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For this project you will need the following materials and tools:
Dont spend more than $40 on materials. If you have all the electrical connectors, the actuator shouldn't be more than $15-20

-(1) Power door lock actuator Similar to Pic 4
-Electrical tape
-Butt connectors (water proof if available)
-(2) T-taps, or other method of splicing
-Zip ties
-Flat head screwdriver
-Phillips Screwdriver (#3 or #4)
-*If you have spray-on bedliner, you might need a T30 torx bit
-(25-30) ft of 16 guage two conductor wire (speaker wire works fine)
-Quick disconnects (crimpable wire ends that snap together)
-Knife/ exacto
-Plumbers tape (3/4” wide Metal strap with various size holes in it, flexible) Pic 05
-10mm socket/ wrench
-(2) Small screws / bolts and matching lock nuts/ washers, no larger than a #10 metric (I used #10-32)
-(2) 1” Sheet Metal screws slightly larger than mounting holes in your actuator (mine were metric #8)
-Light duty drill (a 13V Makita worked great)
-Small drill bits, one slightly SMALLER than the diamater of your sheet metal screws and one slightly larger than the small bolts
-Small crimping tool for butt connectors and quick disconnects
-Wire strippers

Optional:
Flashlight
Wire coat hanger or short fish wire (at least 3 ft.)
*Most actuators come with a rigid metal strip with multiple holes to aid in mounting the actuator. If yours doesn’t come with this, you can just use plumbers tape.

1. Put tailgate in down position, remove access panel (8 phillips screws or T30 torx screws, depending on bedliner). Pic 00

2. Depress tabs on plastic yellow clips and open to release latching rods. Pic 01

3. Remove the two 10mm nuts holding the handle lever in place. With the latch rods out of the way, you can lift out the handle lever assembly. Note: I have also removed the lock cylinder and pin for the pictures, this is NOT necessary.

4. Cut a piece of plumbers tape / metal strip about 4”. You will trim to fit. Pic 6

5. Bend the cut strip from Step 4 as shown in Pic 7 and 8. Take your time getting the bends aligned similarly with the holes, the placement of the holes is very important.

6. Attach the plumbers tape to the actuator as shown in Pics 09 and 10. The pictures show the plumbers tape coming off the SAME side as the solenoid bulge on the actuator. You will need to attach the plumbers tape on the OTHER side, as shown in Pic 17. Sorry, didn’t find that out until I was mounting it later. It is much easier to mount inside the tail gate when they are on opposite sides.

7. Picture 11 shows the entire handle lever and lock assembly together as they are installed inside the tail gate. Picture 12 is a close up of the lock cylinder and rotating pin. Picture 13 is a CLOSE UP of the lock pin that you will be attaching the actuator, via plumbers tape, to.

8. Picture 14 shows how the Actuator and Plumbers tape slips over the rotating lock pin. Note: The protruding edge of plumbers tape on the left will need to be bent back or trimmed off or it WILL interfere with the handle lever once inside the tailgate.

9. Mount the “rigid metal strip with multiple holes” that should have come with the actuator, on the bottom mounting hole of the actuator. If yours didn’t come with this, cut an appropriate length of plumbers tape to span between two of the metal sections on the inside of the tailgate. The Sheet metal screws (of slightly larger diamater than the actuator’s mounting holes) are used to mount the metal strip to the LOWER mounting hole on the actuator.

10. Place the actuator assembly (complete with plumbers tape and metal mounting strip on bottom mounting hole) as shown in Pic 17 into the tailgate. You will be mounting UNDER the metal brace closest on the right side of the handle lever and lock assembly.

11. You will now slide the actuator’s bent plumbers tape piece OVER the rotating lock pin as shown in Pic 14. Holding the actuator in place find an appropriate mounting angle that allows the lock pin to rotate in its full range with the least amount of resistance. The actuator should be almost STRAIGHT (with projecting arm pointing towards front of truck).

12. Holding the actuator in place, determine where you will need to drill a hole in order to secure the actuator to the metal brace using a sheet metal screw and the actuator’s UPPER mounting hole. You might use a screw driver or punch and a hammer to pre determine the location of hole to be drilled.

13. Drill the hole. Use a 1” sheet metal screw through the metal brace to mount the actuator using its UPPER mounting hole. Mine was here, marked with a screw barely threaded in Pic 18

14. The rigid metal strip that extends from the LOWER mounting hole of the actuator should reach the metal brace on the tailgate to the Right of the one you just drilled through. Drill another hole in this second brace to attach the rigid metal strip to. You will use one of the bolts/washers/lock nuts. You might need a slightly larger drill bit for this hole than used for the sheet metal screw, as the bolt should not have to be tightly threaded through the brace. Pic 20

15. Pictures 21, 22, and 23 show the actuator as it is mounted inside the tailgate. NOTE, my handle lever assembly is still removed for the pictures so the actuator will be easily visible.

16. Replace the handle lever assembly inside the tailgate, Making sure the slot in the black plastic tab fits securely over the rotating lock pin. Tighten down the 10mm nuts for the handle lever assembly.

17. TEST the handle lever assembly with the handle on the outside of the tailgate. Test the lock with your key. Make sure everything moves properly and doesn’t have too much resistance.

Now for the wiring…

(Will finish posting tomorrow)