Replacing door lock motor: Best course of action?

[L1011tristar17]

The power door locks for the driver's side front and rear do not work on my car. They did not work when I bought the car and I ended up yanking the motor for the front door since it would freeze up in the winter. I was careless and broke the plastic bracket that the motor mounts to.

I would like to repair the power locks in my car, however new OEM replacements are apparently very expensive. Plus I would need a new plastic bracket and I am not sure if the replacements come with one.

With that being said, should I try my luck pulling a few from a junkyard? Or is there a good aftermarket brand that will work the same?

[HiFiMerc]

I know the brackets in the 84 I had were metal (I have them somewhere, well, 3 of them. The 4th is a twisted pos now. Long story). I'd try to find some older Panthers in hopes of find some metal brackets.

I'm thinking the new ones won''t come with brackets. But then again... you never know.

Edit: Bring a cordless drill battery with you to try the motors. Don't forget a couple jumper wires with alligator clips on them. Pull a motor, try it out. Don't forget to try both polarities, as that's how it moves up and down. If it doesn't move the first time, try reversing the wires.

[VicCrownVic]

Yep, some that I have worked with have plastic brackets and some have metal. I've mainly dealt with 87-89 MGM and CV but I'm not really sure which cars had what type bracket, I wouldn't be surprised if 87- have metal and 88+ have plastic but I don't know that to be fact.
Most guys like to drill the rivet and replace the bracket with the actuator, it's a lot easier. I've always wrestled mine out of the bracket and only replace the bracket if it breaks (I've broken the plastic bracket before).

[gadget73]

I'm thinking long-term we need to figure out what newer vehicles we can get lock motors from and adapt to our needs. The aftermarket ones suck, OEM are getting hard to find, and old ones are by and large shot by now. Im thinking new ones from cars made in the last decade should be a good option. The trick will be finding ones with lock rods that can match up to what a box lock assembly needs.

[GM_Guy]

I'm happy with the later model cvgm lock motor I installed earlier. Picked up three more along with pigtails from a 1998 mgm at the wreckers today for when the rest of them fail. Next time around i'll find out if those additional nubs for the mounting bracket will allow a direct fit without the coupler I used on the first one. I have not priced them here in Canada, but US price seems to be around 70 bucks for a new one from the ford parts counter--which is a lot better than the 200+ bucks they want for a 1989 specific lock motor.

[retrofit: http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...uator-retrofit ]
Alex.

[TecNickal]

Instead of drilling out the blessed rivet, I just leave it in place, and remove the snap ring if I need to replace the bracket the actuator attaches to.

I wrestle the actuator out of its holder too.

[GM_Guy]

^Agreed with that. Unfortunately, the box and whale bracket don't marry together so if you are going late model route, you'll need to whip out the drill.

Alex.