2004 jeep grand cherokee special edition door lock problems

I just bought a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Special Edition. Well there are a few problems with a used Jeep.
1 the hood pistons bad $17.00 for a pair replaced works great
2 the oil cap was busted. Bought new $8.00
3 Radio the front cd player did not work rear 10 cd did $44.00 for used radio RBP with good cd and cassette for ipod connection.

Well the real problem is the electric door locks. Both drivers and passengers work but get stuck so you cat open the door handle to get out or open the outside door handle to get in.
You kinda have to push the door lock to unlock all the time. The electric switch will not travel back and forward all the ways, gets hung up in the middle and can't open the doors.

I had to do this because the lock arm was binding and no oil or grease would free both door locks

My Fix
Monday I removed the door panels and the door and lock rods. Then I removed the door actuator from the jeep. I sprayed all the moveable parts with WD-40 and lithium grease. The black plastic part that is riveted to the metal housing was binding up and no oil or grease would free this up. This is the part that is moved back and forth by the electrical solenoid to lock and unlock.
This rivet is shown in the attached picture.
In one picture is shown 2 philip head screws. I backed these out and I was able to remove the front plate that this black plastic part is riveted to.

Be careful lifting this away from the large black housing as the gears to the electric switch are under this in the black housing. I put the plate in a vice with just enough pressure to hold in vise. I center punched the rivet and drilled with first a small drill. Then I drilled the hole to a 1/4 hole on the bracket and also the plastic part. Clean part and bracket of metal particles.
I then got a 1/4 in bolt with a nylon locking nut. I installed the head of the screw on the plastic side and the nylon lock nut on the metal bracket side. Tighten so it is snug and the plastic arm moves freely.
Install back on to the large electric housing MAKING SURE THE BLACK ARM FITS ONTO THE GEAR NUBBIE TO MAKE THE LOCK MOVE BACK AND FORTH. YOU WILL SEE THIS AND WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
Spray the complete lock with lithium white grease and this will do the job and works well.

I saved my self/daughter about $500.00 from dealer or $250.00 for 2 new lock from Fleabay. Cost me 2 hours and $00.25 cents for 2 1/4in bolts and nuts

This part is poor design because the plastic is riveted so tight when the metal starts to rust the plastic arm starts to bind and will cause the locks to not work.

I hope this might help someone to save some money and time. It is not as bad a fix if you can use a screw driver and a drill your good to go.
GOOD LUCK

I'll be giving this a try on the actuators on my 2000 JGC. Thanks for the tips.

good luck its kinda easy and a bad design on jeeps end

Well as it turns out the actuators themselves were seized and/or didn't travel far enough so making the change to the pivot spot would have made no difference. Cost me about $55 bucks each to do the two front doors on my 2000 JGC.

Can't seem to find a replacement for the passenger rear door unit...


Thanks for the info on this anyway, it might solve someone's issues and save some $$

Nice fix. I'll stickie this one.

dss56: I have the exact same problem. I'm giving this a try right now. I wish I could see the pics you referred to, but I don't see them on this page.

go to the first post and there are 2 jpg click on them and pictures should be there

The pics were not visible until I registered as a user. Very helpful. That door lock was driving me crazy for the longest time.

I took a slightly different approach after drilling out the rivet. At Home Depot I bought a Binding Post with Screw, 3/16" x 1/4" and used that instead of a machine screw. It's basically a smooth shaft with a cap on one end and the other piece is the screw that goes into the shaft. Both sides have a pretty broad and flat cap, so no washers were necessary. I used blue thread lock to lock it in place. Note: the plastic actuator that the rivet had previously gone through was 3/16 already. I had to widen the hole in the metal housing using a 3/16 drill bit to get the binding post to fit through.

Thanks again for the great fix!