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Actuator Installation, page 2

The purpose of this hole is to provide a way to insert the 2 1/2" long 8-32 machine screw in the actuator mount, and enable you to use a common screwdriver to tighten it up. 

There is a method to avoid drilling the 1/2" hole that I haven't tried: it involves cutting the head off the 2 1/2" screw. Place the old actuator side by side with the new one, and visualize the new actuator mount screw trimmed and shimmed with nuts and washers until it is the same width as the old actuator. Trim the screw off until it is the same width as the old actuator pivot mounts. Use other washers and nuts until the amount of screw sticking out of each side is the same as the old actuator. Tighten the nuts down against the actuator and use  super glue to lock them in place. Later on you will get to try to shoehorn the assembled actuator back into the mount. This is untested and I don't know if it will work, or how hard it is to install the new actuator assembly in the mount.

Ford strikes again:

One issue raises its ugly head here and that is that Ford used two types of mounts for the actuator assemblies. One was steel and needs no further modification. The other is plastic and is about 5/32" shorter from the center of the pivot points to the door  mounting surface. The actuator assembly will not fit because the motor bottoms out on the inside surface of the door, and will not fit  properly into the actuator mount .

Notice that the plastic mount allows the bottom of the actuator motor to ride on the flat surface, causing the linkage to tilt downward. 

Click on picture to enlarge

This requires you to drill out the 1/4" rivet, and use a 1/4" bolt to go through the door to secure the actuator mount. Then on the inside of the door, place 2 large outside diameter washers (the hardware store calls them fender washers, I call them wood washers) on the 1/4" bolt. The fender or wood washers provide enough contact area between the door surface and the bottom of the actuator mount to stabilize it. This will keep it from bending and cracking the door sheet metal as the actuator is repeatedly used. It spaces the mount up enough to provide clearance between the bottom of the actuator motor and the inside of the door. Put the actuator mount on the bolt, and tighten the self-locking nut down securely.

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This page last updated 11/26/02                                                        
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