Power Door Lock Actuators - Help with removal

[splat55]

I've got a '99 K3500 4X4 Crew. I was told by the service guy at the dealership that they actuators are " tired". When I hit the master lock button inside the car to lock all the doors....only 2 lock and the others try to lock but don't. If I unlock or continue to try and lock using the master button, you can hear that the locks again trying to pull themselves down, but it is weaker than the first time. The service guy told me that if I continue to hit the button, the fuse will probably blow. So, I need to change out the actuators..or at least a couple of them. The drivers door is actually the only one that works....the others just try to lock. I don't know if it's because it's the closest to the power supply or what. Anyway, does anyone here have a manual or anything that will tell me step by step how to R&R the actuators....including removing the door panels, what has to be done with the windows (removed?) to get at the actuators? Also, does anyone know where I can buy the acuators besides the dealer? I was told by the parts guy at the dealership that they are over $100 each. The dealership wanted over $1000 to replace all 4 with parts and labor. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[edman87k5]

Actuators are about $60 at napa and are rather simple to replace. I did 1 in my 99 crew last week. Nothing has to be removed except the door panel. 2 screws in the pull handle/ arm rest and the rest is pop outs( expect some of them to break). Be sure to run a small screwdriver in the tabs for the handle surround and remove it first. Use a panel tool to pop all the door panel snaps, you will break fewer of them this way.
The actuator is riveted to the inside door panel. Drill out the rivets and swap it out, pop rivet the new one in place, put door panel back on, done.
I would guess 30 minutes each if you have never pulled the panel before.

Tools needed:
drill with about 3/16" bit
pop rivet gun
phillips screwdriver
small flat screwdriver
door panel remover (fork style)

[splat55]

Hey edman87k5,
Man, thanks for the info....I appreciate it. I do have a couple questions....first, did you replace yours because it was weak like I explained mine were....or did yours just quit working? Have you had to do others in your truck or was this your first. I would assume that NAPA will have the door panel snaps if I break a few...probably in those little " HELP " boxes, yeah?
Lastly, although I've got a few rivet guns (don't actually remember where they came from), I've never had a reason to use one of them....so I'm not sure what size or type of rivet I will need to use when replacing the actuator.....can you give me an idea as to what type...or maybe add a pic to this post?
Again, thanks....The service guy I spoke with was really freakin' me out with the $1000 cost for replacing them...and, at the same time, he was trying to sell me a remote cause I didn't get any when I bought the truck about 2 weeks ago. I tried to get him to understand that if I wasn't about to pay $1000 to change out the actuators, I sure as hell wasn't about to spend $60 for a remote key fob that wasn't going to do me any good until I got the actuators fixed...but I don't think he got that cause he still tried to sell it to me.
Anyway, thanks man.
Brian
Actuators are about $60 at napa and are rather simple to replace. I did 1 in my 99 crew last week. Nothing has to be removed except the door panel. 2 screws in the pull handle/ arm rest and the rest is pop outs( expect some of them to break). Be sure to run a small screwdriver in the tabs for the handle surround and remove it first. Use a panel tool to pop all the door panel snaps, you will break fewer of them this way.
The actuator is riveted to the inside door panel. Drill out the rivets and swap it out, pop rivet the new one in place, put door panel back on, done.
I would guess 30 minutes each if you have never pulled the panel before.

Tools needed:
drill with about 3/16" bit
pop rivet gun
phillips screwdriver
small flat screwdriver
door panel remover (fork style)

[someotherguy]

Before you spend any money on the actuators, when you have the door panel off you should check the plastic sliders for the actuator rods. I've seen these get so gummed-up that the actuators can't work properly...and so bad that you could just about break the key off in the door lock trying to turn it.

Gently pop the rods out of their sliders (one is for the lock, the other is for your door handle) and clean them where they slide in the plastic with a paper towel soaked in brake parts cleaner. Then shoot a little white lithium grease on the rods right there and snap them back in. It's best if you do this with the window rolled all the way up so you don't get any on the glass.

50/50 it may improve your lock situation greatly.

Richard

[edman87k5]

I agree with checking the sliders on the rods. But the problem you described does sound like they are getting weak. If you lock, unlock, repeat a couple of time within a few seconds of each other and the stop working or fully locking or unlocking, it is usually the actuator being weak.
I changed my rear driver door because it totally stopped after being slow and weak. My pass front door is also getting weak and will probably need changing soon.
The one I got from napa was new, not reman and it came with 4 or 5 rivets while only 2 are needed. And since I could not locate any of my pop rivet guns, I had to pick another up while I was at home depot. These are standard sized rivets and if you have a rivet gun with replaceable tips or a flip tip(like the cheapie I got at home depot), you are covered.
I dont know whether the help section has the plastic pins or not, but if not, they are really cheap at the dealer. The problem is that not just the pin breaks, the part it pops into has tabs that hold it in the metal that break and also the slot in the door panel that hold the clip breaks. Using a panel tool will greatly reduce the chance of breaking a clip and such and you can survive without 1 or 2 of them.
I dont have any pics, but if you have any other questions, just ask. As long as you take your time, you should be fine. BTW, my napa did not stock the actuator, they had to order it and got it the next day.

