1992 Ford Explorer Door locks

TATTOOEDFISHY

MEMBER
1992 FORD EXPLORER

1992 Ford Explorer Four Wheel Drive Automatic 133000 miles

My driver's side door has recently started to give me problems. The electrical is fine, and it opens fine, but when I go to close it, it bounces right back. The door seems to hang lower on its hinge and the only way to close it is to lift up on the handle and lift the door and inch or so to close it. Also, the spindle that the lock glides up on is 2/3s cracked off (the little rotating plastic piece on the knob) which also seems to be causing a problem in the closing of the door. What is that piece called and what would I have to go about doing to fix it? Thanks.

1 Reply

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,394 POSTS

The plastic sleeve on the latch pin acts like a bearing. It is there to help prevent wear. You can get replacement pins at the dealer and they're not too expensive. If you replace it you will find, they are also adjustable, up, down, in and out so you may want to mark the original position before loosen it.
The door hinges are also adjustable. If the up and movement of the door is excessive, you may want to change the hinge with the most wear or both of them. If you decide to replace one or both hinges rather than adjust them, change them one at a time and support the outside end of the door. Hope this helps.