Sept. 12, 2015 I have a 2003 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer and I just changed out my passenger side rear door lock actuator. Thought I would share with others. I previously described my procedure for removing the inside door panel. It is under Door Panel Removal elsewhere in this Expedition Forum.
I did not remove the door latch itself from the door. I left it mounted to the door by the 3 torx screws. I ordered the new part from Amazon. I used the Dorman part # 746-149 but other numbers were associated with this same part, such as APDTY 857250 on Amazon. One important thing is to make sure you order the right side (passenger side) or left side (driver side) part, depending on your need.
Let me point out now that there are only 3 connections to the door lock actuator:
One is the electrical connection
Two is the latch rod which connects at the side pin
Three is the door lock actuator itself, the top of which clips to the door latch
1. Once the inside door panel was removed, I got some light inside the door cavity and unsnapped the electrical connector. I used a small flat screwdriver to lift the tab while I pulled the connector apart. Again, I had the new part so I could see the need to lift this tab while pulling.
2. Looking at my new part, I could see how the top of it needed to snap onto the door latch mechanism and how the latch rod was connected on the side. By latch rod, I am referring to the rod which protrudes upward out of the window sill above. Now, this was the tricky part for me..... the top of the actuator does not want to snap on. It wants to slide on from the side. So, by grabbing it and sliding it outward (towards the outside of the door) it came off of the fin it was attached to. In the same motion, the latch rod connector also slid off of the side pin and the part came out of the door.
3. Putting the new actuator in presented one difficulty. There is an 'L' shaped slot at the top of the new part and a 1 inch long slot directly below that. Both slots need to be aligned correctly to slip on. This pretty much has to be done by 'feel' because you can't see in there. Once the actuator is aligned correctly and slid into place, the latch rod connector aligned with the side pin and it fell into place. My first few attempts, I had the 'L' shaped slot in place, but not the one below it and the latch rod would not align.
4. Reconnect the electric plug, check for proper function and put the door panel back on. Best of Luck.
I did not remove the door latch itself from the door. I left it mounted to the door by the 3 torx screws. I ordered the new part from Amazon. I used the Dorman part # 746-149 but other numbers were associated with this same part, such as APDTY 857250 on Amazon. One important thing is to make sure you order the right side (passenger side) or left side (driver side) part, depending on your need.
Let me point out now that there are only 3 connections to the door lock actuator:
One is the electrical connection
Two is the latch rod which connects at the side pin
Three is the door lock actuator itself, the top of which clips to the door latch
1. Once the inside door panel was removed, I got some light inside the door cavity and unsnapped the electrical connector. I used a small flat screwdriver to lift the tab while I pulled the connector apart. Again, I had the new part so I could see the need to lift this tab while pulling.
2. Looking at my new part, I could see how the top of it needed to snap onto the door latch mechanism and how the latch rod was connected on the side. By latch rod, I am referring to the rod which protrudes upward out of the window sill above. Now, this was the tricky part for me..... the top of the actuator does not want to snap on. It wants to slide on from the side. So, by grabbing it and sliding it outward (towards the outside of the door) it came off of the fin it was attached to. In the same motion, the latch rod connector also slid off of the side pin and the part came out of the door.
3. Putting the new actuator in presented one difficulty. There is an 'L' shaped slot at the top of the new part and a 1 inch long slot directly below that. Both slots need to be aligned correctly to slip on. This pretty much has to be done by 'feel' because you can't see in there. Once the actuator is aligned correctly and slid into place, the latch rod connector aligned with the side pin and it fell into place. My first few attempts, I had the 'L' shaped slot in place, but not the one below it and the latch rod would not align.
4. Reconnect the electric plug, check for proper function and put the door panel back on. Best of Luck.
