Here's why my passenger side rear suicide door wouldn't open.

The upper latch wouldn't release because a plastic boot, that provided leverage to the steel cable, literally decomposed in just ten years. The replacement part ($47 from Utter Ford in TX) is very easy to install. The hardest part was jimmying open the upper latch while the door is basically shut.

Here's a few pictures of the process:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...per-latch.html

Someone with more patience than me could probably devise a way to rig a dependable repair of the part, but that new latch does work great. I suppose I'll have to do the driver's side soon.

 

This just happened to me yesterday on my parent's 1998. I now feels obligated to fix it for them. One question, how did you go about jimmying the latch open.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Lorenzo

 

Open the "good" door and practice on it. For better access, you need to pull away the rubber weather strip that surrounds the upper latch, then pull out on the upper door trim to expose the workings of the latch. Manually push the latch closed (up). If you jam a tool into the latch beneath where the springlike coil of wire is, you'll see how the latch releases. Practice to get the location and feel.

On the bad door, the bottom latch will release just enough for you to get the door slightly ajar. Again, pull away the rubber weather strip that surrounds the upper latch, then pop off as much of the upper door trim as you can. For a tool, bend a thin blade of metal into a shape that will fit into the awkward gap. It must be stiff enough to not bend before you can apply enough pressure to trip the latch. I snapped apart an old pair of large hooked tweasers, but a length of wire coat hanger might do. I went back to the good door several times to make sure I was pressing in the right place - and adjusted the bend in the tool accordingly. It will release half way at first so you need to keep at it to get the door all the way open.

In hindsight, if the door will open enough to permit you to get the bottom interior trim off, you could disconnect the lower part of the cable (where I indicate in the photos) and pull hard on the lower end of the steel cable while applying pressure on the door to open it. I didn't even try to remove the lower interior trim until I got the door open.

 

98's had 3 doors, so i feel slightly confused by the "good door" statement. lol

 

Yikes.

OK - absent finding someone elses truck to "practice" on, it appears that the door trim CAN be removed with the door still closed. You have to get the upper half off first.

Remove the two screws that hold the window latch to the trim then simply pull/pry the trim straight off the door.

This will expose a couple of screws and a nut that hold the top part of the lower half of the trim. Also, there's a plastic retainer pin that looks like a rivet. Push in on the center of this pin to release it.

Remove the hardware then LIFT UP on the lower trim to remove it.

Remove the speaker and disconnect it's harness.

Peel down the plastic to expose the mechanism.

As per my first set of photos, you'll see where the upper latch's cable is clipped into the back side. Flip open the yellow clip then PUSH the cable free.

You should be able to tug on the steel cable and open the latch. Be sure to apply outward pressure to the door.

Plan "C" is to simply hacksaw off the U shaped catch screwed to the door frame. (The part the latch grabs.)

If you still want/need to jimmy open the latch, I've added a closeup picture to illustrate how it's done:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...per-latch.html

Of course, a '98 might be assembled differently

 

you should post this in the how-to's if someone else hasnt.

 

Bought my 1999 XLT on Friday. Sunday night I couldn't get the passenger side door to open. Luckily, my dealer had the latch in stock (but it wasn't $47, more like $75). They stock the passenger side, say it is the only one that fails. I tried like crazy to pop the latch as you described. I could do it on the driver's door but not the passenger side. I ended up just pulling on the end of the cable. Worked like a charm. Since you have to take the cable out anyway, I'd suggest skipping the tool making and all the other stuff. Here's my process.

Get a new cable from your supplier. Also get a plastic door panel rivet.

