Door Lock probelm

DrPhilgood · 02-21-2004, 02:48 PM

I had a thread about lock installation a few weeks ago and a few of you helped me out. It was working, rather roughly, but now the locks will not lock by the key. I can manually pull the lever to lock and unlock but the keys will not unlock it anymore. I took them out and reinstalled them the same as before. Clips are in place, the rod is in the correct position but still it will not fully turn with the key. If I take the lock out of the door I can turn the key both ways in full with no effort. Someone please help. Is there a way to take off the inside half of the door frame so I can see the entire mechanism? What am I missing here? I cant seem to get it to work no matter what I do. Thank you.

Kisner · 02-23-2004, 01:52 PM

You're probably going to have to remove the door panels and watershields, raise the window up, stick your arm back toward the latch and see if you can move the rod manually by hand. Ensure all your clips are in place and that it's installed in the proper location. If that's all good, I'd spray it pretty good with WD-40 and see if that works. If none of that works, you probably need to disconnect all the rods, remove the latch, and inspect it. If they're the original latches, a liberal spraying of WD-40 and a whole lot of grease might free it up. If that doesn't work, you probably need to purchase some new door latches. Fairly expensive. My originals were completely rusted out and I had to replace mine. They ran me $60 each at National Parts Depot.

Jeff65 · 02-23-2004, 02:24 PM

DrPhil,

You don't say what year car you have. Latches vary with model year. For '65/'66, its easiest to take the latch out, clean it up, lubricate it and re-install.

Before you do however, look inside door shells. I usually put a flourescent drop light inside the door shell so I can see the insides better. Disconnect the lock control rod. Operate the latch manually to see how stiff it is. It should be firm operating but not stiff. Does it now latch & lock? If it does, check the lock cylinder and see that it moves freely with no control rod attached. Examine the angles of movement and see if they are consistent. Note: it makes a world of difference if the lock cylinder lever is moving somewhat fore/aft vice up/down. If there's a lot of fore/aft movement, you wouldn't get full travel of the control rod. Perhaps the lock cylinders are installed in the wrong doors. In '65/'66 models the lock cylinder levers point to the front of the door.

Jeff

DrPhilgood · 02-23-2004, 09:11 PM

Thank you, I will try the WD-40 and I like the light idea inside, its difficult to "feel" what your doing. As for the year I have, sorry about that, its a 67. Ill try the advice you guys gave. Thanks.

Kisner · 02-24-2004, 11:02 AM

One other thing I thought of. Ensure the door handle rod is adjusted properly. I had a similar problem with my 68 and it took lots of trial and error and experimenting to get it to work properly. On that particular rod, the part that attaches to the latch swivels so you can adjust the length of the rod. If it's too short or too long, nothing will work properly. I believe the shop manual says there should roughly be a 1/16" play in it, but that didn't work exactly on my repro latches. Had to add a lot more play on one and had the other basically touching for both to work perfectly. Incorrect adjustment doesn't allow the latch to properly close all the way when the door is closed and it will affect all the other parts. I would definitely try this. It solved my problems.

02-21-2004, 02:48 PM	#1
DrPhilgood Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 9	Door Lock probelm I had a thread about lock installation a few weeks ago and a few of you helped me out. It was working, rather roughly, but now the locks will not lock by the key. I can manually pull the lever to lock and unlock but the keys will not unlock it anymore. I took them out and reinstalled them the same as before. Clips are in place, the rod is in the correct position but still it will not fully turn with the key. If I take the lock out of the door I can turn the key both ways in full with no effort. Someone please help. Is there a way to take off the inside half of the door frame so I can see the entire mechanism? What am I missing here? I cant seem to get it to work no matter what I do. Thank you.

02-23-2004, 01:52 PM	#2
Kisner Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 290	You're probably going to have to remove the door panels and watershields, raise the window up, stick your arm back toward the latch and see if you can move the rod manually by hand. Ensure all your clips are in place and that it's installed in the proper location. If that's all good, I'd spray it pretty good with WD-40 and see if that works. If none of that works, you probably need to disconnect all the rods, remove the latch, and inspect it. If they're the original latches, a liberal spraying of WD-40 and a whole lot of grease might free it up. If that doesn't work, you probably need to purchase some new door latches. Fairly expensive. My originals were completely rusted out and I had to replace mine. They ran me $60 each at National Parts Depot.

02-23-2004, 02:24 PM	#3
Jeff65 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Oklahoma City Posts: 208	DrPhil, You don't say what year car you have. Latches vary with model year. For '65/'66, its easiest to take the latch out, clean it up, lubricate it and re-install. Before you do however, look inside door shells. I usually put a flourescent drop light inside the door shell so I can see the insides better. Disconnect the lock control rod. Operate the latch manually to see how stiff it is. It should be firm operating but not stiff. Does it now latch & lock? If it does, check the lock cylinder and see that it moves freely with no control rod attached. Examine the angles of movement and see if they are consistent. Note: it makes a world of difference if the lock cylinder lever is moving somewhat fore/aft vice up/down. If there's a lot of fore/aft movement, you wouldn't get full travel of the control rod. Perhaps the lock cylinders are installed in the wrong doors. In '65/'66 models the lock cylinder levers point to the front of the door. Jeff

02-23-2004, 09:11 PM	#4
DrPhilgood Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 9	Thank you, I will try the WD-40 and I like the light idea inside, its difficult to "feel" what your doing. As for the year I have, sorry about that, its a 67. Ill try the advice you guys gave. Thanks.

02-24-2004, 11:02 AM	#5
Kisner Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 290	One other thing I thought of. Ensure the door handle rod is adjusted properly. I had a similar problem with my 68 and it took lots of trial and error and experimenting to get it to work properly. On that particular rod, the part that attaches to the latch swivels so you can adjust the length of the rod. If it's too short or too long, nothing will work properly. I believe the shop manual says there should roughly be a 1/16" play in it, but that didn't work exactly on my repro latches. Had to add a lot more play on one and had the other basically touching for both to work perfectly. Incorrect adjustment doesn't allow the latch to properly close all the way when the door is closed and it will affect all the other parts. I would definitely try this. It solved my problems.