Brandon W
Member
Hi all.
In case anyone keeping track, at last we spoke I had a small leak out of the thermostat housing, despite using a new O-ring. After using some stuff to clean the joints, there is little-to-no leaks. (Coolant has droped a half inch in 3 weeks).
Just when things are back on track (more or less), a spring wire snaps in the drivers door latch today. Specifically, the spring is attached to the outer door handle bit on one end and up high in the door on the other. Basically, the springs purpose is to hold the metal catch up, so that the door can fully unlock, and to stetch and allow the catch to sring down when the outside handle is pulled. Otherwise, the rod gets caught on the catch, and won't unlock. At this time, the ONLY way to unlock the door is to open it from the inside. It just binds when you try to unlock it by using the switches, remotes, or keypad. Confused yet? (If you are and are yet still interested, take a look in your door latch, pull the outside handle, and you will see what I am talking about).
In any event, the end wire of the spring is hanging down, snapped off from the bit. The space is just slightly too small for any pliars to get in there. So, I am left with either taking the door apart, the whole lock mechanism out, and trying to replace the spring. I can probably fix it for 5 bucks and 10 hours of aggrevation, or Ford will probably charge $500 and alot of aggrevation still. On the other hand, I can keep the door unlocked all the time, or I can go through the back door to open it from the inside. This is the temporary solution, but way too embarassing and annoying to do for more than a week.
Has anyone ever tried to remove the entire lock assembly? I see how it's done if it appears that it would be a heck of a task. Even then, I'm not sure I can get to the spring.
Any advise? Oh, and I will be hitting 150,000 miles this evening. Maybe time for somethinng. Thanks as always,
Brandon
In case anyone keeping track, at last we spoke I had a small leak out of the thermostat housing, despite using a new O-ring. After using some stuff to clean the joints, there is little-to-no leaks. (Coolant has droped a half inch in 3 weeks).
Just when things are back on track (more or less), a spring wire snaps in the drivers door latch today. Specifically, the spring is attached to the outer door handle bit on one end and up high in the door on the other. Basically, the springs purpose is to hold the metal catch up, so that the door can fully unlock, and to stetch and allow the catch to sring down when the outside handle is pulled. Otherwise, the rod gets caught on the catch, and won't unlock. At this time, the ONLY way to unlock the door is to open it from the inside. It just binds when you try to unlock it by using the switches, remotes, or keypad. Confused yet? (If you are and are yet still interested, take a look in your door latch, pull the outside handle, and you will see what I am talking about).
In any event, the end wire of the spring is hanging down, snapped off from the bit. The space is just slightly too small for any pliars to get in there. So, I am left with either taking the door apart, the whole lock mechanism out, and trying to replace the spring. I can probably fix it for 5 bucks and 10 hours of aggrevation, or Ford will probably charge $500 and alot of aggrevation still. On the other hand, I can keep the door unlocked all the time, or I can go through the back door to open it from the inside. This is the temporary solution, but way too embarassing and annoying to do for more than a week.
Has anyone ever tried to remove the entire lock assembly? I see how it's done if it appears that it would be a heck of a task. Even then, I'm not sure I can get to the spring.
Any advise? Oh, and I will be hitting 150,000 miles this evening. Maybe time for somethinng. Thanks as always,
Brandon