1. Slide the passenger seat all the way forward and tilt the seatback forward
Working from the back seat:
2. Remove the two screws holding the window latch to the window frame and push it out of the way toward the cener of the window.
3. Starting at the top back corner, remove the window surround by pulling it straight out, popping the clips loose from the door frame.
4. Remove the two screws and one nut holding the lower door trim panel. At the top rear corner of the panel there is a black plastic rivet. Using a small tool like an ice pick, push the center part through the body. It will drop down inside the door and be lost forever. That's why you need to get one when you get the latch. Now you can pull the outer part out from the front. Pull the top of the panel out slightly and lift to remove.
5. Peel the plastic weather seal away around the square hole in the center of the door to get access to the door latch control mechanism.
6. The upper latch cable is attached on the back side of the mechanism in two places, just like the cable that is attached on the front. A groove in the rubber bushing that is attached to the outer cover of the cable slides into a notch in a tab in the steel frame of the mechanism. The threaded rod piece on the end of the cable is captivated in a yellow clip. You can just barely see the release tab looking through the hole in the center of the mechanism. Practice unclipping the yellow cover on the front to see how it works then push straight out on the tab for the upper latch cable. Pull the cable end out of the yellow retainer and pull the bushing out of the slot in the mechanism frame. If it hasn't already unlocked (mine did) pull on the end of the cable to unlatch the top latch.
7. Tie a piece of fishing line or string onto the end of the old cable.
8. Pop the rubber latch cover off of the two black plastic rivets and pull the cover out of the way to get access to the mounting bolts.
9. Remove the three Torx bolts holding the latch and pull the old latch and cable out through the hole in the door.
10. Transfer the fishing line to the end of the new cable and feed the new cable into the door while pulling it into position with the fishing line.
11. Bolt the latch into place and slp the rubber cover back over the rivets.
12. Reaching over the latch mechanism, slide the groove in the boot into the slot in the mechanism frame. Press the cable end into position and then push the yellow cover back over the cable end until it clicks.
This would be a good time to check and make sure everything works like it should.
13. Finally, reverse the procedures in steps 1-5 to put eerything back together, using the new rivet you bought.

Once I gave up on trying to release the latch from the outside, and ignoring the trip to the parts house for a replacement rivet, it took longer to write this up than to do the work.

Al

 

Thanx to all that posted here. I've got my drivers side 3rd door trim panels off and can see the broken plastic 'collar'. Now the prob is that I can't locate the part. Anyone know the actual name or part number?

THanx, Jeff

 

my fix for that problem was just removing the upper latch and keeping the lower one since at the time (read 4 years ago) i did not have the money for that part and it has just stayed that way ever since although i guess i should fix it now that I have a job and all

 

my fix for that problem was just removing the upper latch and keeping the lower one since at the time (read 4 years ago) i did not have the money for that part and it has just stayed that way ever since although i guess i should fix it now that I have a job and all

 

It's a dealer item. Just tell them you need the lower or upper latch cable (whichever you need) for the rear cab door. They'll ask you which side, since it's apparently side specific.

Al

 

Thanks R8rvectors for the write-up Happend to me and i thought "Great, Another thing I have to pay bu-ku to get fixed" found this now i just need to get to the local scrap yard and find a cable. If I can't find one then I will have to pay from the dealer.

Details:
Window latch - 2 phillips screws (used #2)
Lower Door Panel - 2 Phillips (#2), 1-10mm nut, 1 plastic rivit (Not needed)
Speaker - 4- 1/4"nut-screws

I used a piece of scrap trailer wire I had laying around with some electrical tape to pull through and it is just laying there for me to get the cable and run it backwards.

Edit: Yea, It's a dealer item. Codt 60.00 from my mechanic to get from the dealer. next up was 63.99+tax from dealer directly then above that 70.35+tax from other farther dealers directly.

 

I hate to bump this thread so many months after it died, but do any of yall have the part number for the cable and plastic boot that connects it to the door mechanism? My home brew methods of repairing the door have only been temporary fixes, especially during the hot months of the summer. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

 

The cable alone is not available as a part. you have to buy the latch and cable as an assembly. Not knowing your model, the best I can suggest is to go to your dealer, or try here:

http://www.texasmotorsfordparts.com/...?siteid=214462

They have a complete parts catalog on line. You'll want the body parts catalog, and just keep clicking down until a list of parts shows up. Then you can click on "View Diagram" and see a picture of everything in the general area.

I have bought several parts from them. Quick shipping, prices below dealer list, and seem to be OEM Ford parts.

Al

 

I think I found the correct part in their catalog, that's an easy site to navigate. Much appreciated!