Door Lock

TomHadfield · February 14, 2006

Left my car in a public car park on the weekend,and when i came back to it and tried to unlock it i found that the lock was twisted in the hole to the right by about 30'. I couldn't fit my key in the slot and ended up having to unlock the car from the passenger side. I managed to turn the lock back to its original vertical position,but it won't unlock still,and takes only a small movement (perhaps not even half of previous) to lock the car. Has anyone got any tips for removing door cards and any problems that may have been encountered before with door locks?

The car is a 1992 LS400

TURNER · February 14, 2006

Had this problem on mine once, someone mentioned that it could have dirt in the barrel from the key or ouside elements and suggested spraying WD40 in the lock to lubricate the tumblers

Tried it and it worked and haven't had any probs since

don't know if it's the same prob but give it a go but don't go mad with the spray just give it a little squirt

Andy

chris vince · February 14, 2006

Had this problem on mine once, someone mentioned that it could have dirt in the barrel from the key or ouside elements and suggested spraying WD40 in the lock to lubricate the tumblers
Tried it and it worked and haven't had any probs since

don't know if it's the same prob but give it a go but don't go mad with the spray just give it a little squirt

Andy

Tom,

Try not to use a liquid lubricant in locks, in the short term it will ease the mechanism but over time it will attract dust and fibres aggravating the problem.

Try to use powdered graffite lock lubricant this should be readily available at locksmiths.

Regards,

Chris Vince

TomHadfield · February 16, 2006

gents,

thanks for your assistance. I tried a drop of wd (before reading the 2nd reply!) and to no prevail. The lock simply will not move anti-clockwise. I think the door card will have to come off so i can see the mechanism. Has anyone removed a door card? Daft question,but i have removed them on several other vehicles and there always seems to be a bolt hidden somewhere that you can't see...

T

chris vince · February 16, 2006

gents,
thanks for your assistance. I tried a drop of wd (before reading the 2nd reply!) and to no prevail. The lock simply will not move anti-clockwise. I think the door card will have to come off so i can see the mechanism. Has anyone removed a door card? Daft question,but i have removed them on several other vehicles and there always seems to be a bolt hidden somewhere that you can't see...

T

Hi again Tom,

I have had mine off for a door lock problem cured it with plenty of lubrication they do seem to suffer with this, particularly drivers doors with drying out.

Try this link I wish I had found it before I tackled the job, from what I remember not too bad, just fiddly.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/body/fdoorpanel.html

I hope it all goes well.

Regards,

chris Vince

cleverdick · February 16, 2006

gents,
thanks for your assistance. I tried a drop of wd (before reading the 2nd reply!) and to no prevail. The lock simply will not move anti-clockwise. I think the door card will have to come off so i can see the mechanism. Has anyone removed a door card? Daft question,but i have removed them on several other vehicles and there always seems to be a bolt hidden somewhere that you can't see...

T

www.lexls.com has a photo tutorial on removing the door card, in that case to fit larger speakers.

I had to remove mine the other week to fix a rattle (which turned out to be the door mirror - doh!) but it wasn't too difficult. Getting it back on was a little more tricky.

Slightly OT, I was surprised at how 'conventional' the door was inside. Once the speaker enclosure had been removed and the membrane carefully peeled back to reveal the door cavity, I was half expecting to see a door liner made of titanium honeycomb or something, given the hype and mystique that surrounds these cars. There wasn't even a bituminous sheet stuck to the inside of the door! How they manage to make them so quiet and never ceases to amaze me.