I had recently purchased and installed a (knock off), or non-original part, power door lock actuator for my 2000 Ford Explorer. Unfortunately, after only two days of use, it Malfunctioned,,,,,,,

**UPDATE FEB. 1, 2008

Unfortunately, after installing another of the same, the lock system failed again. It has been little more than 6 months. I have come to the conclusion that I will purchase this item from Ford as an OEM product.  It is not worth the cost of replacing this item through online suppliers, as you don't really know what your getting.  I did disect the part with curiosity as to why two of these have failed.  Inside the system is a small electric motor and a planitary gear system made of nylon gears.  These gears are easily stripped if any one of them becomes dilodged or misalligned.  A small aluminium pin holds one of these fragile gears in allignment. In both cases, this pin broke in two and dislodged the gear.  When the gears are not alligned, the whole system becomes non-operational.  You can here the small motor running each time you actuate the door lock, but the door remains locked or unlocked as it were.

Out of fairness to the ebay dealer, I will not disclose the name of the seller, however we have had a conversation regarding this item and he quickly sent me the first replacement part after it failed in only two days.  I believe he still thinks the majority of these imports are functional.  He commented that he only has one failure out of 50. I can only tell you that it would be quit a coincidence for one person to get two faulty parts.

The conversation included that maybe the door lock itself was faulty which caused the actuator to have to much torque, thereby disabiling the actuator.  I checked the locking mechanisim for the Ford Explorer and found that all was functioning as built.

In conclusion, I find that this imported device is not worth the time, money or irritation.  Save yourself the trouble and buy an OEM or original part when it comes to these actuators or electric door locks.  Had I done that, I figure I would have saved money.

sbcofire-  Evaluation From Hot to Not....    This product receives a NOT  The only thing buring here is the raters opinion