Ford Van Door Wont Open Fix - Rubber/plastic cable end pieces broken - E150/250/350 econoline

Here is the Ford Econoline van rear door mechanism in its full naked glory,
along with my fancy new shiny metal end pieces threaded into it. 
So, the doors in the van stopped opening .... that is, when you try to pull the release mechanism, the doors don't open... like a child lock mechanism is on or something.  First it started with the rear door... outside latch, then inside one stopped working too.  Then the side door inside mechanism stopped.  What a PIA.  So, I found out that the rubber/plastic end pieces on the ends of the latch cables deteriorate over time and they had probably worn out.  Sure enough that is what it was.

I ended up buying a 20 pack of metal ends off someone from Ebay. They worked great. After I took off the deteriorating rubber cable ends, I simply slid these on.  I found that I didn't need to crimp them, although I did use a hacksaw to narrow the diameter a little so that they would be easier able to slide into the latch retaining mechanism.

Here are some pictures... I hated that I could not find pictures on the Internet that depicted the Ford Van's lock latch system. After reviewing lots of diagrams, I saw that the end of my cable needed to go into the top of the mechanism.  I decided to cut a hole in the door to look inside and see.... and sure enough the cable must be threaded into the top of that bitch!  You need not cut a hole to do this repair.  Anyway, I was able to pull out the latch without removing the power lock mechanism.   It was a pain the ass to put it back on, so I simply used zip ties to attach the power lock up and down to the inside of the contraption.  I suppose you could remove the power lock mechanism, but I didn't want to fool with drilling out a rivet and putting a new rivet in.

So, onto the show .. here are some pictures that may help you if you decide to tackle such a project.


Had to really think about how to thread that f-n ball 

The ball pulls that 911506 leaver to open the van door

Another picture showing me threading the Van door latch
Holding the Ford's rear door latch mechanism in the proper orientation against the door

A peek down into the hole to see the lock as it sits in place in the van.  You do not need to cut a hole.

All done! It all works, power lock, both sides, everything!!!
And now all metal ends... and they will last longer than I will!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Porsche 996 - Replacing Starter Alternator Y-Cable (996-607-019-01-M100) without moving Alternator or AC pump - Attacking a warm start issue

Image
996-607-019-01-M100 Nearly all the posts I've read about replacing the Y-Cable on my Porsche 996 indicated that you had to remove the alternator.  I found I didn't.  Here is a diagram showing how I did this part of the task.  Hope it helps someone! Some background: I've been tracking down a hot start issue with my 2000 Porsche 996.... when the car is cold, it fires right up.   When it is warm, it acts like there is a low battery or something.  At this point, I've replaced the battery and installed a new fuel filter (had read some cars have similar issue when a fuel filter is dirty).  Neither have solved the issue.  I'm now going after the y-cable ( 996-607-019-01-M100 ) as that seems to be a common cause (happens in 997s as well from what I can read) of the same symptoms. Over time, this cable corrodes inside and makes the cable more subject to heat impedance issues. After reading a ton of different articles and posts by others on how to repl
Read more

What's Big Bald Bills DIY blog about?

Welcome to a personal blog focused on sharing Do It Yourself knowledge with others.  A vast major of my DIY knowledge has come from other people willing to share their information on the World Wide Web.  As such, I want to share with others too, as a pay back or pay forward.  This blog is for that.  I'm no pro blogger guy, and I'm not going to spend countless hours making everything perfect on this website.  I'd much rather spend my time actually doing DIY stuff than writing/videoing/photographing it. So, please accept my apology in advance for any errors, or omissions, or whatever you don't like.
Read more