So I went to the junk yard and pulled out 6 lock actuators from 3 different cherokees and tested each of them and tried to feel which ones were the strongest. I took 3 that I thought were the strongest. Put one in my drivers door, too weak, tried another one, too weak, put the other one in my hatch, which was a PITA BTW and it was TOO WEAK.

So I'm mad now

Cant find any new on ebay, only used, new ones from dealer probably $100 bucks each and thats crazy.

So is there any freaken way to make them stronger or rebuild them or make the locks easier to move or something!!?? I've already pulled the boot and sprayed pb blaster in them and all over the lock pieces.

The weird thing is my passenger door lock actuator works fine.. I'm considering pulling it and using it for the hatch so at least I can lock and unlock that, I don't have a key for it btw.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

It may be more that the lock mechanisms are gummed up and need a good cleaning and then a good lube. Dirt and grime will get into the doors and hatch and it sticks to anything with grease on it. As they age the factory lubrication becomes sticky and the dirt makes it worse. I'm thinking some brake parts cleaner and then some white lithium grease.

 

Well like I said I sprayed all the lock parts with pb blaster, but I will spray with brake cleaner and grease them up and try again.

 

Pb Blaster is a great rust penetrant and helps to free up seized bolts, but it is not a cleaner and does not remove the gummed up grime that could be causing the issues.

 

ah ok to bad I wasted half a can of it on that then. stupid auto parts guys I asked what would be good for cleaning and lubricating the locks and they said pb blaster, which I already had, I didn't think that was right. most auto parts guys are stupid as hell, just a few weeks ago got new wipers on the bmw and the guy was sizing them and broke my windshield.... they paid to fix it of course but still.

 

I cleaned the rear hatch look really good with brake cleaner and lubbed it up really good with white lithium grease and it almost unlocks and locks but just doesnt have enough power... Guess If I want power locks I will have to buy NEW ones for $80 a piece since the junk yard ones are just as weak.

 

Teamcherokee.com has all 4 actuators brand new for $150.00. Replaced mine about 3 months ago.

 

oh nice, thanks. I really only need 2 though, one for the drivers and one for the hatch.

 

Wow. Give me the # of the auto parts store, I want to yell at them.
In the meantime, (and this is just another thought) make sure all your connections are good and lubed with dilectric grease. Might not hurt to throw some on the fuse too. I've heard that bad connections can mean a loss of power. It sounds like the motors or whatever aren't getting enough juice, because if you've lubed them and they're easy to move by hand the motors should still be able to handle it. You're actually cleaning them by removing them, right? I remember another guy that was just firing WD40 into the keyhole...

 

I haven't cleaned the actuator its self, I've sprayed brake clean all over the lock mechanism, with the panel off, and then greased it all up with white lithium grease. It could be the fuse connections I suppose.

Lol it was auto zone on w 11th in Eugene oregon, almost everyone around my town are morons.

 

Try silicone spray on locks and actuators. I had great results using it on power windows.

 

1) Don't bother with JY pulls on something like that - they're weak going in.

2) Many people have had good luck rewiring the power feed for the door lock actuators - using the switches to trip relays, and having the relay feed power to the actuator directly from distribution. This removes the bottleneck created by the switch.

3) Your lock linkage may also be crudded up or the lubrication worn off. I've had to replace a number of door lock actuators recently on late-model Ford Explorers - partly due to the lock actuators being silly (a known issue) and partly due to the linkage being cruddy.

- Clean the linkage using a decent solvent and a rag (I'll usually use a little acetone or MEK - make sure to wear gloves!) and let it dry fully. Relubricate using dry graphite powder - the dry lubricant won't collect crud like the lithium grease used originally will. If you can't get dry graphite (check the lock section at your local hardware store, or a local locksmith,) then go to the gun shop and pick up a small bottle of CLP. The carrier oil will eventually wear away, but it will leave a dry lubricant film on the parts - the oil can collect crud (use sparingly!) but the dry film won't.

- Neither lubricant is antagonistic to the Nylon bushings and slides used against the metal rails in the linkage.

Here's a writeup on the Greg Smith power door lock/relay modification. Get wiring diagrams for your year, and modify the instructions as required (mainly the wiring colours are what you will want to change.) http://www.naxja.org/forum/archive/i...hp/t-1874.html