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Door Lock Removal

Door Lock Removal

>I saw your post about repairing loose door lock cylinders. Since
>mine are displaying this anomaly, i was wondering if you would tell me
>how the repair is done? Many thanks!

It's so easy it's almost embarrassing:

1. Pick up a couple of lock cylinder gaskets from your dealer or mail order... Dave Roberts and Mark Anderson both have them available.

2. Open your door: on the edge of the door panel just under the lock mechanism you'll see a black rubber grommet - pop it off (easy pop-off with a flat screwdriver or maybe even just pull it off with your fingers. You'll see a hex head screw... use an 8mm (I think) allen to loosen it up and remove... be careful not to drop it. This is the screw that secures the lock cylinder.

3. You can now pull the collar of the lock cylinder away from the body panel just enough (about 1/4") to remove the old gasket (without having to disassemble the lock)... you might need to use a needle nose pliers to grab it. I had one gasket that was still pliable which allowed me to just stretch it over the cylinder to remove... the other side was dried out and crumble so I had to pick it out in pieces being careful not to scratch the paint. Pay attention to the orientation of the notches in the inside of the gasket if you can as you'll want to put the new ones in with the same orientation.

4. Stretch the new gasket over the cylinder starting at the top and run the tip of the flathead screwdriver around the cylinder, between the gasket and the cylinder collar, to get the gasket in place. The gasket is notched to seat properly around the cylinder and you might have to turn it to find the right orientation.

5. Push the cylinder back in to the door maneuvering the gasket so that it is even around the cylinder.

6. While maintaining pressure on the lock cylinder against the door replace the hex screw and tighten.

7. Replace the grommet.

8. Admire your handywork.

Michael Gerard

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