the power locks in my 83 bird and the ones in my friends 92 bird both have trouble locking and unlocking the doors completely without multiple attempts. Whats wrong and how can i make them actually work worth a dam?

 

Everyone I know who has PLs on their car around here is like that. Mine included. I don't use them that much but it'd still be nice if they worked right.

 

much to my dismay, after i retrofitted OE power locks to the bird, they behaved in the manner that you described.

To fix, pull the interior door panels and spray some white lithium grease on the door latch and actuating rods. Also, spray some grease on the black plastic that surrounds the manual lock button on the door panel.