Door lock actuator gears..

[Myrithel]

The last listing I saw for the gear by itself was on ebay.... dated last year. Is there any hope for them to be relisted? I can't justify spending a couple hundred on actuators assemblies.

Are all the actuators interchangeable (front/back/hatch)? I've had thoughts, that if I couldn't buy new gears, I'd try to tap a screw into the heads of them, and if that doesn't work, I'd just move the working rear actuator to the front passenger. Disconnecting the rear/hatch actuators so they wouldn't grind. It seems like a reoccurring problem with P5s so I don't think a used junkyard actuator would be a good long term fix.

 

[pcb]

Rockauto has the actuators for about $45 each and they are different for every door. They don't list one for the hatch.

I think the gears inside are all the same so you might be able to do a gear swap with what you've got.

 

[Myrithel]

Is there even a keyless entry for the hatch? I'm not seeing it on Mazdapartsonline either and the back doesn't whir like the other broken ones. It's either there isn't one or the motor is toast :s

 

[pcb]

Yea,... there's something for the hatch,... mine locks and unlocks with the other doors.

I'm thinking it may be a different design for the hatch,... perhaps a regular solenoid like the actuators on all the other cars I've had.

The hatch actuator makes a different kind of noise,... more of a clunk.

 

[pcb]

I found this info,... the actuator appears to be the same gear type of mechanism as the doors. (I don't know why it sounds different ??)

 

[bpt323]

why hasn't anyone had a replacement gear cast??? even a AL gear would be extensively stronger.

I have this issue currently on the drivers front & after reading countless threads i think im going to do just that. (contact my buddy about casting so replica gears out of AL)

 

[pcb]

That sounds like a good idea,... there's lots of us that could use gears.

There was a guy selling replacement plastic gears but they are no longer available.

 

[bpt323]

i'll see what i can do on my end to supply something more durable.

 

[Myrithel]

I don't think aluminum is going to work well.. the actuator works because the travel slide slips along the main gear very quickly after an engagement/unengagement. If it doesn't slip, you won't be able to manually unlock a door you electronically locked twice and you could cause stress on the motor's little gear. The advantage of the plastic nylon-like material is that it is VERY slippery, even with almost no grease.
To combat this problem you can put in bigger strings, but it still won't be as smooth as stock, and also the actuator motor would under a lot more stress (weight of aluminum + pushing the springs).

If I were you, I would just find a replacement plastic actuator gear, OR... remove both rear actuators and take the gear from one of them and put it in the front. For me at least, I never really have more than 1 passenger so there is no need to even have the rear actuators in the first place. Then you also have a spare gear and 2 spare motors lol

 

[bpt323]

i sincerely doubt AL would be as much of an issue as your claiming. but thanks for your input