2014 Lincoln MKX.


Right Hand Actuator Motor
I followed the instructions shown below from the shop manual.
Except I don't know what step 3 refers to. Anyhow, is step 3 the secret to getting to the barely visible and hidden screws? Seems doubtful.

Any ideas?

Thanks In Advance,
Pete


From the shop manual.

 

If you cannot get behind the covering then you need to remove the plastic panel that is covering them.
Most of the time the panel can be pulled away from the places where it is secured. If you don't see any screws holding the panel on , just carefully pull the edges away and you will feel it pop out of the slot the plastic retainers are holding it in. If you are careful you should not destroy anything and once you see how it is all held in place you will be amazed at how easy it will be to put together.

 

I am trying what you say. Still trying to figure out what they mean by "RH lower instrument panel insulator".
I paid $177 for the CD version of the 2014 MKX shop manual and I can't find that item. They nicely annotate obvious things like "glove compartment release stops" but not the "RH Lower.....".
I have searched the entire manual and never find the word "insulator". The CD doesn't have a search function so it is manual clicking link after link.

I have found an exploded view of that area and it dose not show that black cowling where I drew the circle with the "?" in it. They show similar things including where the attachment points are but not the cowling that is blocking me.

As you can see in the picture I have removed the screws holding that cowling (two of three screws are shown). I have pulled hard on the area near the center screw and had some success popping that horizontal section loose but that is all. With a mirror I can see many attachment points along the left and right sides of that cowling but I can't pull hard enough to get any to pop.

Those attachment points seem to be made up of a tab (maybe 3/8 inches wide) with a white clip over the tab. It is possible that the white clip should come off to release the tab. Could that be or do I need to force the tab and clip out together?

In the mean time I will try more force and search for hints on how to remove a "RH lower instrument panel insulator".

Thanks
Pete

 

I cant find that trim panel in the workshop manual exploded views, I can tell you the white clips on the tabs should stay attached to the panel you remove. If I cannot figure out how to remove a panel I just start taking the panels around it till I can figure it out. Without looking at it I wont know what to remove but I am thinking if the center console is removed that trim panel would be easier to access.

 

(1) Good to know about the white clips.
(2) I am taking your advice about removing adjacent panels. But every one seems to be interlocked with another panel. The right center console panel is partially loose. Good thing I noticed that an air duct got disconnected when it moved. That is my concern, disconnecting something without noticing.
I also managed to mangle both "X- shaped studs" next to the screws I removed. You can see one of them next to the screw I removed. No big deal.
I am considering drilling a hole where the circle with the "?" is so I can get to that screw but there is a steal bracket behind it. I think I would end up having to drill through that

If I realy get desperate I may cut that cowling where it makes the bend then swing it out of the way enough to get to the screw. Then patch it with an angle bracket. Just idle thoughts while my 74 year bones try to recover from crawling under the dash. ;-)

 

Well, I found a solution. I removed that cowling that surrounded the glove box opening and found another one underneath. Just to get the outer cowling (the one in my first pic with the "?" over it) I had to remove a side panel then a panel above the glove box opening. There I found three more screws holding the cowling. After that I managed to muscle out that cowling only to find the one behind it.

At that point I decided to go commando. I used a hole saw to drill through the cowling. See the picture below.
If I had to do it over, I would save myself a great, Great, GREAT deal of trouble and just use the hole saw through both cowlings. And if anybody finds this thread before they go to far, I recommend they do that also.

Thanks Hanky and Scott!

 

I have to apologize for not giving petec better suggestions.

As you can imagine not all cars/vehicles come apart the same way. The more you work on dash plastics to access different parts the easier it becomes to take them apart.

It does require some special tools and experience to "feel " your way through disassembly without doing any damage to parts other than possibly some plastic retainers.

We might come to different methods to accomplish a desired goal, but as long as we get the job done without any damage is what matters.

 

Don't apologize. None necessary or wanted. We kicked things around and it got me to the end.

But I learned something putting things back. I kept trying to slide a piece down behind another piece like it was before but just couldn't get it to go in. I went to bed and slept on it. Today I just put the piece in place outside the other place and used a rubber hammer to force it behind the other piece. Two light taps and it was right.

I guess I need to sleep more ;-)

 

Thanks for the update.
If you tap something too hard with a mallot, you won't know until you see the crack. If you use your hand , you will usually stop from the pain before you break anything. lol

 

Maybe I should have head-butted it. LOL