts. Push the handle rod back into this yellow clip and close the clip. Then re-clip the cable back into these clips. Make sure if you disconnected this harness that you push it back into place. Once everything is clipped, push the cable back through the water shield and push your water shield back into place.
Take your new door handle, clip the cable back inside the handle, and then re-clip it to the lock rod. The easiest way to do this is just open that clip up, pull the lock rod in with the pick, and just set it into the clip. Once you have it in place, push it down into the clip with your finger and then close the clip back up. Push that cable in and then push your door handle and slide it back. Then, replace that 6mm bolt and tighten it up.
To replace your door panel, just reconnect this harness, and make sure you push the harness for your mirror switch through. Then push the door panel into place and slide it down. We'll fast-forward as Mike replaces those three 7mm bolts and tightens them up. Reconnect this switch and push it back into place. Then reconnect your switch panel and slide the back end first. Then push the front end down. Then slide this panel back over the door handle and push those tabs back into place. Then push in the front. You're all set.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.