[splat55]

Hey Richard,
Thanks for the info....sounds like it would be worth trying...if nothing else, maybe I can get away with cleaning a couple of the sliders....test, and if a couple of the actuators seem to work okay with just the cleaning, maybe I will only have to purchase a couple of actuators. I think I'll begin with mastering getting the door panel off without too much destruction....once I've got one done....I'll go through them one by one. Thanks again.
Brian

Before you spend any money on the actuators, when you have the door panel off you should check the plastic sliders for the actuator rods. I've seen these get so gummed-up that the actuators can't work properly...and so bad that you could just about break the key off in the door lock trying to turn it.

Gently pop the rods out of their sliders (one is for the lock, the other is for your door handle) and clean them where they slide in the plastic with a paper towel soaked in brake parts cleaner. Then shoot a little white lithium grease on the rods right there and snap them back in. It's best if you do this with the window rolled all the way up so you don't get any on the glass.

50/50 it may improve your lock situation greatly.

Richard

[splat55]

Yeah, I believe you are right about the actuators being week. Like I was saying to Richard who replied with the slider cleaning post, I think I will start with taking a door panel off, probably the passenger side front, because it never locks using the master button. Try cleaning it and if no change, order the actuator from NAPA....but before ordering, I'll probably try the 2 rear doors as well...it would be nice to be able to get away with only replacing a couple of the actuators...at least at first. Guess I won't know anything until I actually dig in and remove a panel. I think I am going to give that a shot tomorrow...after hitting up NAPA for the door panel tool. Thanks again guys.
Brian

I agree with checking the sliders on the rods. But the problem you described does sound like they are getting weak. If you lock, unlock, repeat a couple of time within a few seconds of each other and the stop working or fully locking or unlocking, it is usually the actuator being weak.
I changed my rear driver door because it totally stopped after being slow and weak. My pass front door is also getting weak and will probably need changing soon.
The one I got from napa was new, not reman and it came with 4 or 5 rivets while only 2 are needed. And since I could not locate any of my pop rivet guns, I had to pick another up while I was at home depot. These are standard sized rivets and if you have a rivet gun with replaceable tips or a flip tip(like the cheapie I got at home depot), you are covered.
I dont know whether the help section has the plastic pins or not, but if not, they are really cheap at the dealer. The problem is that not just the pin breaks, the part it pops into has tabs that hold it in the metal that break and also the slot in the door panel that hold the clip breaks. Using a panel tool will greatly reduce the chance of breaking a clip and such and you can survive without 1 or 2 of them.
I dont have any pics, but if you have any other questions, just ask. As long as you take your time, you should be fine. BTW, my napa did not stock the actuator, they had to order it and got it the next day.

[splat55]

Hey Guys,
Again, I want to thank you both for your help and suggestions. On Sunday I pulled my door panel off...took a look at what was involved. Hey, and I didn't break any of the door panel snaps...got lucky. Anyway, did a little research that night on the actuators themselves. Went to NAPA in the afternoon and they didn't have the $60 actuator, but by then, I'd figured out the difference between the $50 and $60 actuators. The difference is that the $60 actuator comes with the bracket that mounts it to the door....and the bracket being pre-mounted makes the actuator specific to one side or the other. My NAPA guy didn't have the $60 actuator in store, so I don't know if it would have come with the rivets or not, his book didn't say. I purchased the $50
actuator knowing I could take it back if it hadn't been used. Man, the hardest part was trying to get that rod out of the rubber " business " end of the actuator. I finally ended up getting out my dremel tool with cutting wheel and just cutting the plastic/rubber end of the old actuator just enough to get the rod out. Anyway, I dug through my stuff and found a bucket with about 500 rivets in it...and my old rivet gun. Luckily, there were about 5 different sizes of rivets in the bucket and the correct size was in there. I drilled out the old rivets, disconnected the wiring on the rear of the actuator...wired the new actuator, held it in place while I set the first rivet...then popped them both in. Tested it before hooking the rubber end onto the lock rod. All was good. Finished the installation and now that lock works everytime, no matter how many times I hit the button consecutively. Of course, 2 of the others stop working after a couple of times pushing the lock button...so those are going to have to be replaced. On a good note, now knowing the part number for the aftermarket Dormon actuator, I went on ebay, found a guy that had 2 actuators, new, still in original packaging..but without the boot. He wanted $9.95 for each and $4.50 for shipping both....so I bought them. Man, what a deal. Those were the only ones at that price I could find, but, for anyone looking to replace an actuator, there were plenty available on ebay for around $30 and that included shipping. Anyway, hoping to replace a couple more of the actuators in the next week and I may have to find one more...but hey, I feel like I got a good deal and an education. Plus, I didn't end up paying over $1000, which is what the dealer wanted to replace all 4! So far, with the 3 locks purchased and 1 already installed, I have about $80 invested! Thanks again guys.
Brian

