Delocking The Front Doors Originally written by Jamie McCudden of MEG

This is a simple modification you can do to all MK1 and Mk2 mondeos to update the outside slightly and make the car more secure. This can be quite tricky to get the rear door handles into the front but don't give up! Removing the door locks means that you will only be able to access your car using the remote control (or via the boot if its a hatch). For that reason you need to make sure you have a good battery installed in the car and that your remote fob is working 100%. Mk1 owners with Fords IR style locking will not be able to delock both front handles as the sensor "eyes" are mounted in them.

You need:      

• Phillips screwdriver
• Flat-Blade screwdriver
• 8mm Socket Set
• RHS Rear door handle
  • FINIS - 93BB-F26600-AL - Grain Finish - £42
  • FINIS - 95BB-F26600 - Primed Finish - £51
• LHS Rear door handle
  • FINIS - 93BB-F26601-AL - Grain Finish - £42
  • FINIS - 95BB-F26601 - Primed Finish - £51
• Two large metal washers (M5 Series)
• Remote central locking installed

You may need:

• Small file
• Dremel or Small saw

Alternatively:

• No alternatives detailed

First up a few things you should be aware of: This is obviously only for people with remote central locking fitted, and you have to be pretty sure its working properly as I will take no responsibility for anyone getting locked out of there own car (there's always the boot) a spare remote with a good battery is always a good thing! The rear door handles fit fine with only a VERY small (barely noticeable) gap! Start by removing your door cards (Check the how-to in the General section). With the cards removed you need to peel back the insulation foam so you can see the two retaining bolts that hold the outside bezel to the the car. If its a little stiff just tap gently on the bolt heads and it will shake loose. There will be a big black plastic surround that covers up the locking barrel itself, this is held in place via a screw on the edge of the door frame (just up from the latch) unscrew this and it should wiggle out. The rod for the operation of the handle will make it awkward to remove the handle but persevere and it will fall in towards the inner skin of the door. (In order to get full access I would also recommend removing the central locking motor via the three big screws on the latching mechanism) With that removed you need to unclip the lock and handle bars from the old handle. These are held in place by a plastic clip which opens up to release the bars. (The lock barrel rod will no longer be required but should be kept for obvious reasons), take a note of how the handle rod locks into the handle and the central locking motor. There is also a plug connected to the locking barrel for the double locking mechanism, take note you will need to keep the double locking sensor connected in order for your double locking to work (I used cable ties to tie mine up, just make sure that the window won't interfere with the cable on the way down!).

Above is a picture of the double locking sensor which I have tied up at the base of the door, out of the way of the windows downward motion. You should now be at a point where you can offer up the rear handle mechanism to see how it fits. As you look at the rear of the new handle, you'll see the two bolts (which use an 8mm nut) that will be used to hold it in place, we need to do a bit of work on these to make the handle fit flush. On the left hand one we need to remove some of the plastic base plate, I squared mine off at the top and down the right hand side right upto the bolt itself - don't go all the way around the bolt as the plastic will be to weak to support it when you tighten it back up. On the right hand one we need to remove the bottom half of the base, these apply to the drivers side so you will need to offer up the handles to be sure you are removing the correct parts of the base's.

I used a dremmel with a router type bit to do this. To make the handle fit as flush as possible you will need to remove some of the metal away from the mounting holes, not much and remember to paint any edges that you cut in so that it won't rust at a later date. Now in order to get the handle in with minimum effort you need to pull the handle fully open and insert the top part first, this is the metal rod at the top of the handle (working from the outside this time, coming in). Once the top rod is inside the door skin the handle can be released and the bottom half should fall in place, you'll now see why you needed to remove the bases of the bolts.

Now the original mounting holes on the front doors are slightly larger than those on the rears, so in order to hold the handles in place properly I have used M5 repair washers (see picture), you can buy these from B&Q and a small bag of 20 should only cost you around £1.50 they might need a little rework to get them snug though. Now it should just be a case of refitting the rod and black plastic shroud that used to cover the lock barrel then the central locking motor, as for the double locking sensor, ensure it's tied up out of harms way and is not going to be subject to extreme water (Ie, sat in the bottom of the door. As it's not going to be used it's worth wrapping it up in a plastic bag to protect it. And there you have it - delocked mondy! The finished article is shown below.