Dorman 746-147 Door Lock Actuator Motor

I ordered this for my OBS Ford. It fit a 97 crew cab perfect and worked great. You don’t need to rivet anything in. You can use the stock bracket and just slide this one into it. I ended up using the stock rod as none of the ones it came with were the correct length.

I've been through many a lock actuator in the ~25 years I've owned Fox Body Mustangs. Many have been let downs, but not these! I ordered two Dorman actuators after wasting a lot of time and a fair amount of money on others in the past. These two actuators don't mess around, pushing or pulling the lock mechanisms crisply. All the others that I have bought from certain Mustang parts sites have been weak, sometimes locking but not unlocking... sometimes unlocking, but not locking. VERY Frustrating. After reading some other reviews here I ordered these and am not disappointed. Dorman's may cost more than the others, but they work the first time. Saving time in installs/removals, returning the bad and ordering new, hoping the latest order you'll get lucky and they'll work. Pay the bit more and put these in once so you don't have to screw around with things again and again. BTW: At least for the Fox Body Mustangs these are not a hard install. Probably a 1-1.5hr job per door tops. Removing the door handle is 4 screws (two 3/8" lag type screws and 2 Philips heads), removing the lock/windows switches is 2 Philips screws, the door panel is 3 more Philips screws, pop the panel clips with something like a "Lisle 35400" removal tool and set it aside. If you need new panel clips you can order "N807925-S". Peel back about 1 foot of the plastic sheet behind the door panel at the door latch end and peak inside. You'll see the actuator being held in place with a white plastic bracket. Spray a little WD40 on the rubber grommets that hold the actuator in the plastic bracket and push the actuator our of the bracket. Once out of the bracket, turn the actuator body parallel with the ground while lightly pulling towards the front of the car to get the actuator pin out of the lock mechanism. It can be a little finicky but it will come out easily as only the bend in the steel holds the pin in place. It's not screwed in or anything. Once out, unplug the actuator (careful as the old plastic can be brittle) and look it over so you can see which bent steel pin is needed from the kit for the new actuator. A little looking at the old actuator will show you how to put the new one together. Once together, plug the new actuator in, put a little WD40 on the new rubber grommets reverse everything you just did. Getting the grommets/holders in and out of the plastic bracket is by far the hardest part of this project. They are in there good and putting them back in requires some patience, finesse and grip strength. Just in case, once you get the new actuators in, test things a few times before you put it all together. These actuators should work great, but you just never know. Good Luck!!

I have used this product for my 1990 f150 passenger and driver side door and it has lasted for at least 5 years and still working. I recently bought one more for my 1988 F350 Centurion crew cab which Amazon stated it doesn't work but believe it or not it does work! There's a video by an account named The Fix on youtube which shows you how to install it too!

The picture shows what I used for a crossed part number for the rear door lock actuators on my 97 f350 crew cab. there is a image of the the Rear Driver door actuator part number from Ford. The Ford parts were $300+ if you could find them, and I wasn't going to waste my time or money on pick your parts. Some tips and tricks Do not drill the rivet that retains the actuator keeper! unless you have a lot of hardware laying around and can make it work or you have a rivet that matches the factory. If you lube up the sides of the actuator and gently push the actuator down ( your arm has to go in the door, was difficult for my arms that are long and thicker than needed to get in the space but was able to push it out of the retainer, reverse steps for installing the new assembly) Thankfully I found a decent review on these by a guy that said they work just fine in the crew cab doors, that said they work as long as you use the original actuator rod.... Only part I didn't read or saw in that is you have to cut the original rod off the original actuator . No big deal for me, I have been a mechanic for 20 years on everything from motorcycles to heavy construction equipment, I cut it right where the twists begin. I took the new actuator fit the cut original rod in it, used the holes as a guide for drilling the original rod to be pinned in( comes with the new actuator) . After connecting the wiring I pushed the rubber retainers into the original plastic holder ( still riveted to the door from the factory) then it was tested for function ( must have all the switches hooked up to actuate) before fully re installing the door panel. Start to finish a little over an hour to do both doors. First door was done by removing the factory rivet. replacing the rivet was hard ( didn't have any to match the factory) I had to dig through all of my loose hardware to find a button head torx 6mm x1.o0 thread and a low profile Nylock nut. I will order a rivet for the first door where I broke the plastic retainer. I forgot to take a pic of it all assembled but for the most part a half way decent mechanic shouldn't be difficult to do. Even if these don't last more than a year or two it was $80 for both compared to $800 from Ford ill still use these!

I purchased a competitor product and regretted it when it didn't function properly. I purchased the DORMAN equivalent part and of course it functioned perfectly. Do it right the first time

Although the listing says that it will not fit early 80's bullnose F-series trucks, i was able to fit this to my 1985 F-250 with little to no hassle. As others have mentioned, all that is needed is a quick bend of the longest "S" shaped rod into an "L" shape. I also cut the rod a little shorter about 1/4" so the L was not as long, but this step is not necessary. Alternatively, the locking style plastic clip can be replaced with a plastic bushing to make the "S" shaped rod attach correctly. Either way, the actuator works great!

Dorman has good quality replacement parts worked great .

Many thanks to "Kindle Customer" who wrote a review for this actuator - "Saved me ! and my $". He suggests reusing the old retaining bracket by pushing the actuator down, and out of the open slots on the bottom of the retainer. That worked quite well & I was able to reuse the retainer. I did shoot the rubber bushings holding the actuator into the retaining bracket with silicone, and let them soak overnight, however I do not think that was necessary. The old actuator popped out of the bracket without much difficulty. The new one back in as well. The longest control rod was correct for the 1990 F150. Also, in order to rotate the actuator up & away from the retainer I had to remove the bolt holding the window slide brace in place. Once the windows slide (felt strip) was out the way, it was clear sailing. See the picture with the blue arrow.

These work. I tried 2 other brands from Mustang parts stores that were half the price but they kept binding up as if they didn’t have enough power to open or lock the doors. The Dorman ones are strong enough. They operate the door latch easily. You get what you pay for..

Lube it up be careful with the old bracket. Not too bad to install. If you don't want to drill out that bracket be very careful pulling the old motor out. Lube it up and use a screwdriver to twist it out. You will need to loosen the latch assembly to get at everything.

It's good so far

great product, after installation it works perfectly was shipped promptly and I am very happy thank you

Works as expected, replaces OEM power door actuator on 1990 Ford Mustang.