How To Replace Door Latch Cable 2004-08 Ford F-150
Created on: 2010-05-08
How to get in to your door and replace the cable that connects your door handle to the door latch to the Ford F-150, model years 04, 05, 06, 07, and 08.
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step 1 :Removing the Door Panel
- Remove the bolts from the bottom of the door panel
- Pry off the speaker cover
- Remove the bolts from the speaker
- Pull out the speaker
- Disconnect the speaker wiring harness
- Wrap a putty knife in a cloth rag to avoid damaging the paint or the panel
- Pry off the window switch panel with the putty knife
- Disconnect the window switch wiring harness
- Remove the bolt inside the door pull
- Pull off the trim piece inside the door handle
- Remove the bolts from the interior door handle
- Pry off the interior door handle with the putty knife
- Pull the door panel up and off
- Disconnect the interior door handle from the latch cable
- Carefully peel off the water shield
- For more detailed instructions, please see the 2006 F-150 door panel replacement video
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step 2 :Removing the Door Handle
- Pry out the plugs on the edge of the door with a flat blade screwdriver
- Remove the 10mm bolts
- Remove the two 10mm bolts from the door handle
- Pull out the front of the door handle, slide it forward, and twist it up to release the lock rods
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step 3 :Removing the Lock
- Remove the three T27 Torx screws from the latch assembly
- Remove the 10mm screw from the window guide
- Remove the clips from the lock rod
- Pull the lock assembly up and out
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step 4 :Removing the Latch Cable
- Pry the latch cable from the door lock with a flat blade screwdriver
- Bend the lock rod out of the metal bracket
- Remove the latch cable
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step 5 :Installing the Latch Cable
- Snap the latch cable in
- Push the cable over the metal bracket
- Pull the latch cable down
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step 6 :Installing the Lock
- Insert the lock rods and latch assembly in place
- Clip the door handle rod into place
- Insert a T27 screw into the latch assembly by hand
- Clip in the door latch cable in place
- Insert and tighten the T27 Torx screws
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step 7 :Reinstalling the Door Handle
- Attach the latch cable to the door handle
- Tilt the door handle into the door
- Insert the 10mm bolts to the door handle
- Insert the plugs to the end of the door
- Replace the 10mm window guide bolt
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step 8 :Reinstalling the Door Panel
- Put the water shield back on
- Put the door panel into place
- Insert the bolt inside the door pull
- Connect the speaker wiring harness
- Push the speaker into place
- Insert the bolts into the speaker
- Push on the speaker cover
- Connect the window switch to its wiring harnesses
- Push the window switch panel into the door
- Connect the interior door handle to its latch rod
- Push the interior door handle into place
- Insert the bolts into the interior door handle
- Push the trim piece into the interior door handle
- Insert the bolts into the bottom of the door panel
- For more detailed instructions, please see the 2006 F-150 door panel replacement video
Tools needed
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Socket Extensions
Flat Blade Screwdriver
T27 Torx Driver
Putty Knife
5mm Socket
10mm Socket
Ratchet
Cloth Rags
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Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing or maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20-plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly: that's going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video, we'll be showing you how to remove and replace the cable that connects the inside door handle to the latch on this '06 F-150. It's the same as any '04 to '08 F-150. Tools you'll need are various metric sockets. You can use some standard socket substitutions, a small flat blade screwdriver, putty knife and a rug to protect your paint, and a T27 Torx driver.
We're going to kind of fast-forward through removing the door panel. You can probably pick up enough here to get the job done, but we do have this in regular speed on our other videos. Just bear with this. You can follow along, bear with it for probably another 20 to 25 seconds.
To access the inside of the door panel, what you want to do is carefully remove your plastic. It's just stuck on by a bunch of sticky stuff. Just pull it carefully. You don't want to rip this at all because you want to be able to install it just the way it was. I removed the plastic and then I laid it out nice and flat because we don't want to get it all stuck to itself.
For this repair, you do have to remove your door handle, and then that allows you to remove the lock mechanism from the door. I recommend to do as little damage as possible to these plugs so just work a screwdriver underneath then into the door and then pop it. You're going to remove that 10mm screw. Now, I apologize. I didn't get a good shot at these two 10mm bolts holding the front of the door handle on. Normally, I'd take a shot of them, but I kind of hit the wrong button. You remove those 10mm nuts and go from there. You can reach right up in there and take the nuts off the rest of the way. You don't drop them. Now, once your door handle's unbolted, and I have the door closed here, you pull out the front of it. You slide it forward a little bit. Then you twist it. You're also kind of pushing down on it very carefully. It actually comes right out.
Three T27 Torx screws I'm going to remove those. To get the lock mechanism out, first you're going to want to take off this window guide right here. It's a little 10mm screw. Now you're going to remove this clip. I just stick my finger back in there, push down the clip, and the top side comes out. Then I push up and that comes out. It's just a little arrow clip. Then you want to push this clip out. You can use a screwdriver to kind of push on it. Push the ribs through. This is your lock rod and it comes down.
What you actually want to do is pull your lock mechanism up. Clear the window way down there and then right up. Here on the handle, put your screwdriver in right here, pry out, and then this cable comes out like that. Obviously back in, put that in there, and twist it. Make sure you're going into the right notch and pull it on.
Here on the latch end, what you want to do is go ahead and take a screwdriver, pull this bar out, and get it out outside of this black plastic here. Then, with a thumb, hold that, and then just bend the cable right in under. Once you have that, this cable then pulls out and off.
Obviously, to reinstall, just push it back in. You might want to use a pair pliers to snap that back in. Then just push the cable right up and in. From the outside, pull that down. To reinstall, put the rods in and get everything through. Make sure this is up and through. Make sure your door handle rod is up. Put that into place. Have one of your T27 screws ready. Get things into place.
Start one of these screws to hold it. At the end, make sure those lock rod is clipped in correctly. Put the cable back. Re-clip your harness here. Tighten them up. I'm going to put it back in. Here's your rod here. Pull on it. Bring it up. You can actually go this way. Get that in underneath. Twist it back. Push it back and then in. After you've bolted the door handle back in and tighten it up, just make sure you put your little plugs back in.
Now, we're ready to put the water shield back on. From here on out, we're going to be in fast motion. Actually, we're going to kind of cut it off to just to stay within the YouTube 10 minutes. It's basically putting the water shield back on and then the door panel. If you want to see this, putting the door panel on in the regular motion and the complete thing, just check out our other YouTube videos. If you've taken it apart, you can probably get it back together.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person
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