Xoutpost.com - View Single Post - oh brother! another actuator / central locking post

Russianblue · #5 10-15-2018, 09:47 AM

okay Mr. OldSkewel! 1 door lock actuator headed to the lab. PM me your address and i'll get it out today!

i was convinced the old one was still good and kept trying to make it work to save my $140 but in the end, the new Dorman part fixed the issue. Incidentally, the Dorman piece seems very well made. Time will tell i suppose.

what a nightmare though. I started this project Friday after dinner thinking it would take me 1 hour MAX.

Well, all three of the door actuator torx bolts were siezed for some reason. I had to DRILL ALL OF THEM OUT. that took forever in my effort not to damage the door metal.

So then, i took off the door panel. and as luck would have it, the door panel plastic frame at the top completely separated from the fiber board. AND. AND AND AND....one of the door panel clip holders basically shattered it's mount.

AND AND AND AND...the little 4-prong door lock cylinder shaft that protrudes into the actuator, it was cracked and broken where it connects to the door lock.

So the next morning involved a trip to the junkyard to retrieve 1) a door lock cylinder shaft and a 2) door clip mounting bracket and 3) some actuator mounting screws.

there was 2001 Xer there...with no DRIVER side door panel. so i got the mounting bracket from passenger side panel....that i found in cargo area.

the door lock cylinder shaft came right out of the junker. i was SO proud of myself...and then...lo and behold...it had this little 'skirt' on it that was different than my broken piece. i pretty much lost my $&IT@#! when i saw that but had and idea to make it work. I have to say I have removed more than a few skirts in my life, but never one with a bench grinder.

I made it home and the research began about the different suggested types of glue to use to hold plastic pieces to the door panel. and how to properly align the top plastic frame piece for gluing - the one you have to tug on to release from the window sill clips.

I ended up settling on JB weld plastic bonder. I practiced with the broken clip first. it worked great.
after an hour it was SUPER solid. Then i went after the upper trim frame. Mind you this involved sanding and scuffing the 'residue' from the inside of the door panel, cleaning off the chunks of old glue, painstakingly measuring and practice fitting the trim piece to make sure the friggin door lock hole ended up in the correct place and that the whole thing was mounted 1/4 inch too far right or left.

THEN I marked all the spots where my collection of clamps would go and where i would put glue. Since only had 5 or 6, i had to strategically allocate them. Also, the working time on that jb weld is only 15 minutes so i had to work VERY quickly. also had to mask the door panel itself to avoid damage from clamps and to make damn sure no epoxy got on it....which i would see EVERY time I got in the car.

By this time, i am very much fed up. but alas....it all worked. Even the custom ground lock cylinder shaft. I ordered some spares on amazon but didn't end up needing them. new torx bolts mounted right up. i grabbed a few spares just in CASE i might even need them one day. I was exhausted after that but another one down. And when i look back at it, spent the better part of two days doing what? - avoiding that situation where i pull on an unlocked front door only to find that the immobiliser is armed and I set off the alarm, lol!

I'll look for your PM!

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