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Last night I replaced a rear power door lock actuator. I had to use a screwdriver and a hammer to pound out the metal tabs holding the actuator to the mechanism assembly thingy. It seems that the actuator was not built to be replaced, because I had to shear off a bit of plastic in order to slide the metal tabs out. The tabs got a little dented up too.

The screw behind the plastic sheet that holds the actuator to the door was a real pain in the ass too. Stripped, broke an easy-out, dulled 1.5 drill bits, used a demel wheel, and wore down another dremel bit. Fossilized loctite, a lock washer, and a screw are a powerful team.

But now it's in and the lock is powered for the first time in years.

Anyone know of a less destructive method of separating the actuator from the mechanism?

I probably would have replaced the whole mechanism as they are relativly easy to come by.

I have another whole mechanism, but my original is incredibly rust/corrosion free.

Well this thread is

So if anyone has a question about door locks, ask me before I forget.

AWD_addict wrote:Last night I replaced a rear power door lock actuator. I had to use a screwdriver and a hammer to pound out the metal tabs holding the actuator to the mechanism assembly thingy. It seems that the actuator was not built to be replaced, because I had to shear off a bit of plastic in order to slide the metal tabs out. The tabs got a little dented up too.

The screw behind the plastic sheet that holds the actuator to the door was a real pain in the ass too. Stripped, broke an easy-out, dulled 1.5 drill bits, used a demel wheel, and wore down another dremel bit. Fossilized loctite, a lock washer, and a screw are a powerful team.

But now it's in and the lock is powered for the first time in years.

Anyone know of a less destructive method of separating the actuator from the mechanism?

bump!

This is a very helpful post. Well, my uncle is having problems on his door lock actuator and it badly needs a replacement but he is not quite familiar doing this. Lucky to find your post on how to replace the door lock actuator. Thanks for these instructions, this would be very useful to my uncle. By the way, were you able to find a smoother way to do this.