Redneck9998

I opened up the door but not sure how to fix the upper latch cable

mudmachine22

you have to completely remove the latch at the top of the door. you have to unbolt it and pull it and cable hooked to it out the door. You then have to either buy the repair kit or a new latch from the dealer which runs roughly about 80 for it. you can try junk yards but most of the time they are either broken also or already robbed off the truck if they were good.

I have not personally done the repair yet myself but will be doing do in the next couple of months because I have the same thing happing on my passenger door now.

search for the kit on amazon, look it up by "FGT motorsports Ford door cable repair kit".
they have 8 piece kit for 31.99

mandingo32

If the latches themselves are fine you just need to add tension to the cables. The top on my driver side and bottom on the passenger side wouldn't engage when you pulled the handle. I took tie wraps and tightened them until the tension was right. They've held up for a little over a year now.

Heritage04

I did the same thing. Used some shaping wire, wrapped it around both pieces to get the right tension did mine probably 2-3 years ago and still holding up. I just discovered I have to do my driver side rear door but is very easy to do. Will probably fix it this Saturday. If needed I can snap some pics as I do it and post them here as a walk through.

kd4gij

Here is the fix. The parts are cheap on eBay now.
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...l_883mynrkel_b

eBay
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...+Kit.&_sacat=0

Redneck9998

Please do snap some pics! I'd make it easier for me. Thanks

techdispatch

You will have to open it from the inside-Yes, I have done it and it takes about 15 min. or so.-I have also posted about 40 images, after I opened the door-In an effort to contribute a little to all the lost souls with the Curse of the F150 3rd Door issue. Hope this helps-BTW I just did this on 12/04/2011-found my particular issue-I will need a new cable, so I'll have to go to the dealer tomorrow and buy one. Also included images of the tools needed-Good Luck!
Link to the images are here>>>http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/l...rse/?start=all

techdispatch

You will have to open it from the inside-Yes, I have done it and it takes about 15 min. or so.-I have also posted about 40 images, after I opened the door-In an effort to contribute a little to all the lost souls with the Curse of the F150 3rd Door issue. Hope this helps-BTW I just did this on 12/04/2011-found my particular issue-I will need a new cable, so I'll have to go to the dealer tomorrow and buy one. Also included images of the tools needed-Good Luck!
Link to the images are here>>>http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/l...rse/?start=all

techdispatch

You will have to open it from the inside-Yes, I have done it and it takes about 15 min. or so.-I have also posted about 40 images, after I opened the door-In an effort to contribute a little to all the lost souls with the Curse of the F150 3rd Door issue. Hope this helps-BTW I just did this on 12/04/2011-found my particular issue-I will need a new cable, so I'll have to go to the dealer tomorrow and buy one. Also included images of the tools needed-Good Luck!
Link to the images are here>>>http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/l...rse/?start=all

Heritage04

Here are the pics/ step by step to access this. If you buy replacement parts then this will help you access it. If you do a home made fix, this is how I did mine and it works fine.

step 1: remove the rubber seal on the back door.

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0567_zpsj4odfrwo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0567_zpsj4odfrwo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0567_zpsj4odfrwo.jpg"/></a>

step 2: Unscrew the rear window hinge. (I find it easier to do this with the window open).
<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0569_zpsnupgy8ed.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0569_zpsnupgy8ed.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0569_zpsnupgy8ed.jpg"/></a>

step 3: remove window plastic (there are 5 clips, this can be done by hand or gently pried up with a screwdriver)
<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0570_zpsa2uxczeo.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0570_zpsa2uxczeo.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0570_zpsa2uxczeo.jpg"/></a>

step 4: Unscrew the 2 screws and 1 bolt located at the top of the bottom panel. ( Bolt is a 10mm on my 2003).

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0571_zps2mhkwmaz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0571_zps2mhkwmaz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0571_zps2mhkwmaz.jpg"/></a>

step 5: slide the bottom panel up.

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0573_zpsrpbponwi.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0573_zpsrpbponwi.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0573_zpsrpbponwi.jpg"/></a>

step 6: pull back the plastic cover to access the hole, you should be able to diagnose whether it is the top or bottom that needs to be adjusted, if anything just play with the cables until the door pops open.

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0576_zpsbfb87ng0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0576_zpsbfb87ng0.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0576_zpsbfb87ng0.jpg"/></a>

step 7/my fix: I used a arts and craft type "Framing wire" i believe it is, and used it to wrap the top cable which is the one causing my problem, pulled it to get the tension on it and then wrapped it around some fixed metal to keep the tension.

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0577_zpsjbcko24s.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0577_zpsjbcko24s.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0577_zpsjbcko24s.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s35.photobucket.com/user/aizak/media/IMAG0575_zpstsp7r2lz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d169/aizak/IMAG0575_zpstsp7r2lz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMAG0575_zpstsp7r2lz.jpg"/></a>

Step 8: close your door, then try opening it. If it opens then just clean up some of the wire so it looks neat, and reverse these steps to assemble the door panels back together. If it doesn't, climb back inside, pop the door open and try to adjust the tightness on the cable.

My tip* I find it easier to screw the window hinge back after closing the window hinge.