[someotherguy]

Plus, I didn't end up paying over $1000, which is what the dealer wanted to replace all 4! So far, with the 3 locks purchased and 1 already installed, I have about $80 invested! Thanks again guys.
Brian
Good job! :10:

Richard

[splat55]

Good job! :10:

Richard

Hey...thanks Richard...I'd probably not tried replacing the actuators and just suffered with them if you and edman87k5 hadn't made it sound so easy. So now I'm onto the remote. Yesterday I called the dealer....to get the GM part # of the remote for my truck. Of course I'd done a little research first. Again, on ebay there are a ton of guys that have stores that are pretty much strictly remotes for vehicles. One site had a remote with a # very close to the part # for my truck..and reading further it said it could be used to replace a few part #s, including the part # for my truck. So, due dilligence told me to call the parts guy back at my dealership and throw a couple of these other part #s at him. He told me after giving him 3 part #s I got from ebay sellers page that 2 of the numbers were for a specific GM vehicle, and 1 number didn't even come up on his system. Plus he told me that my remote part # is specific to my truck...blah blah...Oh, and that if I buy the Dealership remote (and pay for it before they order it) that I'd have to have the dealership program it to my truck....no other way around it. Man, at 53 I don't know if it's a compliment or a slap in the face when someone thinks that I'd be so naive to just jump on that boat. Plus...$53 plus tax. So, anyway, I'd already emailed an ebay seller that has a " Ebay remote Store " about 2 weeks earlier asking about a remote for my truck and why they didn't have one listed for my truck. He wrote back and told me to call them and he'd find one. Well, yesterday, now that I'm close enough to all my locks working to think about getting a remote, I called him. I gave him the GM part # that I'd gotten from the dealership parts guy. This guy had 1 in stock....with shipping the total was $39.00. He told me that was one of their more expensive remotes....and guess why, cause it's a remote with only 2 buttons...lock and unlock. Yeah, my truck didn't come with an alarm..but had it, my remote would have been a little less. But then he tells me, that there is another #, the same # that I'd gotten off the other ebay sellers site...and the same # I gave the GM parts guy and asked him about...that was for another specific vehicle and wouldn't work on my truck. Well, the guy tells me that yes, it has an extra button...I can't remember if he said the third button was an alarm or trunk release...but he said it will work in place of the $39.00 remote..and to send it out, total cost, $19.90...and it comes with the programming instructions.
So I'm waiting for it now....but if it works, that's just one more feather in my cap for doing the research, and one less bit of confidence I have in my GM dealership...or at least the parts guys there....and I've been a dedicated, no other manufacturer buyin' SOB for over 30 years! Hell, my wife and I are on our I think our 13th or 14th GM that we've purchased new over the years just since we've been together....and this truck is # 174 or 175 of the GM vehicles I've pulled out of garages and fields or just purchased used since 1974...although almost all of them have been between 1942 and 1972....only a dozen or so any newer than that not counting the new car purchases. So, when I walk into or call the GM dealership, I've always hoped that I will get the straight scoop on this stuff...but since we moved up here to the mountains 7 years ago, man, I've gotten nothing but BS from the GM dealerships up here. I may start calling and ordering parts from my old Dealership down in Santa Barbara if they still have anyone that knows anything. But, all this tells me it shouldn't be a surprise that GM is failing fast. There is a little mom & pops autoparts place here and an older guy(older than me anyway) that works there and knows just about everything when I come in asking a question...and there's not that much I don't know or have an idea about already.
Anyway, I'll keep ya posted on whether or not the remote works...if so...another battle won..for me anyway, not so much for GM.
Thanks again Richard.
Brian
Oh, forgot to mention...so while I had the guy on the phone...the guy that has the ebay remote store and sold me the remote, I told him to send me a Paypal invoice for the remote and I'd pay it right there and then while he was on the phone. So, guess what he did instead of sending me a payable invoice...instead, he generated a payment of $19.90...yeah, a minute later in my email I get notification from Paypal that I've just received a payment from mykeyless1!! I started busting up and told the guy on the phone...man, he felt like a dweeb. :clap: Anyway, sent him their money back and then sent them my money for the remote.....What a kick in the pants, huh? I almost got paid for buying their remote.....if I hadn't been the honest type. Boy, GM gonna have trouble competeing with that, huh?