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Dihrdbowti
01-07-2006, 17:40
Today I had to replace my drivers side inside door handle as I could feel that it was starting to go. Once out I could see that it was already cracked. After replacing it my power door lock motor is struggling. I'm sure that slide lock on the new handle is partly the cause as it is a little stiff however the motor has occasionally not worked in the past. Has anyone run into this or replaced one of these motors?

JTodd
01-08-2006, 04:55
I replaced one on a back door of my Suburban. I bought a set of universal actuators from Ebay. Installed fairly easily. IIRC, you need to drill out the rivits that hold the original on, and the space is limited, but went smoothly.

Dihrdbowti
01-13-2006, 21:35
Update. So the next morning I go out and unlock the door with the remote. The door unlocked. I went to the store and used the door switch to lock the door. It worked. This whole week it has been working fine. What I think happened was that I didn't kill the lights inside while I was workong on the door for several hours. The new door lock is a little stiffer so it probably was just a little harder to move.

relamb
01-14-2006, 08:07
An unproven theory on the door lock actuators,and window motors, based on my experience with Astro Vans.
I have had several Astros, 1988 and 2000 models.
My 2000 model has had lots of problems with door lock actuators not being strong enough to actuate, and power window motors not strong enough to roll the windows up and down. With (3) different 1988 models (all with 175,000-250,000 miles) I have never had this problem. My theory is that as GM beats up on vendors for price reduction, the amount of copper in the windings, materials etc has been degrading year to year on the same part number as the design is cheapened. The old ones were probably built a little more robust than the new ones. The new ones work through the warranty period, and that's all they care about. Therefore, I have removed the sets of these devices (still going strong) from the old vans when they were scrapped, and saved them for replacements in the newer vans. The actual door latch handles (similar design to gm trucks and SUVs of the same vintage) are a problem, I've probably replaced six or 8 of those, maybe more.
By the way, all four of these vans have gone through at least 2 blower motors. Must be an issue with that design as well.